As I confirmed in my last report there is open water and more of it every day. There is still significant ice in some sections. Some deeper holes still have thick ice while others are mostly free. Just the way things work in a slow melt. We should see continued melt over the weekend and by this time next week most if not all water will be open. Hard to say if we will see a blowout. That is dependant on rain. I’ll be on the streams heavily starting next week until the season ends.

I have added a new album on the pictures page showcasing fish from the 2009-2010 season either caught by myself or guiding clients. In this tough season between lower than average numbers of fish and a hard winter you’ll see that we’ve done just fine. While we didn’t have many 20 plus fish days like we are used to we caught a lot of fish when others were not in the toughest conditions in over a decade. The good news is that it’s not over yet. I expect a good spring season and to be catching fish well into the first week or two of April before it’s all said and done.

The streams won’t be quite as lonely as they have been in the last few months, but I welcome that, as I welcome hiking streams without a sled and an auger in tow. After 6 consecutive months of going after Steelhead one way or another it can be difficult to put on the waders before sunrise and fish hard 8 hours a day for 1 last month. Knowing that an entire summer will be near done by the time we do it all again is all the fuel I need to finish the season hard and strong. Some of the biggest and baddest fish can be caught at the end of the season. I’ll be out there and I hope you will join me for the 7th month of THE Erie Steelhead Experience. -JB