Bronze Backs, Farmer Tans, and Deep Fried Pretzels

After spending the last couple of months enjoying Northwestern PA trout fishing, it was awesome to come back to my home water- Lake Erie Tributaries! Over the past couple of days I have the pleasure of stalking beautiful Lake Erie Smallmouth Bass with Patti, Meredith, and John who made the summer trip up from Indianapolis. Long cast and small flies were productive for us the majority of the time, with opportunities in the morning and late evenings for top water and big streamer action.

We all put in the extra work perfecting on our always in style farmer tans, and ended the trip with a feast of pizza, wings, and deep fried soft pretzels from Mike's Sports Bar in Lake City, PA. If you are looking to get out we have a few limited days available. If you plan to get out on your own, stalking, long leaders, and even longer casting is required to catch a few of the bruisers cruising the shallows.

Olive, Black, Brown, and Gray BH Woolly Buggers in sizes 10 through 6 were the most effective flies the past few days. Here are a few of the pictures from the past couple of days!
   

Meredith poses with a solid Lake Erie Smallmouth Bass!

Patti is all smiles, after doing battle with this fine bronze back.

John poses with another solid Lake Erie Smallmouth Bass.

Buggers were very productive.

Patti with another fat Erie Bronze Back.

John with a stellar Lake Erie Smallmouth.

Meredith poses with another large Erie Bronze back.

Guide Tim Hess met up with us on Tuesday afternoon, and found a few willing to hit a big fly!

To my disbelief this late Steelhead smacked a Woolly Bugger, that was being stripped through the pool for Smallies! It fought as hard as a November fish despite it taking the fly on June 13th....

Kickin' Back in the Adirondacks

Well, we just returned home from our annual trip to the Adirondack Mountains of New York state and I am happy to say that despite the unusually cold and wet summer in the northeast, we had a great time as always! It is such a beautiful part of the world that I enjoy it in any weather....though it is better after ice-out when we can get the fly rods into action.

THE FAMILY POSES FOR A PHOTO ATOP MT. JO

This year was different than last as it is when you have young children, because as they grow and change more and more things become possible. So it was for my boys Timmy and Teddy. This year at 7 ( and a half!) Timmy was very able to wade the more gentle and less treacherous streams and can handle a fly rod well enough to take fish on his own. That is, when his 7 year old attention span is focused. Leave it to a fish on the end of a rod to get that job done! At four , Teddy is in his first summer of fishing and taking it by storm. No wading rivers for him quite yet , but he can fish from the shore or boat. I was happy to see that he takes directions and listens well enough to calm my ever-present concern about the mix of little boys and hooks.

ON TRAIL WITH THE CREW

THE SIGN OF BEAVER BRINGS BACK THE THOUGHT OF

HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF ADIRONDACK HISTORY BUILT ON THIS FUR.

AN AMERICAN SNAPPING TURTLE LAYS EGGS ON A BEAUTIFUL SAND PLOT

As for mom , well she seems more and more convinced by the excitement of fighting a feisty trout. I think she is actually beginning to look forward to it. At any rate she is a natural with a fly rod, and she proved with some very nice fish in hand.

Our home away from home this year was on a quiet and secluded Adirondack pond that was chock full of warm water fish. Smallmouth bass and crappies and of course the ever present sunfish made for most of the action. There is nothing like a fat pumpkinseed to capture the imagination of a young child as he feels the pull of what just may be pound for pound the most belligerent of all panfish. In our canoe we trolled streamers cast poppers and , truth be told, a worm or two under a bobber for the boys. Fish were had both by fly and by "garden hackle" and the delighted screams of the boys told the whole story.

BROTHERS, FISHING, IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS TEDDY!

JOHN READY TO SHOW THE BOYS THE ROPES

NIKKI WITH A SMILE THAT SAYS "I THINK I LIKE THIS STUFF."

TIMMY SCORES LARGE

LOOK AT PRETTY COLORS MOM AND DAD!

TEDDY IS WITHOUT WORDS AT THE SITE OF SUCH A MONSTER.

TIMMY GETTING THE HANG OF THINGS.

Our trout adventures had us on large and small streams and produced some wonderful browns , rainbows and brookies as well as a tremendous brace of landlocked salmon. Unfortunately a camera "accident" has deleted the evidence and I am forever unable to share the impressive pics of these small stream beauties. I know , I know .... I can hear all the "fish story" jokes now. I guess I asked for that one. Fortunately I can show you some great browns that made our day more than once.

JOHN GIVES THE REFRESHER COURSE.

TIMMY REMEMBERS QUICKLY!

A NICE LITTE RIVER RAINBOW

SHOULD YOUNG MEN BE SERVED THAT MUCH BUTTER?

SURE, EVERYTHING IS BETTER WITH BUTTER....RIGHT?

A NICE BROWN IN THE NET.

YET ANOTHER NICE BROWN TROUT

Oh, and don't tell Timmy that a sucker is , well , a less than desirable catch as that one was the fish of the week for him. I've got to say , on a 4-weight rod it was a great fight! But on a fly he tied himself it became also a personal trophy.

CATCH OF THE WEEK FOR TIMMY!

AN UP AND COMING FLY TYER

Mom and Dad got some time to themselves on the river on one weathery , drippy day, and didn't let the time go unfullfilled. Though a bit slow , the day still yielded some memorable moments and some lovely trout.

MOM & DAD CAPITALIZE ON SOME "US" TIME!

AND THEN CATCH FISH....

AFTER FISH....

AFTER FISH.....AND OF COURSE,

IT WOULDN'T BE A JOHN CLOUSER

BLOG WITHOUT THE SIGNATURE SELF PORTRAIT : )

Hope you are having a great summer and .......

Tight Lines!

John Clouser

Fly Fishing Specialist

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

Rain, Fish, and One Heck of a Man!

Do you ever find yourself with individuals who inspire you?  Well, on this day, my client was one of those.  Not only was he very accomplished in his field of expertise, but I could take this gentleman anywhere....and trust me, we did some bushwhacking today!

Nate hails all the way from sunny Florida and is no stranger to fishing on the fly.  His third time with us, this was the first time I had the pleasure of fishing with him.  

Throughout the day, I heard stories of Atlantic Salmon, Snook, Bonefish, Tarpon, Coho, Kings, and the list goes on and on.

As we hooked up time after time and did our best to stay dry on a rainy day, the conversation was rich with stories, lessons learned and being learned (from the Steelhead), and thoughts of how blessed we were to be on the water as opposed to working :)

Here are a few brief shots from our day....

"DOC" GETS THE DAY STARTED WITH A NICE FISH

PREPPING TO REVIVE THE FISH FOR RELEASE

DESPITE THE RAIN, "DOC" STAYED IN THE GAME

At the end of the day as we were walking the trail back to the truck, I asked Doc how old he was as I was admiring his ability to give so much.  I mean, if I could be honest, I was tired and he was hanging right with me.  Doc smiled and said, I'm 70!  I think Doc will vouch for me when I proclaimed, "I just hope I can see the river when I'm 70!"

One thing is for sure, Doc is the real deal and can hang with the best.  In fact as I write this, he is on the water for day two with John Clouser.  I'm  sure he is making as big an impact on John as he did me!

We are still fishing hard and enjoying every minute.  Steelhead are still around in force and Smallmouth Bass are cranking with 3-5 lb fish coming regularly.

If you are interested in fishing, give us a shout!

Until Next Time, 

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson

Head Guide

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

Steelhead, Suckers, and Smallies....Oh My!

Can anyone say going out with a bang?  Well, for many Steelheaders, this is the time of year when you are making your last trips and for those who have......they are definitely going out with a bang!!!

Today no matter where our guides were, it was hot!!!  This is the time of year when you have your shot at massive mixed bag of fish who will come to the fly.

Today, Greg alone brought 5 different species to the net.  From Steelhead clear down to the rare Quillback, the fish were slamming swung flies in force.

Here is a quick sample from one of our clients today. 

SENYO'S ICE MAN MINNOW TUBE STRIKES AGAIN

JOHN GETS A VERY NICE CHROME HEN

THE BIG BUCK THAT WAS LOOKING FOR THAT HOT HEN

SENYO'S HOT NEW PATTERN - THE EMERALD EGG RAIDER TUBE

Many people have been asking about our tubes.  For those who have inquired, all of the tubes we use are tied by our guides and exclusively on Eumer tubes.  Eumer is a great company based in Finland across the big lake.

We have tied extensively on their tubes and you can see a selection of them in this post alone.  We have used them successfully for many cold water and warm water species.  If you are interested in Eumer materials, go to our home shop to buy online.

A BEAUTIFUL DROP BACK HEN THAT LIKE THE TUBES

 EVEN THE RARE QUILLBACK ENJOYED MUNCHING A TUBE!

ONE OF THE INFAMOUS SUCKERS

We have mentioned in previous posts that the Smallmouth Bass are really turning on and today they were hot....and heavy.  Many bronzebacks were brought to the net giving a sporting fight the entire way.

OH YEAH.....BRONZE IS REALLY GOLD!

JOHN WITH AN AWESOME SMALLMOUTH, I MEAN FOOTBALL!

ANOTHER SHOT OF SENYO'S EMERALD EGG RAIDER TUBE

DOING IT'S DAMAGE!!!

Well, tomorrow we are hoping for more of the same.  We will be back on the water with and without clients.  We will give you an update on what we do when we get off the water.

Until then, tight lines.....

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson

Head Guide

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

The Season Continues

The Steelhead are still around and the season continues.  With higher than usual temps lately, we have been having some tough days!  However, today's change back to what we would expect this time of year brought our season back in line.

The day today was great for those who were out on the water.  With rain all day, many opted to stay at home....which was fine with us :)  We pushed out with clients and scattered ourselves across the Alley with great results.  

Some of the photos are below....

STEVE WITH HIS FIRST STEELHEAD...OBVIOUSLY A HEN

A SPRING TIME BONUS THAT I WILL TAKE ANY DAY!!!

Don't forget that as the Steelhead wind down, the lake run Smallmouth bass are coming in and spawning.  Fish in the 4-6 pound range are very possible and a whole lot of fun!!!  If you are interested in Smallies on the fly, the next month or so is dynamic on the Alley.

Give us a shout if you get the itch to bust some bronzebacks!

Until next time....

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson

Head Guide

Steelhead Alley Outfitters