Most of us will recognize the bridge behind Scott as the bottom of the Lower Fly Fishing Only section of the Salmon River in Pulaski. This river gets almost as much discussion at monthly meetings as our own New Haven. The chance for big fish like the 16lb steelie Foster landed keep many of us coming back for more year after year.
Although scenes like this one and the often chilly conditions in which you can find yourself have turned a lot of people off to Pulaski lately.
One of my most interesting memories comes not from the fish I caught or the company I kept but from graffiti. I was taking a solo trip over from Lake Placid. I left at 3am on Dec. 26th hoping to get the river to myself, along with a lot of steelhead that hadn't seen a line in a day or two. On the three hour drive over my mind started to wander and I began wondering who I might run in to on the river the day after Christmas. Well the only person that I could think of that would possibly be out on a 20 degree morning after Christmas was Ted Nugent. If you don't recognize the name think back to the 70's and 80's and some hardcore rock. He is a rock start turned avid/rabid outdoorsman. So I daydreamed a little about hanging with him and picking up some huge steelhead.
I arrived at Pulaski just after dawn and had a wet line by 6:30. My hopes of having the choice spots all to myself were foolish but the pressure wasn't as horrible as usual. I was fishing just above the Altmar bridge, casting to the slot on the far side from the lot. I had been fishing this spot for about 20 minutes when I started to pay attention to the far wall of the bridge. Written in five foot high letters spanning the entire length of the wall were two words, "Ted Nugent"!
Apparently there was no cosmic connection in place because I got skunked that day and the lottery ticket I bought on the way out of town, figuring there had to be some alignment of stars, didn't make me rich. But, for a short while before my toes froze solid, I got to fish with Ted Nugent. See, dreams do come true.
John Synnott
PS If you head over there take a look at that wall, you can still make out some of the letters.
(it's not always skunksville over there)