Farewell Steelhead Alley

Farewell to the Alley. Those are four words that I would never hear myself utter. But, that's what been going through my mind as I was driving along the Chagrin River one afternoon on my way to a job. It's the last week of August and the river is barely flowing from the summer heat. Steelhead season feels like it's months away. I drive by some of my favorite pools and it will be odd that I'll be absent this upcoming season. Instead of stocking up for the season, I'm selling off some of my fishing equipment. I fret that I might not be able to get out one more time. My last day at work is September 6th and the house closes on the 18th. Then it's the long journey to Maine, where both me and my girlfriend Kim will be starting another chapter in our lives. 

It was Kim who brought up the idea of moving. For her, it was a long time desire to move back to her native New England after being in Ohio for 20 years ago. Her daughter went to the University of Maine and graduated in engineering. She currently resides in Portland, Maine and her extended family still lives in Massachusetts. Her son is entering his sophomore year at Ohio State and he's given his blessing and understood why Mom wanted to move. For both of us, it's been a wide range of feelings from excitement to full of anxiety.

As for me, I was intrigued as I loved our annual vacations in New Hampshire during the summer and fall. During those times, I really enjoyed hiking and photographing the White Mountains. With the exceptions of the mountains, New England reminded me of back home in Northern Ontario with lush forests and bounty of lakes and rivers. Plus there was the ocean as it was always a dream of mine to live by it. As much as I liked living in Ohio, it doesn't even come close to New England. 

Then there's my current place of employment and it was a huge factor in making my decision to move. The company I worked for the last 19 years was sold 4 years ago. What was once a tight knit mom and pop company eventually turned into a corporate toxic mess. I saw the writing on the wall and I had to get out. Back in June I told the branch manager that we were putting the house up for sale and moving out of state. With the hot housing market, it took less than a month for someone to buy it. Back in 2018 the house was bought for $250,00 and six years later it sold for $430,000. We timed it perfectly as our goal was to move by October.

But, September 6th couldn't come fast enough as I was marking down the days for that day to come. When I arrived at the office, I was cordial and contained my contempt for the new management. I was glad there wasn't a farewell party and I made sure Kim was there so I could get out as fast as possible. I saved my goodbyes to the people that I knew the longest and there were only two of them left. We hugged and I told them I would miss them dearly. It was an end of an era, because the place would never be same. Kim was waiting outside and she didn't even how I was feeling when I got in the car. Because she knew I was fed up with the bullshit a long time ago. As we drove off, I didn't even look back.

But, I couldn't bare the thought of leaving without saying goodbye to Alley and wetting a line. Luckily, we got some rain which has been a rare event this summer. It wasn't a lot, but east of Cleveland they got a little more. Just enough to get some flow and bring in some early arrivals. The window would be brief as the waters would clear quickly and the temperatures would soar back into the 80s later in the week. Monday would be the only day that I could get out. The night before I tied some sacs and I bemoaned that fact that I accumulated at least a season's worth of eggs in the freezer. Nearly every year, I go through fits of anxiety because nobody knows when the tackle shop will get eggs. But, I knew they wouldn't go to waste as I had a couple of friends that needed eggs this year. 

I drove out east to Conneaut and on the way I would glance at the Chagrin, Grand, and Ashtabula. Both the Grand and Ashtabula will always have a place in my heart as they're both my favorite rivers. I sighed and there was a knot in my stomach. Because, I knew I wouldn't get a chance to fish them before I leave. I arrived at Conneaut Creek and it was running off color and it had a nice flow. There were some people already there and I headed upstream. Early September can be hit or miss when it comes to early season steelhead. Conneaut is usually the first place I fish early in the season, because it's stocked by Pennsylvania and they stock a fall run strain. 

It would be a farewell tour of my favorite spots and the first one was under the route 20 bridge. I didn't see any footprints in the gravel and I knew it always held some fish. It didn't take long to hook into the first fish of my shorten season. It was a small bright silver hen that tore up and down the run. It turned out to be the only fish caught out that spot. There wouldn't be any encores as I didn't have a lot of time. I quickly headed upstream and fished another popular spot around the bend. I fished the entire pool and didn't get one dunk. Not wanting to linger and waste time, I immediately headed back to the main street bridge.

I crossed over the bridge and there were 2 other anglers fishing below the riffle. As it was like at the first spot, my first drift got slammed by a pretty large fish. The fight was brief as the fish tossed the hook. My first thought was the dreaded first cast curse as most of the time, it's the only fish in that spot. The two guys told me it was the first fish they've seen hooked. I pretty well knew that these old timers where not going to yield the run, so I left after 20 minutes and drove to another spot down the road.

I fished under another bridge and had again had no takers. I looked at the time and it was 10:30 so that meant another hour. I walked down to the trestle and I figured any fish would be hanging out in the faster water. Just like the other places, I quickly hooked into another bright silver fish. This time I wanted a picture as a farewell momento. It was the typical Lake Erie steelhead about 5 pounds and 25". I snapped a quick picture and gently placed it in the water. At first she swam off slow and gradually disappeared into the depth. That fish turned out to be the last one caught as the other spots below the trestle didn't produce any takers. That was offically end of the farewell tour. 

I didn't complain and I felt fortunate that I was able to at least catch something as I would have been more than happy to land one. As I walked back with a smile on face and soaked in the scenery. Because I have no idea if I'll ever make it back. On the drive back, I called a couple of friends to fill in the details of the trip. They joked that they'll miss my useful reports. I thought of all of the trips I made over the past 25 years. I remember driving through snow squalls, fishing in the bitter cold, getting up at five in the morning, racking up the miles in my old Jeep, fishing wearing a tee shirt in November, fishing during the Covid pandemic, and fishing well into May. While, I did fish solo most of the time, I will definitely miss fishing with the guys, sadly some have passed away recently like Dave and Walt. I'll miss the playful banter and ball busting with Bubba, Dick, Al, Brion, and Ken when we fished the lower Rocky during the spring run. They would have never thought that I would ever leave the Alley, because I loved fishing for steelhead so much. But unlike the other guys, I have no kids, grand kids and family tying me down. I made my decision early in the year when I told Kim that I supported her and I would always be at her side. I stood firm on my decision and never once wavered.

When I arrived home I placed my rod and gear in the garage corner. I looked at trusty ole rod and reel and we have over 20 years of stories to tell. Unlike my old fly rods, I couldn't bare the thought of every getting rid it. Later in the week, one of my friends came by to pick up some eggs. He was still in disbelief that I was moving and told me I was more than welcome to stay at his place, if I decided to come back for a week. I would love to come back next spring, but we'll have to rent before we find a house. Unfortunately, housing in Maine is very expensive and I have no idea how much is that going to effect us income wise. It will be at least a couple years before we get settled in as I'm starting a new job. I'll still follow the guys on social media to see their latest adventures so it's not like I'll lose touch with them.

For the reminder of the time it will be purging and packing. It will finally hit me when we see our possessions packed onto a moving truck and couple days later, we hit the road east towards to Maine. 

I will miss Steelhead Alley.

Lake Winnipesaukee Smallmouth Bass

Lake Winnipesaukee has been our annual summer vacation desination for the past 6 years. Winnipesaukee is the largest lake in New Hampshire and is a very popular desination as it's only a 2 hour drive from Boston. My first impression of the lake reminded of the Muskokas from my native Ontario. The lake is dotted with an impressive collection of cottages. Some are small and inviting and others are massive bordering on the adsurbed. During the summer months, especially on weekends the lake is a very busy place as boats and jet skis fill the air with noise and waves. But during the weekdays, surprisingly the lake can be very quiet and peaceful.

Due to its popularity, many cottage owners have started to rent out their places to people like us. With the exception of one, we've had a great time with our stays. One in particular that stood out was the one we rented on Bear Island this year. Initially, I wasn't thrilled because that meant being stuck on an island as I tend to be the type that likes to be on the go at a moment's notice. There would be no early morning trips to the White Mountains for photos or hiking. I was given the riot act by my girlfriend about not harassing her uncle and cousin who happened by the only ones that owned boats. I was resigned to the fact that I would be stuck on the island. So that I meant I would primarily be fishing. In past years, I really didn't fish, because I didn't have the proper gear as all of my gear is for specifically for steelhead. Plus I had no idea if I had access to a boat, canoe, or kayak. 

This summer I bought an ultralight rod and reel as I wanted to fish the local rivers during the summer. But so far this summer we've been a drought and many of them are barely registering a flow. Prior to our trip I reasearched where we were staying I noticed we were in a cove. I downloaded a depth chart app and noticed the island was perfect habitat for smallmouth bass. The cabin we were renting from allowed us the use of their Hobie kayaks. The next step was making an big online order. I went to my go to store Fishusa in Erie, Pennsylvania for supplies. I ordered hooks and sinkers specifically for drop shoting and jig heads for tubes and minnow patterns. I ordered a bunch of plastic baits like Roboworms, gulp minnows, flatworms, and tubes.  

Two weeks we later we arrive at the boat dock and it's blistering hot. The entire Northeast is locked in massive heatwave. The weather for the week is to be in the upper 80s and with the humidity it will feel even hotter. It's a quick 20 minutes to the cabin and we enter the cove. There's a large girl's summer camp and a collection of smaller cottages. Our cottage is located at the end of the cove. It's a large A frame cottage that looks relatively new. We immediately crank the AC and get unpacked. Due to the sweltering heat we all decide to head out on the boats and go for a swim. I set the alarm for 5:00am before heading to bed.

The ultrlight setup I had would be perfect for this type of fishery as I wasn't expecting to tangle with any monsters. The rod I bought was a 7' Dobyns and the reel was a Shimano Sedona 1000 with 6# braid. I packed the gear on the kayak and shoved off the beach. The air was slightly humid as I paddled out into the cove. In the distance I could see the 2 loons that have been hanging out since yesterday. One my favorites sounds is hearing the wails of the loon in the dark. But with the roaring of the AC, there's no way to hear them. I paddle past the markers and I can see at least 10' down. There's large rocks scattered about and I continue to paddle farther out. I downloaded an app prior to the trip that gave me a precise GPS location and I was directly over 20' of water. According to the map, there's a steep drop off that ran along the island for at least 1/4 of a mile. 

I've drop shotted for bass and walleye numerous times on Lake Erie and done very well with this method. For my drop shot setup I use 5' flouro leader and #1 Gamakatsu drop shot hook. I left a 2' tag and use a 1/4oz egg sinker. Since I didn't have a fish finder, I had no idea if the fish would be suspended so I would have to make the adjustments. 

I pulled out an oxblood 4" roboworm and placed it on the hook. I casted out and waited for the line to go slack. Once I started reeling in slowly, I could feel the egg sinker popping along the rock bottom. I tend not to jig, but once in a while I'll flick the tip of the rod to entice a strike. If there's a little wind, I'll just drift along and let the action of the bait do its job. Immediately I could feel something hitting the worm and the culprit was most likely rock bass. I would set the hook and nothing. I continued to work along the dropoff and then I felt a solid hit and I set the hook. Instantly I knew it was a smallmouth bass as it stubbornly hung on the bottom. Using an ultralight it felt larger and the fish was strong enough to pull line off the reel. Due to the clear water, I could see the fish shimmer as I reeled it up. Once it got to the surface it peeled off a nice leap from the water. I wasn't a big fish, probably around a couple pounds. It was a nice start to the morning.  

Over the next couple of hours I caught a variety of smallmouth and rock bass ranging from 6" to several 16" fish. The roboworms were a big hit with the fish. But I was getting concerned that I was losing them. I brought along some nightcrawlers and whatever was down there robbed me blind. So started using other plastic baits and I immediately noticed a drop off in takes. Then I heard the blaring of trumpet from the camp nearby. It was loud enough to startle me as it continued to blare. I watched on bunch of kids stumble out their respective cabins as it meant it was time for breakfast. I also heeded the call and returned to the cottage for coffee and breakfast. I was satisfied with the morning outing and tomorrow I would fish another spot. 

Over the course of the week, the weather was a little fickle. We had several thunderstorms roll through overnight. The wind in the morning would pick up and trying to stay in one spot was extremely difficult. Most of the time I would just use my drop shot rig and drift along. As long as I made contact with rocks I was hitting fish. But once I stopped feeling rocks and noticing the sinker dragging through weeds I would have to move. Over the week, I exhausted my supply of roboworms and had to resort to flatworms and minnows. That meant I started hitting more rock bass and compared to smallmouth they were nothing more than dead weight. The one surprise of the morning was when I was drifting, my rod got slammed hard. I wasn't sure what to make of it and my first thought it must be a very large smallmouth. But, it didn't fight like smallmouth. It turned out to be a decent sized largemouth bass. The day before a couple guys were casting spinner baits, which I thought was amusing, because there were no weeds in the cove. I watched them cast into 6 feet of clear water with little cover for fish. They saw me hitting fish and asked what I was using. I told them I was drop shotting plastic baits off the dropoff. They didn't take my advice and continue to cast to no avail. 

When drop shotting started fizzling out, I would use a tube jig setup and they started smashing them. The best color was anything in green or pumpkin. One morning I tried to get out the hump in the lake, but I had to paddle pretty far out. The app showed the tip of the hump was at 16' and it dropped off to 35'. If it wasn't for the wind and chop, I'm pretty sure I would have hooked into some decent fish. I tried fishing it but it turned out to be a disaster because I couldn't effectively fish it because the wind kept blowing me off it. Since the lake is very large, it's extremely difficult to fish from a kayak, unless your kayak is fully tricked out like the ones I saw at the boat ramp with the built in electric motors. But I would reluctant to head out in the big water, especailly during the weekends and dealing with heavy boat traffic. I was more than content to fish around the cove as I didn't see any other anglers other than the two guys I saw previously. That was something I've noticed over the years on the lake was I rarely saw people fishing whenever we went out on a boat ride. 

Winnipesaukee also has a great land locked Atlantic salmon and lake trout fishery. There's plenty of deep water that holds them. It also has a great warm water fishery as there's plenty of weedy bays that hold largemouth bass and northern pike. Sadly, there's no walleye in the lake and it's doubtful the state would even consider stocking them. Despite its huge size, I thought it was a relatively easy lake to fish if you had a map. Because of numerous islands, you don't really need to go out too far. But since I using a kayak, I was pretty well limited to a small section of Bear Island. If I had a boat, I probably wore my shoulders out catching fish. 

Overall it was a fun of week of fishing, even though it was way too hot fish during the daytime. The heat pretty well sucked the energy out everyone as most of us resorted to napping in the afternoon. We didn't do any hikes because that meant hiking up with gallons of water and most of us most likely drop dead from heat exhaustion. The last day at the cabin, we all decided chill and relax. Saturday morning we said our goodbyes made the long drive back to Ohio and I commented thankfully this would be last long trip. Almost 11 hours later, we finally made it home dead.