Guided Spey Fishing in New York

SPEY FISHING

Spey is what I love to fish and what I love to teach. There’s nothing like a steelhead grabbing a swung fly, and there’s no better place to learn it than right here in New York. At Paul’s Guide Service, I run guided spey fishing trips for steelhead on the Salmon River and for wild trout on the West Canada Creek and the West Branch Ausable.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve thrown a two-handed rod for years or you’re picking one up for the first time. I build every trip around where you’re at. That might mean a day focused on instruction, a walk-and-wade covering good water on foot, or a float that puts us on runs most anglers never reach. Whatever we do, it’s patient, hands-on, and no pressure.

Why Spey?

Spey fishing is a different way to fish moving water, and once it clicks, it’s hard to go back. On bigger rivers it’s efficient, it’s easy on your body, and it flat-out catches fish. With a two-handed rod you’ll:

Cover more water with longer casts, and less effort

Cut out the false casting that spooks fish

Swing flies with control through the whole run

Feel a steelhead or a big brown eat on the swing, which is about as good as it gets

Steelhead Spey Trips, Salmon River

From October into April, we chase chrome on the Salmon River with two-handed rods and Skagit setups. Fall fish come in hot and pull like freight trains. Winter fishing is slower and quieter, working a bigger fly through cold water and waiting for that one solid grab. Both are worth every minute.

SEASON: OCTOBER THROUGH APRIL

WHAT WE FISH: INTRUDERS, SOFT HACKLES, AND SCULPIN PATTERNS ON THE SWING

TRIP OPTIONS: WALK-AND-WADE OR FLOAT, DEPENDING ON FLOWS AND WHERE THE FISH ARE

GEAR PROVIDED: RODS, REELS, LINES, AND FLIES

Trout Spey Trips, West Canada Creek & West Branch Ausable

If you like the tug of a fish on a swung fly but want to chase wild browns, trout spey is the ticket. The West Canada and the West Branch Ausable are made for it: good water for soft hackles, small streamers, and swung caddis, on a lighter rod that makes every fish feel like a prize. This is the easiest, most fun way I know to learn spey.

SEASON: MAY AND JUNE, THEN SEPTEMBER INTO OCTOBER

WHAT WE FISH: SOFT HACKLES, MINI INTRUDERS, CADDIS AND BWO PATTERNS

TRIP OPTIONS: FLOAT OR WALK-AND-WADE

GREAT FOR: ANGLERS LEARNING SPEY, OR FINE-TUNING THEIR TWO-HANDED TROUT GAME

WHAT'S INCLUDED, WHAT TO BRING

What I Provide

What to Bring

book your Salmon River trip

Steelhead or trout, I’ll walk you through the swing and send you home a better caster than you came. My spey trips are hands-on and built around teaching, not just catching.