Surfing for Steel! Lake Erie Steelhead Report and Update...

" Steelhead Alley Sun Set"

Saying that we need rain right now is a bit of an under statement! All of the Ohio and Pennsylvania Lake Erie Tributaries are a trickle of what they need to be to get the season going. The night time temperatures have been good and a few resilient fish are making there way into the lower sections of the streams in very small numbers.

The Lake Erie surf on the other hand has seen some really good fishing. Small pods of steelhead have been cruising the shore lines, waiting for the same thing we are RAIN!! Intercepting these pods in the early morning hours and during the last hour of evening light is your best shot at early season steel....

Emerald Shiner imitations between 3 and 4 inches have been good producers. Clouser Minnows, White and Olive Buggers, Rabbit Zonkers, and Custom Emerald Shiner Creations are good choices. If you are getting the bug to wet a line hitting the surf is well worth the time! Most of the beaches are angler free and dime bright fish are putting up one heck of a fight as they peel of line toward Canada!

SAO Guide Jason Gregory with a Lake Erie Steelhead from the surf.

If you look closely you can see a few steelhead cruising.(click picture to enlarge)

On a side note it looks like the PA Fish Commission is doing some work on trout run. The holding pool is being made much larger by the looks of it. We can only wait to see the out come of the construction work, as constant improvements are always being made to make the fishery better.

Construction work on Trout Run..

Until Next Time!

Tight Lines

Greg Senyo

Owner/Operator SAO

Super Busy in the Springtime!

All I can say is that this has been one crazy week.  We have been very busy and with the late season snowfall that the east side of the alley received, it left us scrambling on a couple days to get the job done.  However, thanks to hard fishing clients and a very dedicated family of guides, we were able to get the job done every time.  Having said that, I need to say thanks to all of our great clients and guides for a great week.  As Head Guide, it is good to have great people around you!

The week got started slowly after the rain and snow the region received.  However, as the weather improved we were back in the grind.  With multiple guides on the water most days, we were the kings of hopscotch as we crisscrossed the Alley to find the water needed to produce fish.

Below is a chrome fish we caught yesterday.  Their was some questioning on the stream as to what states fin clip this was, and so I decided to check it out this morning for myself.  The verdict: There is no documentation for a left pectoral and left ventral fin clip on the same fish.  However, the only state/country that clips a left pectoral is Ontario.  I am assuming based on information from Kevin Kahle of the Ohio Division of Wildlife Fisheries Division that the ventral fin clip may not be a clip at all.  In reality it may be a result of rearing in the hatchery prior to being placed in its home water.  Therefore, my verdict at this point is that this was an Ontario fish.  If you know more information on this clip, I would love to hear from you.  You can email me at flybum@windstream.net

 

WHAT APPEARS TO BE AN ONTARIO FISH (Left Pectoral Fin Clip)

ONE OF THE KENTUCKY BOYS PUT THE HAMMER ON A FISH!

JOE GETS THE FIRST FISH TO THE NET

A NICE LITTLE BUCK TO START THE DAY

PATRICK "FLYBUM" ROBINSON PUTS THE NET ON A FISH

AND THE RESULTS OF THE ANGLER/GUIDE EFFORT

We had the full gamut of clientele this week.  We had young and old, men and women, experienced and beginners.  Yesterday John Miller had a fine couple on the water.  Gary, his client, was back for his second time this spring.  We can confidently say that Gary is hooked.  This time, he decided to bring his wife along for the experience and she did a fine job!

MELISSA BANGS A BEAUTIFULLY CHROME FISH!

A GREAT COUPLE POSING WITH A FRESH FISH

GARY WITH ANOTHER NICE, FRESH HEN

Earlier in the week, we had Mark out on the water.  John Clouser was the guide and Mark was a very willing client.  He hit conditions just right in the midst of the daily melt off and fish were produced....along with a multitude of smiles.

Great job Mark on fishing hard and landing a bunch of nice fish!

MARK RELEASES A FRESH HEN

MARK LANDS A NICE LITTLE PIECE OF CHROME

ANOTHER FRESH FISH CAUGHT AND RELEASED

Jason Gregory was on the water off and on this week as well.  Yesterday's trip started off slow as the water was cooler and the previous days snow melt was still flushing.  The good news was that the water was on the drop and clearing all day.  As the day pushed on the fishing improved and many fish were brought to the net.

SCOTT WITH A NICE CHROME HEN.

STEVE LANDS A HEALTHY LOOKING HEN

SCOTT STRIKES AGAIN....THIS TIME A TIGHT CHROME HEN

STEVE FOLLOWS SUIT AND LANDS ANOTHER PIECE OF ERIE STEEL.

TIM POSES PROUDLY WITH HIS FRIEND GERRY, HIS GUIDE, AND YES, HIS FIRST STEELHEAD!

GERRY GETS HIS DAY STARTED WITH A YOUNG HEN.

Overall, the week has been great to this point.  We have multiple guides on the water today and after having spoke with them early in the day, fish are already in the nets.

We are starting to see more "chrome" fish mixed in with the "old" and "fresh."  Now is the time to be getting out for your chance at that monster piece of chrome.   If you are interested in getting out, we have limited availability, but will do everything we can to get you in the mix.  Give us a call at 888-453-5899 or email us at team@steelheadalleyoutfitters.com. if you are interested in a day on the water.

Until next time.....

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson

Head Guide 

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

The Usual Suspects

This is what we are looking for!

The rain has come and the area rivers are up, fast, and muddy. This round of precipitation should bring in enough fresh fish to last us through the spring season. Some of the Erie tributaries should start to fish on Monday if we don't see any more rain over the next couple of days.

We will be back to our usual everyday grind here pretty quick, and will have more for you then. If you are still pondering the idea of fly fishing the Lake Erie Tributaries for steelhead, don't hesitate to give us a shout at 419-466-9382. We are on the rivers daily and can provide you the best experience possible while on the alley.

We would like to thank everyone for a wonderful week of fishing! It was great spending time with each and every one of you!  We hope to see you in the fall!!

Here are a few pictures from the past couple of days on the water with the Reel Woman-Reel Men of Indianapolis Fly Club and a few other Great steelhead trips with the SAO staff.

Patti with one of many nice fish

Patti with a fat Elk Creek Hen

Patti with a nice buck

A sweet colored buck steelhead from Elk Creek

Donny with a nice Elk Creek Steelhead

Donny with another good fish

John with a nice drop back hen

Chuck with a nice Buck

Chuck with a bright Ohio steelhead

Nice Fish Carlos!

Carlos with a nice fat hen

John with another buck

John with an early morning buck

Merodith fights the monsoon for this fish

Merodith poses with a nice buck


Greg with a fresh healthy looking hen

Greg With a good rainy day buck

Bob holds a nice Ohio steelhead

We will have more for you soon!

Good Fishing

Greg Senyo

Owner/Operator SAO

Tis The Season..

Day two for Tom looked alittle like this...

Today was another successful day on our area streams and rivers. Jay Gregory, John Miller, and Will Turek reported good results, and good fishing with some amazing gentleman. Guys thanks so much for fishing with us!!! Some of the area streams in Ohio are up a bit and have gained some color, but this is surely going to bring in some very bright and energetic fish. The PA streams are also looking really good. Hot flies today were assorted streamers and minnow imitations like Clouser minnows, Senyo's Ice Man Minnows, and White Crystal buggers.

The rest of the week is going to be pretty hectic, and I am sorry to tell you that there will not be a blog entry until at the very least Saturday. The entire team with be on the water and as always pretty tired by the end of the day, so we will see you again on Saturday with an update and pictures from the SAO gang. Please don't hesitate to call me on the river at 419-466-9382 I will get back to you ASAP. Our Spring guide season has very limited days left!!! If you are seriously considering steelhead on the fly in Ohio or PA, we are on the rivers daily and know were the fish are.... We would love to hear from you...

Sorry for the short blog entry, but I still have alot of prep work to do for the week, so here are a few of our steelhead pictures from today's outings, I hope you enjoy and we will see you soon!!!!

Tom with 12 pounds of Ohio steel, sure makes the trip back to Wisconsin that much more enjoyable. Nice catch Tom!!!

Tom with another nice buck

Enjoying the last few moments of a good catch

Beau hooked up on a beautiful spring day.

Beau with a nice Ohio Buck

Be safe and good fishing!!!
Greg Senyo
Owner/Operator SAO

TGIF!

Let me introduce you to "Boss Hog" Nice fish Jeff!!

It was another good day on the water with clients with plenty of steelhead released to fight another day. On that note thank God it's Friday! The guys are really starting to look a little ragged around the edges if you know what I mean.... We will have guys out this weekend, but the majority are taking it easy until Monday and then back at it in full force.

We would like to thank everyone for a great week on Steelhead Alley! We had a lot of multiple day trips this week, and it was an honor being apart of so many great memories. Seeing Tucker's first Steelhead on the fly, long time friends reuniting on the water, fathers & sons with unbreakable bonds and unmistakable smiles, and of course being apart of some of the nice catches and some personal best fish on the fly. These are the most important values and reasons we guide!!!

We still have days available for this spring. Don't hesitate to call us at 419-466-9382 if you are interested in fly fishing for Lake Erie Steelhead. If you have been following this blog you can see these guys are guiding our local rivers everyday and know where the fish are! We would love to see you smiling in one of these steelhead pictures!

Pray for rain because we need it bad!!! Once we get it the fishing should get a whole lot better. Same types of fly patterns in our past blogs are hitting fish. Here are some of the Steelhead photos, plus a bonus shot from today on Steelhead Alley. Be safe this weekend and Tight Lines .

AJ with a feisty spring Ohio Steelhead


Jeff with another good sized Ohio Buck

Keep 'em coming their not photo shy

John With a fat Grand River Hen

Gary with a healthy fat Ohio steelhead

Tom with another good buck

Troy poses with a good looking fish

The bonus catch of the day!

Tom with his fly caught Walleye! Hey I thought we were steelhead fishing?

Father & Son Doubles? Priceless!

Marc & Tucker on a hot streak!

As you can see 12 year old Tucker had the magic touch Today!

Rich with a nice buck

Jeff with a great looking hen

Allen with his first Ohio Steelhead

Good Fishing!!!

Greg Senyo

Owner/Operator

Steelhead Alley Outfitters