Is there a lack of interest

[Gunrod]

in Steelhead down in Ohio? With the eastern basin of Lake Erie being the deepest of the two basins I understand most of the steelhead congregrate in this area. Also, the plants by New York and Pennsylvania would make one thing that Northern Ohio fishermen would be all over the steelies but I hear very little on it.

Are many of the fish taken by nets? I saw this thread about nets and was thinking commercial fishing was killing your river fishing.

http://www.ohiosportsman.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1922

[silverbullet]

Lack of interest??No way.I have watched the numbers of steelheaders skyrocket in the past few years down here in ohio.It used to be a few guys always the same ones would be seen fishing the rivers.now you see new faces everytime you go out.More out of area license plates and more newbies to the sport.Alot of the charter captains now offer steelhead trips as well during the summer months to add to clients fishing enjoyment.The numbers of anglers are here,you just won't see it on the websites as much.Most of the people just sit back and read what others post.I think alot of that has to do with the way they are beat-up per say when they post the outcome of their day because they are excited about catching fish.the pressure is there ,the interest is there un fortunatley for most the patience is not.
good fishing
jeff

[Lance]

That about sums it up. TSS has been the main venu for reports to-date and people have gotten railroaded pretty good for posting numbers, especially if they had a really good day or have posted too many good days to suit those that chatter the most. Most of the tribs are pretty close so they get a lot of people and I think that also leads to some short fuses.

There are obscene numbers of fish in the Erie tribs at times and 30 fish days are not impossible if you have the knowledge, the time and hit it right. Unfortunately the days I seem to hit cooperative fish are always the days I've only got a couple hours to fish! :rolleyes: As an example the best rate I've had was 6-8 in 2 1/2 hours. if I could have fished all day!

[Gunrod]

Lance, you let me know when those days hit. I'll take your spot so no one else can get in it.:D

Maybe we should troll TSS and let them know this site is here if they get beat up too much.

[Gunrod]

Then why can't we get some of these people on this site? There's so much that could be taking place here. I'm sure it would be deleted pretty quick but do you guys think a post on TSS advertising this site would work.:confused:

Myabe we should do the opposite. For instance:

Did anyone see this foolish site www.ohiosportsman.com? ;)

Next thing you know guys are flocking here. I see there is a fella named flytyer63 who appears pretty excited about fishing and tying. Too bad you can't email and PM over there as you can here.

[Lance]

jblocker posted somthing there once.

I just bopped in over there. I was suprised to see there are still people there. It's usually a ghost town in the summer. I'll have to post something at somepoint soon. Flytyer 63 was one of the guys who kept getting railed for posting about his good days.

[george tinkham]

i wonder what mercury levels in fish has done to commercial fishing,especially bottom feeders like catfish...seems this would hurt businesses that net fish in streams...seems most cosumers would feel safer with pond raised catfish

[Gunrod]

Maybe for eaters, but there's just something about catching fish. If I couldn't eat another fish from any of the waters in the world I'd still fish. I'm not a catch and release guy, just someone who enjoys the catch.

I jumped in there last night Lance and saw it seemed pretty active. That Flytyer63 seems pretty enthusiastic about fishing and tying. Sounds like somebody this forum could use. I just couldn't figure out how to reach him without actually posting.

[mattgmann]

Gunrod,

There's plenty enough interest in steelhead fishing for me. The number of people in the rivers is getting excessive IMO, but there's plenty of fish to be caught for everyone. Erie tribs have the most prolific steelhead runs in the country, and most of the people in ohio probibly don't even know. Like lance said, 30 fish days aren't unheard of, and this spring sent a few days of high number catches my way. Catching erie trib steelhead is not hard (compared to say, brown trout), but there is a small learning curve that too many anglers won't commit too. People get so excited to see fish in the rivers, they often cast aside whatever sportsmans' morals they had to begin with. I try and help as many people as I can when I fish...i.e give out flies, show them how to get fish in different lies and conditions, how to share a hole with someone else and NOT piss them off. Alot of people won't take time to learn things like this though, and insist on all crowding into the same holes, harrassing and snagging fish. This is the only thing that upsets me....but....there's always more fish around the bend...and that's normally where you'll find me.

Steelhead fishing here is something that should not be taken for granted. There isn't a better fighting fish in fresh water...period....they're a great adversary on the fly rod.....they're beautiful fish that make great photos, and they're BIG. I enjoy chasing different species on the fly rod, and taking in great scenery, and learning to catch tough fish. BUT....steelhead fishing is hands down the most fun you can have with a rod in fresh water.

[Thunderflight]

Just what is a steel head? Are they a trout or a salmon?

Thanks,

TF

[Neapolis]

A Rainbow trout that spends it's life in the lake except to spawn. Unlike salmon, they do not die after spawning. They return to the lake.

[Gunrod]

The bad often comes with the good as for the slob fishermen. It happens....

I've always heard about the Erie trib fishing but you just don't see much on it. This forum is a perfect example. This forum should be on fire.

Glad to see there are those out there chasing these fabulous fish.

[Thunderflight]

How big do they get?

Do you all fly fish for them or do you use bait and lures?

TF

[Lance]

Avg is about 25" but they'll get up to 15-16 lbs. PA had a 20lb fish this last year.

Af far as tackle goes you can use flies, bait or lures. The most important thing to have is a rod with enough size and flex to absorb the initial runs on the light lines. Most anglers prefer 6-8# test on the spin rigs and I run #4-8 test leaders on my flyrod. The fish can get really spooky when river clears up.

[mattgmann]

You can certainly employ other fishing methods to catch steelhead. I just find that fly rodding is the most fun for me, and the most productive in normal and low water conditions. The exception is when steelhead are hugging bottom in deep slow water in the winter.

The other common method for fishing steelhead is "noodlerodding". A long, 8-10 foot spin rod with a light action is best. This setup helps both to control line as you are drifting bait, and to protect the light line that is required most of the time to get the fish to bite. The most common bait is spawn sacs.

Crankbaits will catch fish, but almost exclusively in early fall when the fish first hit the river.

The average steelhead I catch here is 22-25", with many larger, and the occasional 10lber. The biggest I've caught (by far), I landed this spring. She was 35" but I didn't weight her. It was a pre-spawn female though, and a fat manistee strain fish at that, so I'm pretty confident that it went at least 18lbs, maybe a little more. I almost wished I'd have weighed that fish though when I found that the state record was a 36" fish.

There's really quite a bit of literature on great lakes steelhead, and always plenty of articles in the major fly fishing mags. Fighting a steelhead is really something to experience. I've never had a bass take out half as much line half as fast. The real positive is that steely fishing isn't very hard, there's just an initial lump of information to ingest before you really start catching fish.

[marcbodi]

Hi,
There is a lot of guys fishing the Rivers when they are in and easy to find but very few of them chase them out in the Lake which is a lot better than in Michigan where I fished for them before.The one day we(3 guys) were 15 for25.25 hits in one day.It don't get any better than that.I just took a trip with my wife along the Lake from Port Clinton to Buffalo New York stopping at all the ports and very few fish for them in the Lake but the Stream fishing is really big.

[snag]

your all so right on the quality and quantity of steelies in the river and tribs off the river,lots of tribs off the grand are good but lots of pressure,easy acess to most spots if your willing to walk awhile.i fished a small trib in the 70,s when the coho and kings came up it to spawn and it was great maybe you,d see two or three guys all day but not anymore.

[Predator]

I post on this site and TSS, during the summer I just read most of the posts on steelhead, because I'm fishing local waters. but come October, I'll switch to the northren streams.Only fished 28 days for steelhead due to the ice hopefully we will not get as much ice as last year. :)