Christmas Came Early

December in northeast Ohio can mean a lot of things. A lot of cold and snow is the general rule. But this year, December has been a sleeper. We’ve had some cold and snow but it could have been much worse. In fact, as I’m writing this, it is sunny and 53° F. It’s called a heat wave around here. I couldn’t pass up a day like so I hit the water and received an early Christmas gift.

My favorite steelhead river was fishable, and I’ve been eager to try a streamer pattern that I was introduced to during a trip to Virginia for trout. It was successful on a couple of rainbows and I thought it would be ideal chasing steelhead. After working a nice stretch of water for 1-1/2 hours I was beginning to think the streamer only liked southern hospitality, as I couldn’t get a bump. I was down to my last 20 yard stretch of fishable water when the tug finally arrived. I came tight and the fight was on. The fish surfaced a few times, splashed and rolled to break free, but to no avail. After a brief chase downstream I was able to guide it to the edge of the river. The Kreelex pattern did its job. Christmas a few days early.

Go out and fool a fish!

Steelhead with some nice color. Took a swung streamer fished deep and slow.

 The streamer hanging out of the mouth is a Kreelex. I fished it for trout in Virginia and thought it might be good for chrome. It was.

A Ditch And A Rainbow

Fishermen spend a great deal of time looking for new water to fish, no matter how small. Whether it’s a DeLorme Atlas or an online map app, finding a blue line that may hold fish will brighten the day of many fishermen. This is especially true for some steelheaders, who will investigate any ditch that holds water during the spawning season.

There was a time when I had one of those ditches in my front yard. But I didn’t fish at that time, and thought it was a nuisance. Most of the time the ditch had a small amount of water, but like all drainage ditches, after a big rain event, it would pour over its banks. Depending on the severity of the rain the ditch would go from a trickle to over 6’ in a short period of time. Then, just as quickly the water would recede, and a day or two later would be back to the trickle. It was after one of these rain events that a rainbow trout showed up. That may not sound unusual given the migratory movement of steelhead in the Great Lakes, but it is unusual since I’m writing about something that happened in the mid 1980’s.

Here's a photo right after a rain event. There is about 6' of water flowing through my property.

(Click on image for a larger view.)

Now, without giving away the ditch location I’ll just say it meanders through Lake County, beginning south of Route 20 and emptying into Lake Erie. When I trace it on a map the ditch is about 4-5 miles long. My house, being just north of Route 20, is a long way from Lake Erie. So, any fish seen in my neighborhood has a long journey in a ditch two feet wide.

My neighbor came over one day with a five gallon bucket. He was walking along the ditch and noticed some splashing in a small, shallow pool. Looking closer he saw it was a fish. He got the bucket and scooped the fish into it. To his surprise it was a rainbow trout, maybe 8” in length. Other than in pictures I had never seen a rainbow so I was amazed at the colors. I can still remember the parr marks on it.

Some 34 years later I still think about that rainbow and the trip it took through that ditch. That was certainly a diamond in the rough. The ditch through my property has been culverted over, as the flooding caused a lot of erosion. This was done about 15 years before I got back into fishing and steelheading. Now, every once in awhile, I wish it was still open. It would be nice to find another diamond.

Go out and fool a fish!