I am disheartened to say our Spring steelhead season has come to a close however the last few weeks have been spectacular fishing for fresh lake run fish with no pressure around . We have been spanking the spring run Ohio strays in PA waters in our past few outings .
On April 22nd Joe & his son Drew brought a bunch of fish in and left grinning with an action packed day on the tribs . A beautiful 20 " lake run Brown was brought to hand .
On April 26th Shawn joined me for a day of non stop rod bending action with over a dozen Steelhead finding the net . The company and weather has been excellent with many memories made .
On April 27th Shane joined me on Conneaut creek with 6 Steelhead to hand and he caught one of the biggest suckers I've ever seen !
Our attention is now locally shifting to nite Walleye trips to be offered by the middle of this month . Our water temperature is slightly behind on the big lake 49 degrees and should begin to get good in the next week or so when it hits 50 + degrees .
Well I am happy to report the fresh spring fish continue to come in with each rain event we recieve . The initial hook up is an eye level thrash that leaves one in awe and the runs to follow are jaw dropping ! Below are some pictures and videos from recent Lake Erie Tributary trips. Two fish recently were sent to the taxidermist one at 11 lb 6 ounces and one just over 10 lb
I expect with the below normal water temperatures we will see good steelhead fishing into early May . I am thankful to have shared in many anglers landing thier first steelhead and our shared experience is just as memorable for me as they have been for you : ) Call me soon to get your spring trip in before it's done .....
Tight lines .....
Captain Don
Looking back into our winter steelhead experiences it has been an awesome year with above average returns of brown trout . Our average is one of every 15 fish is a Brown in comparison to Steelhead numbers which have been excellent for January - February . I do not like to get into numbers and we usually do not keep track but between 5 anglers we brought 60 fish ( steelhead / browns ) to the net one February day which to date is our best February day I can remember in the last few years . In short the fish are here and tributary fishing should remain steady until the middle of April . The annual sucker migaration has started and can make for a fun day with the fly rod . The pods of suckers can number into the thousands and provided steady all day action !
For fly fishing buffs & gear heads we have great news for you .
We have upgraded our equipment the new Orvis Helios 2 rods are here along with , sage , 1st generation helios rods , if you want to test run some upper end equipment we have you covered .
Below are some pictures and videos of recent trips . Thanks to everyone who paid us a visit thus far and the commradere we shared .
Tight lines Capt Don
In between rainfall the fishing has been good the past few weeks . Most days an early start on the water has ensured plenty of action . We have been averaging a dozen hookups per angler on each outing with mostly fresh fish to be had . The rains of late November brought us some more fresh fish ( jacks in the 18-22 inch range and some 6lb plus fish ) and a few nice size brown trout to be had . The photo's reflect two fine specimens in the 8lb range in PA waters . One of the recently caught browns did not have a fin clip meaning the fish was either a stray from another states stocking program or a naturally reproducing fish .
The mild temperatures have brought heavy fishing pressure to the area ; however if one thoroughly fishes an area and experiments with their presentation good things will come to the savvy angler . Fish are holding throughout the entire length of the tributaries as testament to the above average rainfall we've received since early September . Thank you everyone for the time we shared on the water as of late .
Tight lines as usual ..... Capt . Don
After a few epic days of catching it was inevitable for the creeks to recede back to low & clear conditions and let the fishing begin . Tremendous pressure was to be had on these fish but we managed to catch fish right on through !
Tues October 30th fished Walnut access from 2:30 - 6 PM hooked up 25 brought 8 to hand including 2 brown trout in heavy rain and windy conditions .
Creeks went back to blown out conditions until Friday November 2nd fished the access again with 7 fish to hand . Saturday & Sunday were epic days of catching with each of us averaging 20 + hook ups with 10-15 to hand a
piece in the " greened up " flows .
Monday I had the opportunity to fish with Kris & his father Brian . Both anglers fished hard on a day with tough ( low & clear ) conditions bringing 6 fish to hand and hooking up about a dozen times . Most fish in the lower portions of tributaries are dime bright fresh fish brought in by the rains from Hurricane Sandy .
Anticipation is the only word to describe the moments prior to this season and every steel head addict knows the anxiety that haunts our dreams ; as the sleeping dogs lye in wait for these beasts to enter the local tributaries here in West Lake County .
The past two week have been nothing less than spectacular with a larger and earlier return for these fish . I'm not going to get into numbers but the new bumper crop of steel head are numerous and bigger than average . Below are a few video's and pics that we compiled over the last few weeks . The largest steel head brought to hand weighed in at a hefty 13.25lbs on the certified scale ! ( pictured below ) If you want to get on some ferocious fish book ASAP my phone has been busy . Tight lines Captain Don
The weather is quickly turning to fall with aromas of lake shore concord grapes in the air , steelhead starting to enter the tributaries , and I look forward to dawning the fly rod soon ! This being said Walleye fishing is done for our season and the transition is taking place to Perch and near shore steelhead action .
On 8/19
Paul's group caught 12 nice Walleye ( not pictured ) on a tough bite .
On 8/26
Tylers' return group did an amazing 210 perch and 12 bonus walleye . Three of the walleye were over 8lbs with a 12 lber being the largest . An excellent job by a crew I look forward to having each year .
On 9/7
We ran a benefit charter to support our local Doebler hose company that Jason won last fall in their annual fundraising fish fry . Jason's group did 150 perch and 6 bonus walleye . An excellent experience was had by all.
We'll it's about time to celebrate the perch finally giving us a consistent bite . Clark's group did well on Friday with 150 short order perch in 2 hours and 4 nice bonus walleye .
Saturday was an even sweeter bounty for Karen's group with 210 perch , 7 walleye ( 2 - 8lber's ) , and two fat steel head . Thank you everyone for the lasting memories and I expect we'll meet again next season : )
Our Friday 7-27-12 trip was an excellent day on the water . Chuck's group managed a hearty cooler of 23 walleyes that averaged 6.5 lbs each . A wonderful day with excellent company on our vessel . 1-3 foot waves made for an excellent bite .
Our Saturday trip 7-28-12with was a bumpy one with Randy's group of 4 ( One person not pictured ) . We were greeted by lake Erie with a calm lake and a 26MPH run to the Walleye picking grounds. Immediately after setting lines thunderstorms loomed a mile north of our position and the rain had started . The lake quickly built to 4-6 foot waves and graciously a steady bite persisted from the eyes . A great day for the deteriorating weather conditions with 20 fish in the cooler and only two lost at the back of the boat . Thanks fellas a fine group of gentlemen with only one sea sickness casualty on the roughest lake we've experienced this year .
Friday July 13th was an excellent day on the water . 17 Walleye and 4 steel head were pulled over the rail ; including a large specimen 12 lb chromer in ( 1 - 3 Ft waves ) ! A fine job done by James and Chris keeping the program down . The video below is of a 12lb steel head watch in the 5th second of the video the fish leaping out of the water 250 ft behind the boat .
Sunday July 15th Bill , Shane & the boys had an excellent day on the water . The early perch bite was slowed by looming thunderstorms a few miles off . After the bad weather passed we headed out to setup on the walleye around 10 AM . Another 17 walleye and 2 steel head were brought onto the deck . Only three other boats were observed from 10pm till the end of day 8 miles off shore and surprisingly the waves weren't as bad as I had thought ( 1-3 ft) . No complaints by myself or our crew as we took the best of the day from what mother nature gave us .
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