Elk Creek Steehead

 

Steelhead Alley covers a wide area across Lake Erie and for many steelheaders, Pennsylvania is considered the crown jewel of this unique fishery. When I first started fishing for steelhead, I heard tales of these creeks and streams. One of them was the outlandish numbers of fish that can be caught in a outing. Intrigued, I had to check it out for myself and of course I picked one of the worst times. I ventured over to Elk Creek, one of the largest of the Pennsylvania steelhead streams on a Saturday and it was low and clear. I was stunned at the number of people and I didn't even hook into anything because of the sheer number of people and the lack of fishable water. I used it more of scouting expedition and I knew I had to come out during the weekday and when the water was higher. 

So why is Pennsylvania considered the crown jewel? The main reason is they get the lion share of stocking allocated by the Great Lakes Fishery Commission. Pennsylvania on average stocks over a million smolts compared to Ohio's 460,000 smolts. I don't know why Pennsylvania gets to stock so many fish, but I know the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission collects fish at several nursery waters like Trout Run. Then those fish are taken to hatcheries where they are milked of eggs and sperm. There are so many different strains of steelhead collected, that many anglers often call Pennsylvania steelhead "mutts". But, nearly all of their steelhead often run in the fall. Ohio on the other hand, selects one strain and they're reared at one hatchery. But, a lot of Lake Erie's steelhead will run up any stream and there's been plenty of Pennsylvania steelhead caught in Ohio. 

All I had to do was wait for the right conditions. That finally came during my vacation the week after Thanksgiving. Sunday we had enough rain to blow out all of the rivers. I looked at the flow data and I saw that the Elk had spiked and I knew that by morning, it should fish, even though it would be off color. The window for prime conditions in Pennsylvania is very brief. In most cases, some streams can go from mud to clear in under 36 hours. I spend Sunday night tying up a ton of sacs and crammed them in two old Parmensan cheese containers. 

Monday morning I head out and there's some lingering showers. I sense I'll have a great day because most anglers from Pennsylvania don't like fishing dirty water and it was officially the first day of deer hunting season. My plan was fish the mid section of the Elk starting at Folly's End and heading downstream. I arrive at Folly's just at first light and my delight I was the first person there. I took my time getting dressed and walked down to the fly shop. The creek was running off color, but the visible was decent around 12". I crossed over and headed downstream and started at the bend. 

This section of the creek was very narrow as it runs along a low shale cliff. I knew there was a pocket along the ledge. I placed a pink sac on the hook and tossed it out right along the seam. It took all but 10 seconds to hook into the first fish of the morning, a small bright silver hen and it was a quick fight. I put on another sac and tossed out the float at same spot. I watched it drift and then it got dunked hard and I've got another one on. I've heard from a couple seasoned vets that when conditions are perfect, a couple guys can catch a 100 fish. It's possible if you cover a lot of water, because holding water is few and far between. I end up catching five more fish and move downstream. 

The next spot was a little larger and deeper and I sensed that fish were probably stacked in this hole. I would be correct as I started banging fish left and right. Several times I bursted out laughing because it was so ridiculous. I could have called out when the float would go under. None of the fish were huge, just your typical cookie cutter Lake Erie steelhead about 23" and 4 pounds. In this spot, I caught 15 fish and there was plenty of water ahead and it was only 9:00am and I'm already over 20 fish landed. 

The next spot was along section of high cliffs and creek flows fast and there was plenty of pocket water to hold fish. Just like the past spots, the first drift doesn't even go more than 10' and it gets sucked under. This particular fish feels a little larger. It stubbornly holds in the current and eventually I get the upper hand. It's a beefy male that's almost 30" and this one is worthy of a picture. I take a couple quick pictures and release it. I work my way down the cliff and I'm picking off fish. A friend calls me asking me how's the fishing and I tell him I'm slaughtering them. There's a brief silence and then he tells me he should have called off. He knows me well enough that I'm not bullshitting, because he fishes in Pennsylvania a lot. I'm pretty sure he's feeling regret, because days like this are few and far between. I'll take full advantage of this outing as it could a long time when I have another day like this. As for the tally? I don't know, because I lost count. All I know it's a boatload of fish. 

I've down to 1 jar of sacs and there's still more water to cover before I hit the posted property at the bend. The last spot is wide and flat and there's a nice hole under a sycamore that hangs over the creek. I'm popping off fish, but not as many as I'm fishing small pockets. The last spot turns out to be the motherload of fish. If people were hanging out on the banks, I would have been putting on a clinic as I start a series of consecutive hook ups. I'm like a kid in a candy shop grinning and giggling. Eventually I clean out of the hole and start working the pool until I see the posted sign across the creek. 

But all good things must come to an end when I ran out of sacs. I looked at the time it was close to 3:00pm and I had a long walk back. What were the final numbers? A lot of bright fresh fish and I estimated that I was close to 80 fish landed. I've never had a day like this and there were a lot of things that had to go my way. First was the high water and it brought in a lot of fish as previously high water events were rare this fall because of the weather. But that's the weird thing sometimes very little fish come in and other times there's a huge push. I got lucky today that the Elk just got a monster push. The huge factor was I also didn't see one person which is very rare for the Elk even during the weekday. Then I covered a lot of water as I'm the type that doesn't camp at a pool. 

As I walk back, I noticed the water is starting get clearer. By tomorrow morning the deeper pools and holes will take on that emerald green hue that Steelhead Alley's streams are famous for. By the weekend, all of them will be low and clear and full of anglers. Even though I had a succussful day, I would still rather fish in Ohio, because our rivers are much larger and more a challenge to fish. What happened today here, would never happen in Ohio for obvoius reasons. Pennsylvania has and always will be a backup plan for me. 

It's a unique fishery that every steelheader should get to experience, but you might be as lucky as me. 

Creek Critters

Earlier in the week we received enough rain to get the rivers high. Some of the eastern rivers started to come down when another dose of rain fell and they went back up. For the upcoming weekend, I wanted to fish east, but with gas at $3.10 per gallon, my options were slim. The Grand was still too high, Conneaut was too far and the Chagrin was questionable. Both the Rocky and Vermilion were low and clear. Also, the Rock would be a zoo this weekend.

Friday evening the Chagrin was coming down to the point that I knew it was fishable and I needed to tie goober sized sacs. I woke early and found the flow gauge was at 650cfs. That meant the river was a little high and dirty. When I arrived the river looked decent, but not great. I knew I was in for a tough day. I plugged away at several pools and worked the tailouts. For my efforts, I caught a couple of hens and that was it. For the entire time out, I didn’t see one person. On the way home it started to rain and through out the evening it rained off and on. I was concerned that the rain could blow the river out. I tied some sacs and if the Chagrin got blown out, I would have to the fish the (gulp) Rocky.

I woke early Sunday morning and checked the flow gauge. The graph showed a slight hiccup and the Chagrin dropped to 550cfs. I geared up and started to walk through the woods. As I walked to the river in the dark, I could hear some rustling. I turned to see what it was and there was beaver feeding on a large tree. He froze when I shone the light on him. I wanted to get a picture but it was too dark. The beaver made a break for the water as I fumbled with the camera. I was surprised how fast he took off.

This section of the river runs through one of the many Cleveland’s Metro parks found in Cuyahoga County. It also runs through one of the wealthiest communities in Ohio. Many people don’t know how much urban wildlife there is. The Chagrin acts as a natural highway and many animals use it to get around. In this park, there are deer, turkey, beaver, coyotes and raccoons. There are also some animals that people hear, but don’t often see. One of them is the Great Horned owl. I was fortunate enough to hear one this morning. It was somewhat eerie hearing that owl call. By now it was first light and I tried to see where the bird was perched. I scanned along the treetops and I finally caught a glimpse of the owl. It was sitting at the top of a large sycamore calling out as I heard another owl in the distance. This is the time of year when horned owls start looking for a mate. I continued walking and startled another beaver feeding along the bank. He bolted for the water in a hurry. What is unusual with these beavers is they don’t construct lodges, instead they live in the river’s banks.

Today, the river was in better condition. I fished the same spots and the results were better. All of the fish caught came from the tail end of pool and along the edges of the main current. It was a mix bag of fresh and older fish. As I was fishing, I noticed a large buck and doe emerge from the woods. As with the owls, deer are mating and this large buck was courting the doe. In this area, deer tend to be more use to people and they stood there watching me. I got the camera and used the zoom to get a shot. During that morning, I saw about 10 deer.

The bite shut off around 11:00A.M and I decided to hit another spot farther downstream. The fishing was slow and I talked to a couple of anglers that caught a couple here and there. I agreed with them the fishing on the Chagrin was average. It was like that last fall as the fish really didn’t come in until spring. I managed to catch a couple more and my back started to ache. It was about 12:30P.M and I decided to head home to watch the Browns and Ravens.

Once again the Browns made the game interesting and I thought they lost the game when Phil Dawson missed the tying field goal to force overtime. The ball clanged off the bar and hit the crossbar, then bounced back onto the field. I was disgusted with the poor effort from the team and changed the channel. During commercial I switched back to CBS and noticed the game was still on. I was puzzled and found out that the officials reversed the call as the ball hit the crossbar extension. By doing that, the ball broke the plane, therefore it was good. The Browns won the toss and marched down field to set up the winning field goal. Dawson’s kick was good and I wished I could see the look on Art Modell’s face. These Browns make the Kardiac Kids look flat line.

I'll be taking Turkey day off for some much needed sleep. Next week, I'll be cashing in my vacation time. That week is also deer hunting season. A lot of guys will be hunting instead of fishing. Memo to self - find orange toque.

I'm Beat

Next year, I’ll be 40 years old, the big 40. This weekend left me sore and tired. Stumbling along the banks, buckling my knees, tripping over downed branches, feeling winded and a sore shoulder from pinning all day. I could be the poster boy for Advil. Time to hire a personal trainer and drop the fatso foods. But then again, I wasn't in great shape in twenties and thirties as I smoked and drank a lot. 

The two excellent days of fishing made all of those aches and pain more tolerable. The Grand is still producing a ton of fish. Some larger fish have moved in as I caught a couple of fat hens that topped 30+ inches. The fish are spread out and I hit them at every spot. The weather this week has been much colder. Didn't get a water temp reading, but after a hour, my feet started to ache from the cold water. Unlike last week, the fish started to retreat into their winter homes. The tail end of pools, flats and eddies were the ticket. I surprised to see other anglers passing up those spots. The fish were gobbling up and asking for seconds when it came to my uncured salmon eggs.

As I’m writing, we’ve had rain falling for several hours. A lot of the other rivers need rain and they could use a good flushing as the leaves are starting to pile up. Time to take a nap……

Grand Days

The fall steelhead run in Northeastern Ohio is official underway. One river that has been on fire is the Grand. During the past week there has been reports of some anglers hitting the motherload of fish.

Now time to vent. This week, I took Thursday off to go to court to fight a bullshit traffic ticket that I got from the North Olmsted police. Speeding is one thing, but to get a rolling stop infraction in my subdivision at 2:30 in the afternoon and there wasn't a car at the intersection??? I pull into the driveway and was ready to get out, only to see this cruiser come roaring up my driveway. The way the cop acted he thought I robbed a bank. I wasn't too happy that the cop raced up my driveway and I gave him an earful. The cop tells me there have been complaints about people not stopping. I called bullshit and starting arguing with him. I made a right turn and I stopped. A complete stop is so subjective and hiding in somebody driveway doesn't give him a full view. I could tell he was going to be a hard ass and wasn't going to give me a break. I figured I'll see how far I can take before he threatens me. We went back and forth and he started to get pissed. His buddy riding shotgun just glared me. Too bad, that's what happens when you dick people over, don't expect them to be pleasant. He issued the ticket and I told him I'll have my day court and get off my property. 

I went to court and told the judge not guilty and my case was set. A month later, I was back in court. I researched the internet and I didn't have good chance of winning because the officer had his buddy riding shotgun. I knew both of them would tell the judge that I didn't stop after all cops tell the truth all the time right? I didn’t want 2 points on my record, since I had to drive as a service tech, so I asked for a deal. I guess the cop must of had short term memory, because he didn't remember me. I thought he would look at me and say "your the guy in the red Jeep that was running your mouth" . He dropped the charge and issued me the ever popular burned out tail light. It was a $30.00 fine and I could live with that. It was a done deal as we didn't even step in the court room. I walked downstairs to settle up and then the shit hit the fan as I was presented with a $146.00 bill. The clerk told me the $116.00 was for court costs. I started bitching that my local income and property taxes paid for the judges, clerks and cops. She on the other hand, heard this a million times and was unmoved. What a fucking racket, you beat the charge but you'll still get it in the ass. I paid it and stormed out of the building. I was still steaming and what a better time then to head for the Grand.

Now for the fishing. Early in the week, a little birdie told me that the Grand had a monster run of fish. Most the other streams were starting to run low and clear. But the Grand was still holding its color. I arrived at the lower section of the river around 10:30A.M and I could see about 10 cars in the lot. As I pulled in, I didn’t see anybody fishing the one section above the bridge. I got dressed and walked down. I was puzzled to see nobody up or down stream, I had no idea where most of the people went. As long as they were far away, the better. The river had a nice flow and color, the visibility was about 2’ and slightly stained. I had a couple containers of King salmon eggs and put them to use. Within a few minutes, I had my first fish. That was a prelude for things to come as I started to hook in fish. I was stunned at the number of takes. I had barely moved 80 yards and I had 8 fish on the beach. The word was that a lot of Pennsylvania steelhead moved up the Grand. They were either fed up of being crammed in tiny pools or the sheer number of anglers scared them back into the lake. What was PA's loss was Ohio's gain and I welcomed the fish into our larger streams. I continued below the bridge and there were 3 guys fishing. I fished below them and I started hooking up. Those uncured eggs were the ticket as the other guys had skein and they were trying in vain to fight off the hordes of creek chubs robbing them blind. When it was all said and done, I had a banner day. Most of the fish were on the average size. I was surprised that the fish hit all afternoon as this spot is right in Painesville and usually gets hammered daily throughout the season. I wondered if the fish made it further upstream as I had plans to assault the upper stretches this weekend.

I woke early Saturday and the blast of cold air hit me as I walked out the door. It had to be below 32F as there was a heavy frost on the grass and the Jeep's windows. I drove off and headed for the mid section of the Grand. When I arrived it was 6:45A.M and it was pitch black. I started the long walk upstream to the mouth of a feeder creek. It was hard to navigate through the grass and sedge as it covered most of the trail. It was eerie as all of the vegetation was covered in frost and the woods were quiet. I finally arrived at the feeder creek and it was twilight. The water was low and I noticed the float was starting to drag. I only had about 2’ of line and I knew the fish wouldn’t be holding in water that shallow. I started to gun and run back downstream. Without sunglasses, I could make out rocks in the water. The water had a tea color and the flow was moderate to slow. The one pool that I do well in the winter was too low and I skipped it. I was able to find some deeper water. It was tough to pin as the flow was really weak, I was able to fish from the bank and I had the first fish of the morning, a jack. I fished for several more minutes and the creek chubs drove me out of there.

It was cold enough for ice to form on the guides as I struggled to get off long drifts. I hit another pool and worked one small hole. It paid off as a large hen crushed a pink sac. But, it was a case of one fish here and there. I knew there had to be one place where the fish were holed up. I finally found the spot around the bend and it’s a section that a lot of anglers walk by. The fly guys don’t fish it because of the trees and newbies can’t read the water here. I started to drift along the inside of the bend and a small hen took it. At first I didn’t set the hook hard as I thought it was creek chub. Then it was off to the races as I started to hook into fish. I managed to beach a couple of fish and lost a couple more. The river here is about 3’ to 4’ deep and is great during the winter months. I continued to walk downstream and I found another of my money pools vacant. This pool was a classic steelhead alley pool. It was about 3” deep and cut along the bank and tailed out to a riffle. I couldn’t see bottom and I knew this spot was packed with fish. I started at the head of the pool and started banging fish. It was about 11:00A.M and I landed my ninth fish of the morning. All of the fish were starting to get dark and I assumed they were from Pennsylvania. I was somewhat surprised to see nobody on the water this morning and I decided to head farther downstream as the fish in that pool shut off. 

I drove to the other side of the river and started the half a mile walk to one of my favorite spots. I finally arrived I was happy to see nobody there. This riffle spilled into a long run that was about 4’ deep. This run can hold a lot of fish when the river is low as there isn’t that much deep water here. It took some time to get the fish biting and then the dinner bell rang and the float started popping. It was a mixed bag of jacks, males and hens that fell for the pink sacs. When I use uncured eggs, I usually tie about 100 sacs, because I’ll go through a lot of them. After 5 drifts, I’ll replace the sac as they become white and lose their scent. I was down to 3 sacs and I had landed 17 fish. I looked at the time it was 3:00P.M, I told myself one more fish and I’ll head home. It had been about 20 minutes since my last fish. I moved farther down as I cleaned out the upper part of the run. My wishes were answered as a small jack leaped from the water. I released the fish and started the walk back. I was beat, my shoulder was tired and my back was aching. I finally made to the lot and called my buddy. He was stuck at home painting and wanted to go out tomorrow. I told him it was another banner day and I’ve never seen so many fish in the Grand. He told me he would fish for a couple of hours early in the morning and head home to paint. I laughed and said “If you were here today, you would of used every excuse in the book to weasel your ass out of painting". I took my time driving back and I when I got home I started the long process of tying another 100 sacs for tomorrow's trip.

Currently, all of the rivers are getting very low and clear. With the exception of the Grand, there are fish, but there are spread out. The colder temperatures don't seem to effect the fish as they are being caught in the faster water. The weather outlook for next week is a blast of cold air with rain or snow in the forecast. We could use another dose of high water to push more fish into the rivers.