The North Shore did not disappoint. I have gone fishless on the Shore many times over the years, but I have gotten a little smarter, and have learned to wait until the conditions are good. And this has to line up with time I can actually get away. River levels ranged from a little low to very high depending on where we were, Gunnar and I concentrated our efforts on the Middle Shore, and hooked fish in every river we tried. Almost all were caught fishing traditional North Shore style, drifting yarn flies on mono. I have a rod that is only used for this–it is an old Sage I built [over 20 years ago!] with an even older Battenkill reel on it. Other anglers were getting fish using fly line with indicators. The biggest ones were around 28″, and almost everything we caught was a wild steelhead; we only got a couple of loopers, and one of them came home with us.
Anyone thinking of trying for Steelhead on the North Shore, it will be good for at least another week. Most years the peak is late April-early May, but this year the rivers didn’t even start flowing until around May 1.
Anyone with specifics asfar as river access points, or tackle/rigging tips, please drop me an email