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!

Small Fish, Big Appetites

We all want to catch big fish but sometimes that just doesn’t happen. Being a simple fisherman, it doesn’t matter to me what the size of the fish is. I just like to catch fish. The last two outing prove that. The fish were small, but had big appetites as they hit the topwater poppers hard. Always fun to catch fish topwater.

This rock bass inhaled a popper that was bigger than its mouth.

(Click on image for a larger view.)

Big or small, smallmouth bass fight hard. 

This one took a black popper.

 

Go out and fool a fish!

70 Long Days

A lot can happen in 70 days. For me, not so much. Rewind to May 17, my last day on the river until today. Fishing one of the local rivers I slipped, and in trying to stop from falling all my weight went on my right hand and wrist. Even though the hand was sore there was no bruising or swelling so I kept fishing. After I stopped is when the swelling showed up. A trip to the urgent care revealed a fracture in one of the small bones directly above the wrist. I was going to be on the shelf for a little bit…or so I thought.

Fast forward 10 weeks (a lot longer than I estimated) and I was cleared to begin using the hand without restrictions. Maybe age has something to do with it, as I graduated from the mid-60’s to the late 60’s in that time period. I guess if I was in my 20’s or 30’s healing would have been a lot quicker. Still, never imagined a small bone would take so long to heal.

The arrow points to the small break. 

Can't believe it took 10 weeks to heal.

(Click on image for a larger view.)

So, what did I miss? Probably the best time of the year to be on a river chasing smallies. Nothing beats throwing a topwater popper on a warm early morning. There’s still some time left for that, and today was my first day back in action. And, my outing was more to find out if my wrist and hand would hold up, as it was my casting hand. Catching a fish was secondary.

I did manage to hook into a fish. I say fish because I don’t know what it was as it never surfaced and then after a short time, threw the fly. It was heavy, putting a big bend in my 4wt rod. It didn’t fight like a smallie so I’m guessing either a carp or a catfish. Anyhow, the hand held up, and there doesn’t appear to be any lingering issues.

So, officially I’m back, and want to make up for lost time. If the rivers stay in good shape I’m going to be out there. Hopefully there’s a bunch of smallies waiting to be fooled.

This is what I am after. Another smallie fooled.

Go out and fool a fish!

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!

So, You Want To Catch A World Record Fish

I’m not going out on a limb by saying all fishermen want to catch big fish. When someone is new to the sport he/she just wants to catch fish. Then, as they progress, they want to catch a lot of fish. Then they want to catch big fish. Over time the fishing community has set informal targets as to what constitutes a big fish. For some fishermen it could be a 20”+ brown trout, a 50”+ musky, or a 30”+ steelhead. Land one of those and the smile won’t leave your face for a long time. But a world record. That’s a different story, and it starts with the International Game Fish Association (IGFA).

Catch one fish and you want to catch more.

(Click on image for a larger view.)

 Catch a lot of fish and you want to catch bigger fish.

(Photo courtesy of Mike Durkalec.)

IGFA is an association that among other things established uniform regulations for the compilation of world game fish records. The regulations cover freshwater and saltwater fishing, as well as all-tackle and fly fishing. If someone wants to submit a catch as a possible world record they had better know these regulations. A few regs surprised me, as they were counter to what I believe the fishing community does in practice. The detailed regulations can be reviewed by the attached link at the end of the post.

The one regulation that stuck out was recording the length of the fish. I’ve seen countless videos and television shows where the fisherman measures the length by pinching the tail together to get the maximum reading. But, according to IGFA regulations, the fish is to be measured using an approved IGFA device from the snout to the rear center edge of the tail. So, you do not pinch the tail, it must be the center edge. Now, for a lot of fish that isn’t a big difference but for a potential world record every centimeter counts. To be declared a new world record based on length the catch must beat the existing record by two centimeters.

As for the world records, they are classified by fish length or weight, and by line class for conventional tackle and tippet class for fly fishing. The biggest fish within the line class and tippet class records is then considered the All-Tackle Record. As an example, there are 31 world records for the rainbow trout (which includes steelhead) for the various line and tippet classes. Within those records, the 48 lb. rainbow caught on 20 lb. line is the All-Tackle world record. This catch caused quite a stir in the fishing community as genetically engineered rainbows escaped from a fish farm into Lake Diefenbaker, Saskatchewan, Canada.Just google world record rainbow trout for the complete story. IGFA makes no distinction between natural and genetically modified fish. Since those genetically engineered rainbows made their way into the lake there are now seven world records from Lake Diefenbaker.

This spring creek rainbow wasn't a record, but it was a lot of fun.

So, what about northeast Ohio? Any chance for a record? I believe there is, especially in the women’s division. The current world record for the conventional tackle 4 lb., 6 lb, and 8 lb, line classes are doable. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if someone’s wife or girlfriend caught a world record and didn’t know it. The 4 lb. line class record is 4lbs. 5 oz. I’m sure that record could fall. Just remember to follow the regulations.

As for me, I’ll just keep casting my popper against the far bank and hope to hook a 14” smallie or swing a streamer hoping for a 25” steelhead. I’m chasing fun, not records.

Go out and fool a fish!

International Game Fish Association

Winter Is Starting To Show Some Cracks

My last day on the river was January 6th. At that time, based on past history, the winter was mild. But around the Great Lakes people know “it’s just a matter of time”. Well, shortly after that date winter showed up. It hasn’t been a snowy winter but it has been cold. In northeast Ohio we are about 18” behind the average snowfall, but the temperatures have made up for it. We have had only one three-day stretch of below zero temps but they have consistently been below 32° for highs, and low-to-mid teens for lows. That locked up the rivers, and made ice fishing lakes and ponds the preferred activity.

Typical look the last month or so. Locked up rivers with minimal open water.

(Click on image for larger view.) 

 The rivers are starting to look like this.

Soon they will look like this.

Fast forward 37 days since the last time my waders got wet and there’s a crack starting to show up in winter. Daytime temperatures are starting to creep upwards. Long stretches of water are opening up. In fact, yesterday was the first day since early January that good numbers of steelhead were caught in the rivers. Days like yesterday will do more for a steelheader’s attitude than a couple of beers.

The rivers and streams are filled with chrome. We just need the opportunity to get to them.

Now that I’ve pumped myself up, and hopefully my readers, time for some cold water in the face. We still have 36 days until spring. And around northeast Ohio a lot can happen between then and now. One storm can erase the snow deficit, and a polar vortex can still chill our bones. But, we know fishermen are optimists, and right now we see that crack and want to make it bigger. Anyhow, keep the beer close just in case.

Go out and fool a fish!