FISHERMAN'S CALENDAR
KEY TO SYMBOLS
SO=season opened (or opens); SC=season closed (or closes); SV=season varies by district or water.
C=clear water; D=water dirty or roily; M=water muddy.
N=water at normal height; SH=slightly high; H=high; VH=very high; L=low; R=rising; F=falling. WT50=water temperature 50°.
FG=fishing good; FF=fishing fair; FP=fishing poor. OG=outlook good; OP=outlook poor.
BLACK BASS: PENNSYLVANIA: Most streams in central state improved as rains raised levels and washed away algae; FG in Juniata River and at mouth of Conodoguinet with plugs, spoons and bait, OG rest of month. Upper Allegheny VL with serious algae condition, FP, OP. Delaware River starting to produce as rains and cool nights have started big small-mouths moving, OG.
TENNESSEE: Fontana Lake reports FG for big-mouths to 8 pounds, OG; Dale Hollow and Center Hill lakes are best bets for smallmouth through rest of September.
NEW YORK: Smallmouths and largemouths active in Chautauqua Lake, with best baits crayfish (west end of lake) and nightcrawlers (east end); subsurface plugs producing well for early risers. St. Lawrence River still so-so, with lots of l-to-2-pound bass in Clayton area as local talent starts tooling up for fall musky fishing.
MICHIGAN: FF on Lake St. Clair with popping bugs doing brisk business along shore weed beds but bass averaging small.
MISSOURI: White River L, C, FP with a few bass taking live bait, OP; Lake Norfolk (upper end) VL, C, FF with surface lures producing an occasional 4-to-7-pound fish, OF.
MAINE: Prospects for fall bass fishing are poor as Edna fouled up all fishing last week, left lakes high and bass moody.
ONTARIO: Lake Simcoe reports FG, especially at Sibbald's Point and Georgian Island areas; Head Lake (Haliburton region) and most lakes in Temagami district giving fine sport, with 5-pounders showing occasionally.
TROUT: CALIFORNIA: Both slopes of Sierra Nevadas report FG; 8½-pound brown taken from West Walker River near Bridgeport on bait last week; FG on Feather River and tributaries, South Fork of the Yuba, Stanislaus and American rivers. Truckee River producing planted rainbows from Tahoe to Truckee, big native browns below Truckee to Verdi with best lures maribou streamers and woolly worms.
COLORADO: Arkansas River (Salida-Leadville areas) L, C, FG mornings and evenings, OG; Gunnison River (Gunnison area), Lake Fork, East and Omichi are L, C, FF with flies and spinning lures, OF; Frying Pan L, C, FF, OF; Jefferson Lake VL, OP; Lake Estes full, trolling fair but fishing poor from bank and OP; Roaring Fork, Crystal and Colorado are L, D, FF with bait only.
OREGON: Nestucca River still L, C, but sea-run cutthroat to 20 inches moving upsteam after recent rains; OG, with best lure a weighted streamer fished at mid-depth.
MONTANA: All Montana streams producing well with Big Hole taking top honors, Yellowstone and Madison yielding limits to dry-fly brigade, Firehole coming along nicely; OG for top fishing of season through remainder of month.
WYOMING: FG in Platte, Laramie, Green and Shoshone rivers, Seminoe and Pathfinder reservoirs, and OG through September.
WASHINGTON: Fly-fishing slowing on lakes, but early morning and late evening trollers and salmon-egg soakers still getting action and OG after first frost; best bet for big rainbows is Jamison Lake in Douglas County, closed since mid-July and reopened Sept. 15.
IDAHO: FG on high lakes as some start to freeze over; Salmon River and all forks at peak of season and OG next week or ten days.
BRITISH COLUMBIA: Sea-run cutthroat now showing up well in most estuaries and in Nimpkish, Salmon, Campbell, Qualicum and lower mainland streams; lower Campbell very good; upper Cowichan producing fine browns and rainbows, OG through September; Kamloops fishing in interior lakes improving steadily with Big Bar, Surrey, Sussex, Chilco, Hi Hiume reporting FG and OG. With Adams River sock-eye now showing in Shuswap Lake, rainbow fishing at mouth of Adams should be great shortly.
WASHINGTON: Trout fishing greatly improved as fall weather sets in, with most lakes producing well; Ross Lake in upper Skagit River excellent for rainbows and cutthroats averaging 14-16 inches and smacking trolled spoons; Rainbow Lake (Columbia basin) open for fly-fishing only and good for near-limits of 13-to-15-inch rainbows through next two weeks.
WALLEYED PIKE: PENNSYLVANIA: Pymatuming Reservoir, usually hot now, is low and muddy as gales churned shallows last week; FP until level rises.
TENNESSEE: Norris Lake producing walleyes in 5-to-8-pound class and should continue good this month.
TARPON: FLORIDA: Big school of tarpon reported milling around at mouth of Shark River in Everglades National Park but no fishermen seen by our agent.
ATLANTIC SALMON: NEW BRUNSWICK: Heavy rains last week raised rivers as outlook continues good on Miramichi, Cains, Restigouche. OP on Tabusintac and Big Tracadie until Oct. 1 or later (SC Oct. 31) and on Sevogle (SC Sept. 30).
NOVA SCOTIA: Two top rivers in province are Margaree (35 salmon last week) and Sheet Harbour but OP unless rains raise stream levels.
STRIPED BASS: OREGON: FG and improving at Coos Bay, with fish running to 40 pounds and taking yellow feathered jigs and pilchard bait; salt-water fly fishermen scoring on smaller fish in schools as large bass travel singly; OG while weather stays put.
MASSACHUSETTS: Despite hurricane the bass should be plentiful in Cape Cod canal and around Nantucket and the Vineyard through most of October unless Edna blew migration routes askew.
NORTH CAROLINA: Smallish stripers schooling in northeastern sounds, with peak catches due in October.
CALIFORNIA: Salmon trollers picking up big bass between Alcatraz and Municipal Pier in San Francisco Bay using wire line and heavy sinkers for depth in rough water; Napa River is crammed with small stripers; middling fish plentiful on east side of San Pablo Bay; OG all through this area.
MUSKELLUNGE: NEW YORK: Floating weeds from recent cutting operation hampering Lake Chautauqua trollers as anglers continue to score with 8-to-l 5-pound fish but nothing over 20 reported; live bait just starting to produce and will improve as water cools; a few medium muskies taking surface plugs cast near shore after dark; OG. St. Lawrence fishermen taking some 12-to-18-pound fish, with Carle-ton Island off Cape Vincent fairly hot, but no trophy fish reported last week.
MICHIGAN: Lake St. Clair producing nicely with one 23-pounder and several in 15-pound class boated last week; OF through September.
WISCONSIN: OG throughout most of musky territory but fishing pressure has dropped sharply as school resumes and citizens daydream of a National League pennant; FG in Big and Little Arbor Vitae Lakes, Island Lake chain, Squirrel Lake; slow in Langlade County; improving in Forest County.
ONTARIO: Musky-fishing is hot in Lake Nipissing-French River watercourse and in Mani-tourlin Island section of Georgian Bay as spoons and wobblers produce best results with two 38-pound fish landed last week from this water and OG through September.
PENNSYLVANIA: Lake Canadhota (Crawford County) produced a 42-pound fish last week as Lake LeBoeuf continues to yield midgets and Allegheny River smells, lit. & fig.
STEELHEAD TROUT: CALIFORNIA: Fishing excellent from the lower Klamath upstream to Blue Creek with river clearing and OG; FG in Mad. Mattole and lower Eel rivers for smaller fish, with lunkers lurking in Trinity and Sacramento rivers.
BRITISH COLUMBIA: Stamp River L, FP but OG as fall fish should be moving in soon; Brem is full of fish, with good reports from Silver Creek. OG generally as fall runs get under way. OREGON: Deschutes River L, C, FG in lower river with flies and spinning lures, OG with best results in early morning and late evening.
BLUEFISH: FLORIDA: Blues should fee showing soon in Stuart area, then working southward, and old-timers predict a big run as bait is abundant in the area.
NORTH CAROLINA: Bluefishing has slumped around the inlets since late August as hurricanes brushed the Carolina coast, and OP for inshore anglers.
PACIFIC SALMON: WASHINGTON: 3,500 co-hoes boated by sport fishermen over weekend with average weight 10 to 15 pounds as phenomenal run of silvers turned up last week off Olympic Peninsula; Strait of Juan de Fuca producing limits of 14-to-16 silvers on herring bait or trolled dodgers.
OREGON: FG in Nehalem River (inside the bar) for chinook and coho; OG with mooched herring best lure.
BRITISH COLUMBIA: Chinooks tapering off but some big fish still off Campbell, Comox and Alberni rivers; OP except at Nimpkish River. Coho fishing good and improving, with limit catches at Browns Bay, good fishing at Campbell River, Kye Bay and around Signey; Cowichan Bay will start producing soon and outlook is excellent for silvers in all B.C. waters as fall fishing nears peak in a peak year.
PUNKINSEED SUNFISH: OHIO: Unidentified 7-year-old boy hooked and landed a 4½ ounce sunny from Muskingum River using snelled Kirby hook and manure worm.
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