Archive for October, 2009

Steve from Eastern PA came in for his first trip for Steelhead ever on the Erie tribs. We walked to same stretch I fished from day before and got back on good numbers of fish that were largely undisturbed. He took to working Flatfish lures to fish holding in low but quicker water and landed 3 nice fish up to 8.5 lbs. Not a bad day for a first timer in pretty awful conditions. Goes to show that a persistant angler using a proven technique will get into fish even in the worst of conditions. Patience and understanding the presentation pays dividends. Quite a few hookups and lost fish kept the action steady.

Terrible conditions. Low, clear, stagnant water with warm temps sent fish scattering at the sound of a footstep. No water to work with whether float fishing, jigging, or otherwise. Managed a few nice fish late in the day but it involved lots of walking to get to fish that hadn’t been pounded by every guy on the stream. Even then it was a chore. Lots of short strikes, lipping lures and jigs normally swallowed. Tough day, no one likes this type of fishing. A nice 9 lb buck to make it worthwhile.

Expecting low, low, and clear conditions. Badly need rain so if it comes it should make things much better. It would take 2 days of hard rain to get the creeks high and off color at their current levels. Plenty of fish around either way, but using reaction presentations like jigs and Flatfish lures early followed my floating single eggs, small egg fly patterns, and nymphs later on when the fish are inactive. By inactive I mean only to other anglers. In these conditions you can find out how active they are by having the right presentation. While everyone else throws the kitchen sink you have to know exactly how they will behave in the worst conditions to keep catching these fish. If the wind stays calm and from the south we may have a fishable lake this entire weekend.

Once the rain comes and if it does come heavy we’ll be going back to jigs and Flatfish lures, then skein and big, bright egg flies once the water clouds up. Could be an interesting 4 days with all types of fishing to be had.

Hope to see all on the streams. -JB