A Pretty Cool Way To Start The Week!

Here are a few of the pictures from this past Monday and Tuesday with the Reel-Woman Reel-Men of Indianapolis. This was the 10th Outing Patti has put together for the club, and once again just outstanding people to fish with! Patti, Sesie, Duane, Meredith, John, and Bob we would like to thank you for another great outing! As always we look forward to seeing you next fall!

-ps. If you want to laugh your butt off, ask Patti to describe what a Sucker's face looks like?
 

Patti poses with a beautiful Elk Creek Steelhead that ate a white streamer.

Sesie started the day off on a good note!

Patti with a gorgeous buck Steelhead.

Released for another day!

Sesie with another great looking hen Steelhead.

Meredith with a solid chrome Ohio Steelhead.  

John poses with a heavy Ohio Steelhead.

Duane's grip and grin bonus Lake Erie Brown Trout that ate a Chicken Little.

Bob is all smiles after landing his first Erie Steelhead.

Duane hooked up on a good fish!

Duane with a solid PA Steelhead.

Duane and Bob finished the day with a pair of fine Lake Erie Steelhead.

The Weather Is Pretty Cold, But The Fishing Is Heating Up!

It looks like this cold front is going to stick around for another week at least. Even though it was down right chilly the past few days, we were able to laugh off the cold fingers and frozen toes by putting a few decent fish in the net on each outing.  We are seeing a mix of some fresh, hold-over, and drop-back steelhead each day, and the most productive flies for us have been B.O.B's Minnows, Ice Man Minnows, White Woolly Buggers, Chicken Littles, and various egg flies.

Most of the Lake Erie Tributaries are fishable, and we will be on a number of them pretty much everyday the rest of the spring if the weather permits. At times it can be very hard to get to the phone while your guiding, so please leave me a detailed message and I will call you back after 6pm each day. If you are interested in fly fishing for Lake Erie Steelhead we would love to hear from you! If you would like to request a trip you can submit fast and easily online by clicking on this link SAO Online Trip Request Form. I can also be reached at 888-453-5899 or email us at team@steelheadalleyoutfitters.com.. I check my voice mail and email daily.

Here are a few of the recent trip photos from the past few days!

Martin poses with a fine Lake Erie Steelhead on a recent trip with

 SAO's Brett McCrea.

Martin with another good Steelhead from a great day of fishing! 

John with a nice steelhead while fishing with SAO's Patrick Robinson.

Greg poses with a nice hen while fishing with SAO's Patrick Robinson.

Dave with a solid PA Steelhead.

Brian and Dave pose with a pair of Steelhead on a recent trip with SAO's John Miller.

Marty smiles with a good hen steelhead on a recent trip with SAO's Tim Hess.

Tom poses with a heavy shouldered buck steelhead from a recent trip with SAO's Tim Hess.

Victor and Edo smile with a nice double while fishing with SAO's Scott McClintock.

Gone Fishin'

We are all pretty much out and on the water as long as the weather cooperates! If you are interested in a steelhead trip this spring or need a river conditions update, please call me at 419-466-9382. If I can't get to the phone I will return your call after 6pm. Here are a few pictures from the past two days with Lou and Kim Hadad from Lovonia, Michigan. We have been out with several other groups as well this week, and we will get those pictures, river reports, stories, and hot flies posted shortly. Obviously the fishing has been pretty good despite the past few days being pretty darn cold for March!

Steelhead Alley Update... Another Bump In Flows!

Today's rain provided another bump in flows to area rivers and streams. Many of these streams were very close to dialing into fishable conditions and good water clarity, but instead the recent rain has slightly swollen the rivers once again, and current visibility is less than stellar. This should be the last push of rain for a few days (fingers crossed), and some of the PA Tributaries and smaller Ohio feeders should fish by this friday.

To add injury to insult old man winter wants to go out with a bang! Looks like more snow and chilly teen temperatures going into the end of the week. We have been able to get out in between the rain and small windows of opportunity to fish so far. The good news is things always get better, and the coming weeks forecast looks promising.  Here are a few recent pictures from the gang...

A beautiful hen steelhead that took one of Tim's tube flies.

Vince poses with a good Ohio buck Steelhead from a recent trip with Will Turek.

Nancy with a hard earned Ohio steelhead.

Bo poses with his first Steelhead on the fly, while fishing with Tim Hess.

Your first steelhead is always memorable....

Lake Erie Golden Bone Fish that inhaled a Chicken Little, spring is near...

This summer I will be teaming up with Mike Schmidt of Angler's Choice Flies to offer a fly tying work shop weekend! Fly tying, rigging, casting, lodging, good food, spirits, and a great time! Space is limited please contact Mike Schmidt at 614-638-6727 to RSVP.

If you are looking for a great experience with fly tackle on Lake Erie Tributaries for Steelhead, please don't hesitate to call us at 888-453-5899 or email us at team@steelheadalleyoutfitters.com.

Steelhead Alley River Report And Update...

Every time it looks like the Tributaries of Lake Erie in Ohio are finally going to dial in- we get more rain! Yesterdays rain gave the area streams and rivers another boost in flows, pushing away good fishable conditions by at least another couple of days.... On top of that the local forecast is calling for more rain and the return of snow by weeks end. Look for the PA tributaries to dial back in first, along with the smaller Ohio feeders. Keep one eye on the flow gauges and the weather radar this week... Here are a few pictures from a recent trip with SAO Guide Scott McClintock.

Bart and Tony started the day off with a fish and cigar.

Tony with a nicely colored little buck.

Bart is all smiles!



SAO Guide Tim Hess has been putting alot of time in with the switch rod this spring! Here is a nice hen steelhead that smacked one of Senyo's Egg Raiders.

A close up of the hen from above.

We are scheduled to be on the water pretty much everyday from here on out, but just like everyone else we will be following the weather closely this week. If you are interested in fly fishing for Lake Erie Steelhead and you are looking to hit our Tributaries this spring, we would love to hear from you! Call us at 888-453-5899 or email us at team@steelheadalleyoutfitters.com.

Thank God for Fish, Friends, and a Team!

It's no secret that we have had a very snowy winter and one heck of a lot of rain in recent weeks. The good news is that the last couple of days, the sun has chased away the clouds and rivers are starting to drop back and fish. A couple of days ago though the fight was still on.

I found myself on the water a few days back with a long time client and friend of SAO named Dave and this time he brought his long time buddy, Frank. This was Frank's first shot at Steelhead on the fly and I can say confidently that all of us at SAO are excited whenever we have the chance to make that introduction!

Dave and Frank drove up on Tuesday evening and unfortunately on arrival, they found it starting to rain. Well, you know how fickle the Alley can be. With ground that was already choking on the water it had, our nicely dialing streams were hit with every drop of rain and melt that came off. Much to my chagrin (not to mention my clients) we arrived on the stream the next morning to find less than desirable conditions. We decided that with a little visibility remaining, we would give it a shot. Perhaps the stream would drop back as quickly as she colored up and allow us a decent shot.

Well, as much as I would like to think that I am invincible as a guide and can always make the day happen, it just ain't so. We all know that fishing is fishing....and I for one am not invincible! Passionate at times, yes, but invincibility should probably be left as a designation for someone much better than me. So with a deep disappointment for my clients, I had to do the right thing by my clients and call the best part of the day our fellowship. Fortunately for our clients they had planned for two days...and sometimes that is the saving grace. As many anglers know who fish the Alley, "It's crazy the difference a day makes!"

Another fortunate thing is that at Steelhead Alley Outfitters, we are blessed to be a part of a team...and the team pulled through for our friends Dave and Frank. On day two the conditions improved and our team guide John Miller worked his butt off to get these guys on fish! Great job John for getting the job done under tough conditions. And congrats Frank on your first fly caught Steelhead...I just wish I could have been there to see it personally. Regardless, the SAO team is stoked that you guys got the fish....we look forward to the next time we share water...

Here are a few shots from yesterdays trip...

Our good friend Dave with a hot cheeked buck

Dave gets a nice dropback hen.

Frank puts a very nice colored up buck to the net.

Way to go Frank! We hope to see you again!

The best part of our opportunity to do what we do is the time we get to spend on the water with those who entrust us with their time and resources. So, thanks again guys for coming out and giving us a shot at putting fish in your hands.

To all those watching and reading, the streams are dropping back and we are watching the conditions improve daily. If you are in the mood to get out and give Steelhead on the fly a shot for the first time, or the first time in a while, please call us at 888-453-5899 or email us at team@steelheadalleyoutfitters.com.. It would be our privilege to spend a day on the water with you!

Sincerely,

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson

Head Guide

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

A Couple Of Great Days On Steelhead Alley!

This past Monday and Tuesday we had the pleasure of fishing with Dave and Chris Miller from Indianapolis. The river was still up alittle, but the water color and clarity was decent as we started out each morning. We had to work hard for them each day, deal with a few pairs of cold hands and icy feet, but we found plenty of fish willing to eat our bugs and distract us from the numbness.

Yesterdays rain set back a few of the Ohio tributaries by a couple extra days, but the PA Tributaries seem to be holding there own with higher than usual, but fishable flows. Water color and clarity can be an issue so watch for those bumps on the flow gauges. The best producing fly patterns for us this week were Orange and Chartreuse egg patterns and sucker spawn, White and pearl estaz buggers, and black/chartreuse leech patterns.

At this point we did not locate many fresh steelhead in the stream, but with the warmer weather they were starting to move in. We did however locate plenty of pods through out the river, most of which were deep in the larger and slower moving pools. We will be out pretty much from here on out as long as the weather cooperates, so we will have more for you later...  

Chris and Dave pose with a hefty Lake Erie Steelhead.

Dave with a nice Buck Steelhead of his own.

The majority of our fish came on one of Brett McCrae's Custom Buggers.

Chris hooked up on a hot fish! 

Chris poses for a quick shot with a good sized Lake Erie Steelhead.

Even though it was pretty chilly, the fish were full of fight!

Chris releases another nice Lake Erie Steelhead.

Dave with a nice Hen Steelhead.

I'm so glad spring is finally here!

Chris with another Lake Erie Steelhead to end the day on a good note!

If you are interested in spending a day or a few days fly fishing for Lake Erie Steelhead, we would love to hear from you! Our guide trips include all rods, reels, flies, leaders, tippet, stream side lunch, a great guide, and a good time. Please Call us at 888-453-5899 or email us at team@steelheadalleyoutfitters.com.. 

Tight Lines!

Greg Senyo

Steelhead Alley Outfitters