SAO Pages

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Low & Slow Is The Flow, But Fast Thinking Leads To Good Fishing!

Most of the Lake Erie tributaries are low and clear, and the larger rivers are heading in the same direction. It has been some time since our last dose of precipitation, and everyone has been on the hunt for the small pods of fish that are scattered throughout the streams. The trend this week has been to log in a few wading boot miles to find quiet water and chances for success.

The good news is rain is in the forecast for the start of the new week. Only time will tell if we will receive enough rain to make any real difference. Our fall steelhead runs this season are showing mixed results in both Ohio and Pennsylvania. The one thing that is for sure is that there are plenty of fish around, and if you can locate them when they are willing to cooperate the fishing has been great. Some days have been a real challenge for both angler and guide, but I love a challenge and the reward that follows after a day on the water.

Here are a few of this weeks trips...

Bob and Theresa Share a photo together after
Theresa landed this 30+ inch trophy Buck!

Theresa releases her catch! The largest fish she has caught on the fly!

Bob struck gold after landing this beautiful lake run Brown Trout.

You can't have gold without silver?

Jay and Bob are all smiles after Jay put this fish in the net!
This was Jay's first fish ever taken on fly tackle!

Victor poses with a hard earned Ohio steelhead.

Dave and SAO Guide Scott McClintock share a
grab and grin with this nice Ohio Steelhead.

Court and Aaron with a solid Ohio steelhead.

Aaron with another good fish with SAO Guide Patrick Robinson.

I spoke with our head guide Patrick Robinson last night about his day on the water with Court and Aaron and he had a hilarious story that I thought would be worth sharing. Here it is in his words...

The day had been good but challenging and so we we decided to stick and move. We ended up hitting some bigger water over on the Grand and with the stain in the water, I decided to change up the rig....double ice man minnows were the order for the moment.

As I started tying the first fly on, I thought of a song from back in my high school days and started smiling visibly. For all of you who may remember the one hit wonder Vanilla Ice, and his song "Ice, Ice Baby," that is the song that came to mind. Yeah, totally hilarious...at least to a guide who has been on the water all day every day for some time! Given the fact that I had a 15 year old at my side, I stepped it up a bit. As I finished tying up the second ice man minnow, I started singing it...yeah, I was really off the deep end by this point.

As the words came off my lips, Aaron looked at me with a huge smile and a look on his face that screamed, "I know you didn't just do that." I looked back at him and said "what?" Like I didn't know. I said, "Come on man, it's the ice man minnow....you have to send it off right!" With that I threw the flies in the water in front of him and continued singing and dramatizing....."Stop collaborate and listen...." with that, I thought Aaron was going to fall over after seeing my skills at work :)

Now, this is where the unbelievable took place. As the words "Stop collaborate and listen" came off my tongue, the flies I just threw out in front of him started ripping across the flow. Aaron raised the rod to one hot and energized drop back hen. It ran him all over the river and put a huge smile on his face. All the while, I am trying to regain my composure due to the heavy dose of laughter I was dealing with after seeing this take place. The rest of the afternoon, I could look up river and watch Aaron busting a move and singing, "Ice, Ice Baby!" This was definitely a one of a kind experience, and one that will not be forgotten anytime soon.

Court and his son Aaron pose with the fish that slammed a
double Ice Man Minnow rig while SAO guide Patrick
Robinson offered the entertainment (see story above)

Tom rounds out a fantastic three days with another good fish!

Dave holds a fine looking Tributary Steelhead.

Eric finishes strong with another solid fish,
while fishing with SAO Guide John Miller.

Until Next Time!

Greg Senyo
Owner/Operator
Steelhead Alley Outfitters

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