A Good Sign For The Future

In northeast Ohio we got the big rain everyone had been waiting for. It started the first big push of steelhead of the fall. After the rivers became fishable there were reports that a considerable number of young steelhead were being caught. These fish generally range in size from 14”-18”. It is possible that many of those fish are making their first visit to a river since their stocking. I felt a little field work was in order to check out these reports.

I hit the Chagrin River for a rare afternoon of fishing. For the first couple of hours I thought the river was devoid of fish. I hit every pool and run that had produced in the past. Not even a bump. I was going to call it a day when I decided to try a section of the river that had a nice current, but was less than two feet deep. It turned out to be the best decision of the afternoon.

What was a skunking turned into 25 minutes of activity, all in about 20 yards of water. Swinging an olive woolly bugger I hooked into what I thought was a good size chrome. It fought hard, and then jumped not more than a rod length away from me. I smiled when I realized it was one of the young steelhead. It continued to put up a good fight, but quickly found the bottom of the net. I want to catch this same fish in a couple of years.

This young chrome put up a great fight. I want to catch it again in a couple of years.

They don't get much fresher than this.

(Click on image for a larger view.)

Moving a few feet downstream I hooked into another young one, followed by another a few casts later. My final hookup was a bigger chrome that I don’t think fought as hard as the first one landed. All this fun in a short amount of time! To me, this is what makes fishing for steelhead fun. I’m not a big fish guy or a big numbers guy. I just like to catch fish, big and small. I can’t control what size the fish is. To me, it’s like opening a present at Christmas.

So, are there more young steelhead in the rivers this year? Well, based on my afternoon and other reports I’d say yes. And, that bodes well for the future.

Go out and fool a fish!

A Pelvis, A Tug, A Bump and A Bonus Bronze

Late last week, before the rain blew out the rivers, I was able to get on the water and hunt for some chrome. The rivers were low and in need of a fresh shot of rain, but very fishable. My usual routine is to swing some flies and hope for a couple of hookups. I got that, and a little more. What I experienced was outside a normal outing.

The Pelvis

Everyone who fishes rivers has seen animals, both dead and alive. That’s nature. Spend enough time on the water and you will run into a deer, mink, or beaver. Occasionally they will die there.

Walking along the bank to get to a pool I ran across a deer pelvis. In the past, I’ve seen fragments of one but not the entire structure. My first thought was I was being transported to an X-Files episode. The holes give the bone a ghoulish look, perfect for Halloween. I had to take a picture but decided not to disturb it fearing some bad ju-ju.

Pelvis, late October, Halloween. Not your everyday find.

(Click on image for larger view.).

The Tug

Like many fly fishermen, I have fun swinging a fly for chrome this time of the year. The fish are fresh, and willing to move for a baitfish imitation. That’s when you will get the tug, and there’s no doubt a fish is on.

I was working a pool that had been productive in the past. It’s deep, with good flow, and some structure. Not only have I caught steelhead in this pool but it is a great spot for smallies during the summer. I made a cast toward the opposite bank and let the flow swing the fly through the pool. Just as the swing was straightening I felt the tug. Immediately the fish came to the surface, splashed around, and made a move to the opposite bank. As if it hit a wall, the fish changed direction. Now, I’ve had steelhead move up and down the river but I’ve been able to control them with side pressure. This time I could only hold on. The line was coming off the reel faster than I’ve ever seen. In a timeframe that felt like two seconds, the fish was 30 yards downstream and not stopping. It was so fast I didn’t have time to get out of the water and chase after it. All I could do is hold the rod high. From past experience I knew I was in trouble. Too much fly line in the water will often lead to a long distance release. Sure enough, the fish kept moving downstream, and all of a sudden the line went slack.

Damn. I don’t know if it was the biggest steelhead I’ve hooked into, but it was definitely the hottest.


The Bump

Licking my wounds from the tug, I made my way upstream to another pool. Using the same woolly bugger, I made a cast and felt a bump. I instinctively set the hook and nothing. So, was it a rock or a short strike? Only one way to find out. I made another cast in the same area and sure enough, another bump. I set the hook, and nothing. I quickly made up my mind that I was either going to lose the fly to a snag, or I was going to catch a fish.

I took a break from casting for a minute or so. It forced me to look around and notice the fall colors. Sometimes we’re so focused on fishing we miss what’s in front of us.

 The fall colors are starting to pop. Sometimes you just have to look up.

So, after that short break I made a cast to the same spot and let it drift with the flow. Right on cue, there was another bump. I set the hook, the line went tight, and I felt the headshake. After a short fight I netted a fresh 18” steelhead. That chrome may be too young to realize you don’t play with your food, you eat it.

It took three tries to hook this one.

The Bonus Bronze

I was looking for quality river smallies all summer. The key must be to wait until October to catch them, as they feed heavily for the winter. The last two outings have produced my biggest smallies of the year. Landed with the steelhead net, they look smaller than they are. Both were pushing 14”. Not bad for resident smallies.

Quality smallmouth in October. A good bonus.

Go out and fool a fish!

Smallies Have To Eat Too

It is mid-October and steelhead has become the target species for many fishermen in northeast Ohio. One big rain event in September brought some chrome up the rivers, and fishermen have had early success. But now the rivers are low, and we could use another big rain to freshen the run.

I’ve had a nice start to the season with two 25” chromers landed and one long distance release after a good fight. Sometimes I get tunnel vision and forget that smallmouth bass are on the move to their winter lies and need to eat as much as possible. So, it was a little surprise when a smallie hit my woolly bugger as it swung through a pool. It turned out to be a nice size resident. And it was my only fish of the day. Saved a skunking!

This smallie hit the olive woolly bugger as it swung through a deep pool. 

Trying to pack on some weight for the winter.

(Click on image for larger view.)

I never get tired of catching smallies, even in October.

Go out and fool a fish!

That Was Fast

It was just yesterday that I posted a story about anticipating the start of smallmouth season. Well, I didn’t have to wait long. And even though I was still targeting steelhead it was fun to catch the first smallie of the year.

I know that the lake run smallmouth season begins around this time but it was surprising to catch one where I did. The creek I was fishing doesn’t have a reputation as a hot spot for catching smallies, but these non-residents are only renting space for a little while. It must have found a logjam it liked, and settled in. I’m sure I was in the right place at the right time.

This logjam held a nice surprise this morning.

After waiting out a rainstorm this morning I started throwing a chartreuse woolly bugger. I fished it through a few holes with no luck. I moved downstream, and made several casts towards a logjam. Each cast got me a little closer to the wood. On about the fifth cast I actually bounced the streamer off the log. I gave a quick strip to move the streamer away from the log and something just crushed it. At first I thought it was a steelhead, but the fish went airborne, and I could tell it was a smallie. It put up a good fight and gave my 8 wt. a good bend. A nice, fat, 16" smallmouth is a good start.

An early spring surprise. A nice, fat, 16" smallie.

Here’s hoping this is a sign of a good bass season.

Go out and fool a fish!

“This Isn’t A Smallmouth”

Sometimes I just have to laugh on the river. For the last few weeks I’ve been using the 8wt rod hoping to catch some early steelhead. And during this time I have had at least a dozen strikes by small smallmouth bass. It seems as though these 6” fish can’t get enough of the woolly buggers I’ve been tossing. What I laugh about is almost everyone I’ve hooked has flown out of the water and landed 5’ upstream. For me at least, being gentle with a hookset using an 8wt is just not possible. Since a small fish can’t put any resistance on such a big rod, the fish flying upstream puts slack into the line. I’ve lost more fish from this than I care to remember. So, I just laugh and move on, knowing there’s a steelhead with my name on it somewhere.

This past week, the weather was great, and the water was in good shape. There had been reports of some steelhead being caught in the Ohio tributaries, so I was feeling confident. I hit my favorite spot with thoughts that I was going to hook into my first steelhead of the season.

The first hint of fall color on the trees is a good indication that steelhed are making their way 

into the Northeast Ohio rivers

True to form, within the first half hour I had four light strikes. In fact, I launched one the smallies into the air covering about 10’, a new personal best. Continuing to move downstream, hitting the deeper pools, I was swinging a white woolly bugger when I felt that unmistakable tug. The first thing that came to my mind was “this is not a smallmouth”. And I was right. On the end of my line was a hot steelhead that did not want to give up. It put three good runs on me, moving from the tail to the head of the pool. At one point I thought it wrapped me around a downed tree. In the end, the 8wt did the job. A very thick, 23" chromer came to hand. From the looks of it, it has been in the river a little while. Red is starting to appear on the gill plate and along the lateral line.

The first steelhead of the season. Thick and feisty.

You can’t catch a second steelhead until you get your first. It’s always good to get the first one of the season in the net.

Go out and fool a fish!