Parking Lots Are Full In Steelhead Alley

And so are the rivers, filled with fishermen and steelhead. The spring run in northeast Ohio is peaking and fishermen are flocking from all over to get their share of chrome. In the last week there have been license plates from Virginia, North Carolina, Maryland, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania and New York occupying spaces in various parks. All in the pursuit of steelhead. And, they have been rewarded.

There’s chrome everywhere. Fast, shallow water right now holds a good share of steelhead, as the spawning urge has taken over. Dropbacks, those fish that have completed spawning and are making their way back to Lake Erie, can be found in the deeper, slower pools. Steelheaders, either by themselves or with the help of a guide, have been enjoying multiple fish days, many in double digits. Get them while you can. In about a month it will be over.

Teamwork at its best. Two guide-client teams work a section of the Grand River.

Minutes after this photo was taken two other fishermen filled in the water between them.

Space is at a premium this time of the year. 

This hen put up a good fight but the rigors of spawning took a lot out of her.

The scars prove it.

One of the nice things about April is that smallmouth bass start to show up in the rivers. Fish for steelhead in the first full month of Spring and there’s a good chance you will hook into a big, lake run smallie. If you catch one this time of year you are in for a treat, as a lake run smallmouth bass will fight just as hard as a feisty steelhead.

Hard fighting, lake run. smallmouth bass can be caught this time of the year.

Right now, there’s no better time to catch your personal best metal, whether it is chrome or bronze.

Go out and fool a fish!

A Lesson In Patience

I caught a fish nymphing. This should not be a surprise as 90% of what a fish eats is subsurface. But, it is a surprise for me. Surprising because I rarely have the patience to nymph fish. Besides, I enjoy throwing streamers. Oh, I start with good intentions. I’ll spend time rigging up a leader with a fly, split shot and a strike indicator. Then, I’ll methodically work a stretch of water watching the indicator for a take. But, after a tangled mess due to poor casting technique or 30 minutes (whichever comes first) I give up, and tie on a streamer. This is probably the reason I don’t catch a lot of steelhead during the winter months, but have good success in the fall. Chrome sitting in cold water for weeks do not want to chase a streamer. If you don’t put the streamer right in front of them few will chase it. So, after going fishless for longer than I can remember, something different had to be done. And, if that meant having patience and sticking with a nymph rig, so be it. Glad I did.

I tried to stack the deck in my favor. Instead of fishing one of the big tributaries I hit a smaller creek. If I didn’t have to make long casts with the nymph rig I might stay away from tangles. And, I was going to fish a nymph until I caught a fish. Feast or famine. After the first half hour negative thoughts started creeping into what is left of my brain. And, I was getting itchy to tie on a streamer. But no, I soldiered on.

Then it happened. The strike indicator went under. I got a good hookset, and the fight was on. The steelhead made a couple of nice runs but in the small creek it had nowhere to go. A nice, rosy colored steelhead came to hand.

Nicely colored steelhead fooled by a nymph.

(Click on image for a larger view.)

So, what did I do to celebrate? Two casts later I snagged the rig, broke it off, and tied on a streamer. But, life is good. My 0 for a long time was over.

Go out and fool a fish!