Trick or Treat

Took a well deserved day off from all of the bullshit at work and what better way to spend it fishing on the last day of October. Earlier in the week we had some cold weather and my procrastinating caught up to me as I waited until the last minute to get my gas hooked up at my apartment. Wednesday night the temps dipped into the low 30s and I froze my ass off. Out east in the snowbelt there were reports of snow and sleet. With the front going over the lake, it was either lake effect rain or snow. I heard through the grapevine that some of the eastern tribs got high as of result of precipitation. How much rain or runoff was anybody's guess. That was perfect for Friday as the weather was be sunny and in the 60s.

With it being Halloween, it would been a hoot dressing up as a giant pink spawn sac or piece of skein or maybe as Donnie Beaver with a giant streamer stuck in the eye. Joking aside, I was going to meet up with a good friend that I haven't fished with for a while. Earlier in the week, I made plans and kept an eye and ear out for info. I heard some rivers were too high and others too low and others had very little fish in them. But there's always a place to fish on Steelhead Alley.

I arrived at the river just before first light and noticed it was in perfect condition. The water was stained from the rotting leaves and the color was perfect for concealing steelhead. The night before I tied a bunch of assorted flavor sacs - peach, pink, red and chartruese and any leftovers would be used as treats for the neigbourhood brats. I was to meet up with the Dfishinfool - Don Mathews. Don was scouting the river for the upcoming weekend of guiding. But before he showed up, I killed some time by spanking fish out of a hole in one section. Eventually he arrived and I was armed with the pin and he had his fly rod and battle ensued. Due the tannic conditions and lower water levels, most if not all of the fish were in deeper runs and pools. We had some double headers and every spot gave up some fat spunky fish. We ended up equal in the pin vs fly battle, but I'm sure I'll kick ass as soon as the snow flies. Most of the fish were holding in the tail end or slack parts of the pools. We continued downstream and I ran into another old friend and we chatted for a bit.

By now the sun was coming up and I was going to head over to the Conneaut with Don as he was going to Erie to get some supplies. I called a source to find out that the Connie was still high and off color. I had second thoughts and Don told me he would stop by to take a look on his to Erie. I started back upstream and tried the same spots we fished earlier. I recieved a call and was told the Connie was out of the question today and tomorrow. It was 11:30A.M and the sun was high in the sky and the temperature was rising. The bite shut off and I was starting to get really hot, so I walked back to the lot and took off the two sweaters I was wearing. I hopped in the Jeep and drove into town to fish a couple of spots. As expected there were a lot people that called in with the 24 hour flu. I was able fish one spot and caught some more before calling it a day around 3:00P.M. I wasn't thrilled at the thought of driving into Cleveland around 4:00P.M as 2 lanes were closed on the I-90 bridge crossing the Cuyahoga River. Sure enough the traffic piled up about a mile from Deadman's curve and I was lucky enough that I knew my way around "da hood" and avoiding gridlock.

We're still waiting for that elusive blowout to happen. For the time being, every time the water levels go up some more fish push up. However, the majority of trees have yet to shed their leaves. Most of those leaves have ended up on the bottom of the streams and the water has that tannic color. Tannin is a weak acid that can affect steelhead's behaviour and movement. But with a good presentation, fish can be had. As it's with every year here on Steelhead Alley, we eventually get a rainfall that flushes out the leaves and silt. Hopefully, that doesn't happen the 3rd week of November - the week of my vacation.

Night Time Steelhead

There's something about fishing at night for steelhead. The eerie feeling that something or someone is watching you. Hearing the rustling of some unknown creature in the surrounding woods. The hairs on your neck stand up. You stand alone in the dark and you don't see anything. All you hear is the sound of moving water. Fishing in the dark isn't for everyone. It takes a special type of angler that loves the challenge of fishing during the night. The biggest appeal of night fishing is you won't have to worry about other anglers. When the crowds leave and the river becomes a quiet place. Once the sun set and darkness encroaches, steelhead will become active. I've done it several times on the Rocky and Conneaut. It will either be early in the morning or after the sun set in the fall or spring. I've learned from one guy, who we call the night stalker as he does a lot of fishing in the dark, even in the winter. Over the years, he's honed his craft and enjoys his time out when most of us are fixtures on the couch watching TV. 

When comes to night fishing, you need some form of light. A head lamp isn't strong enough. The best lights are the universal beacons from Rod and Bobber. Nearly every Walmart carries them or you can buy them online. They come with a variety of holders for different types of floats. I prefer the holders that fit on the float as it's more stable and you don't need to cut the line. You simply slide it up the float until it's snug. I find either the 5g or 6.2g Raven FM floats to be the best for the set up I use. The light is one of those sticks that you crack and the fluid inside mixes and starts to glow. The stick is pretty bright as you can see from a far distance. 

The hardest part of night fishing for steelhead is detecting the hit. When the water is clear, the light is strong enough that it can be seen underwater. If the take is light, you might think you've bottomed out and not set the hook. But most of the time, when the water is warmer, the hits will be fast and violent. What I've learned is watching the light for any odd movements and setting the hook regardless. 

Most of the time when I'm night fishing, I'll be using sacs. But, another effective presentation is Berkley's power bait atomic glow tube jigs. The jigs are prerigged and come in packs of 3. I like the use the 1/16 ozs jigs. You can use a headlamp or the flashlight from your smartphone and shine it on the jig. Within a few seconds the jig starts to glow. This is very effective in the spring when shiners will come up the lower section of the rivers. There's times when I've caught a lot fish using them. 

But before you head out make sure that you're allowed to do it. The Rocky River metroparks closes at 11:00 PM so if you're out on the river, don't be surprised that you a visit from the park ranger asking you to reel in and have a nice night. Other communities might have hours where you're not allowed to fish during late evening hours. Usually I don't like to fish in the dark in rural areas, because I've heard cases of people cars getting broken into, especially around the more popular spots. However, I really don't know anybody that pulls an all nighter when it comes to fishing at night. I'll usually fish for a couple hours once the sun sets and that's about it. 

Night fishing can be thrilling and a challenge. So instead of sitting on the couch flicking through channels on what to watch, head down to the river and give it a try. 

No Browns Game = Everybody on the River

Finally after weeks without any sufficient rainfall, Steelhead Alley received some much needed rain and during the mid-part of the week, the weather got colder. With the combination of the two, many steelheaders hoped for a big push of fish into the streams.

As with every year, I plan my trips farther east as the fishing tends to be better, due to the close proximity to Pennsylvania. I got a report through the grapevine the streams didn't get blown out, but got high and stained. Stained conditions never bothered me as I knew where to find fish, plus I had goober sized sacs to get the fishes attention. I arrived at first light to see that the water was high, but manageable. I stuck to the lower end and knew of some killer holes. I fished one spot and drifted along the slot and paid off with some large fresh chromers. The majority of fish caught were hens loaded with eggs and they were on the large size. Due to the high water the number of anglers were low and I had the spot to myself for several hours. The fishing was good for an hour and died off, so I decided to head to another trib. This trib was not as high, but the water was stained. The fishing here was a little tougher as I hopped from hole to hole in search of players. The only players I found were those annoying little bastard creek chubs. In one section, I hooked one after another and flung them across the stream. Too bad it wasn't Northern Ontario as I would love to use those fat pricks for pike bait. But I managed to weed out the chubs and caught a couple of steelies. Overall it was a slow afternoon but it was nice to be out and enjoy the fall weather.

The following day was another story. I arrived to see about 10 cars parked along the road. You would of thought the internet got plastered with reports. There were no reports on the local fishing sites and it was the good ole word of mouth that got around. The spot I fished yesterday had 8 people standing in the water waiting for first light. I hit the trail walked upstream and it would be a morning of "gun and run". Even though the water conditions were better, the fishing was tough. There were more people than fish caught and I lost count of the people I passed and people that passed me while I fished. This was due to the nice weather and the Browns had a bye week. I usually tolerate the fair weather fishermen and none of them bother me this morning. I managed to catch some fish that were holding in narrow runs with a depth of 3' off the main current. As I walked back nearly ever spot was occupied and I noticed a lot of people were fishing in sections that never hold fish. For shits and giggles I decided to check another spot and there were 20 cars parked along the road. It was late in the morning and I decided that it's still early in the season and I could wait for colder weather.

I still think it's early in the season and this past high water episode didn't bring in a ton of fish. I heard across the border the fishing was better, but I would rather have my balls stuck with ice picks then fishing the Elk in October. The good news the fishing will get better as the weather gets colder (no more fair weather fishermen) and the shorter days.