A Great Start This Week!

As of today most of the streams in both PA and Ohio are starting to flow on the low side. The Grand River is still a tad high, but will be looking pretty good here in the next day or so. The only good thing right now is the streams are holding a little bit of stain due to the ice melt and sediment falling from the rock and shale cliffs. They are calling for light rain on Wednesday, but I don't see it really effecting the tributaries very much. There are a few fresh fish moving about, but the majority of fish we are catching are older hold over fish from the fall and winter, hopefully that will change here very soon..

A variety of small egg patterns in white, chartreuse, orange and pink have all put fish in the net. Caddis patterns, Golden and Black stone fly nymphs, and Small Ice Man Minnows(see our fly tying blog for tying instructions) have also been very effective.

I would like to thank Jim & Clyde at Folly's End fly shop for inviting the SAO staff, Jerry Darkes, D'arcy Egan, and myself to participate in such a great steelhead work shop this past weekend in Girard. It was great meeting so many great new people with the same passion as myself. We thank each and every one of you for coming and we were honored that many of you wanted to spent the day talking steelhead with us.

We are booking fast for the spring, but we have prime openings still available! If your interested in fly fishing for Lake Erie steelhead give us a shout at 419-466-9382 or email at info@steelheadalleyoutfitters.com. The guys will be guiding East to West the rest of this week, so we will have more for you shortly. Here are some of the recent photos from the SAO staff.

Hope you enjoy and have a great spring!!!

Tight Lines!!!

Greg Senyo

Owner/Operator

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

Lucky 13

It's good to be back in the saddle after a long winter stuck inside. And superstition be damned, I was raring to go for the first trip of the Spring season on Friday.

I had the opportunity to fish with Matt Akers, a super nice guy and surgeon from Tiffen. After a quick stop to pick up a license we headed over to the river to see what was happening. With the super cold nights we've been having I decided to get a slightly later start than normal. And it's a good thing we did.

From the road we could see the water had good color and looked clean, but once we got down to the river we could see there was a good amount of slush and ice chunks.

Matt breaking in his new steelhead rod!

So, we headed downstream to set up shop and wait for the slush to burn off. Lucky for us, the weather was cooperative and within a few hours the river was clear and the fishing was on.

First fish to hand.

A trout fisherman, Matt was new to the steelhead thang' and it took a few "trial runs" before we got one to the net. And what a beauty she was. With a little bit of expert coaching throughout the day he settled into a nice rhythm of cast, mend, drift... and set the hook!

Chrome female full of eggs.

We had to work pretty hard to keep things interesting throughout the afternoon, but by this time Doc Akers was flinging out the indicator with a double spey cast. Yep, a double spey on a single hand rod! I admit, I was proud. He was having a blast. And the fish were impressed also.

A double spey too good to refuse.

Another one in the net.

At the end of the day we decided to fish a spot we hit earlier. The Doc was feeling pretty good with several steelhead to hand and was determined to give those fish a taste of their own medicine. After a couple dozen drifts a big female took the fly and the fight was ON!!

Saving the best for last.

Remembering to keep his rod parallel to the bank and a low rod tip,  he jockeyed for position to maintain as close to a 90 degree angle between the line and rod and keep the most pressure on the fish. After a tough fight, he landed the nicest fish of the day.

Although we were a little bummed out we didn't run into any masked ax murders, it turned out to be a pretty good day on the stream. Even if it was Friday the 13th...

Will Turek
SAO Steelhead Guide

A Day of Field Testing

Orvis Zero Gravity Helios Switch Rod Prototype

Yesterday was one of those good days.  Not only did we get to test some new gear and spend time with some friends, but we got to catch some fish.  We do that a lot for other people, but not nearly as much as we would like for ourselves.

On this day, the business at hand was to fully field test the forthcoming Orvis ZG Helios 1174 switch rod.  With switch rods being one of the new waves of the fly fishing world, many rod manufacturers are looking to add the "switch" to their line up of quality rods and the Orvis Company is no exception.

A Nice Colored Up Buck Comes Early

The place for testing was slated, due to weather forecasts, for Elk Creek in northwest Pennsylvania.  Temperatures were very cold overnight and at the point of our arrival in the morning, large amounts of ice and slush kept us at bay....but only for a while :)

Greg Senyo With A Nice Buck

As soon as we could penetrate the heavy slush, we did so and in short order fish were coming to hand and the ZG prototype was getting tested.  Here Greg lands a nice buck early in the morning.

A Gorgeous Fresh Hen Full of Eggs

A fresh healthy hen full of eggs brought smiles to all our faces.  It is a forecast of what is yet to come on many of our streams.  While we were at this location, we connected with a couple of anglers fishing nearby.  We quickly struck up conversations while waiting on slush to burn off and ended up sharing holes, nets, and the days experiences.  

Here one of the guys shows the bend of his own rod.

A New Friend Fights a Fish In The Slush

After a successful morning session on upper Elk, we decided to move closer to the lake and hopefully closer to some hot fish.  Here is a shot I took of a very quick but effective tube tie (Senyo's Ice Man Minnow).  I took this just after tying it on.  This isn't a complete fly (missing eyes) as I ran out of eyes.....nevertheless, I tied up and decided to go to fishing it.

Ice Man Minnow Mini-Tubes Are Deadly!

In a matter of minutes I had my first fish on a tube on Elk.  It was a beautifully fresh hen much like the one Greg had caught earlier in the morning.  After the release of that beautiful hen, I was back at it and in a matter of time, I was hooked up again.  This time I had Greg close by and he was able to get a few shots of me fighting and landing the beautiful fish.

The Fight, The Landing....

At Steelhead Alley, we tie a lot of flies!  Some are old, some are new, some are standard, some are tubes.....regardless, we test our flies and they work!  Here is a photo of the fish I am landing above with the hook in the corner of the mouth.  Need more proof, spend a day with us.  We would love the opportunity.

That Deadly Ice Man With It's Victim

An Average Buck Landed by Patrick

To close out the day, we pushed further down stream yet.  We had a couple of more holes we wanted to hit, and it paid off.  We were able to get some really nice shots of that ZG prototype in action and a beautiful hen that was in the process of dropping eggs.

Capturing the Action of the Rod With A Fish On.

Last Fish of The Day...and What a Beauty!!!

Even though it was a cold day, the fishing was hot.  We are now in the throes of our spring season either field testing gear or fishing with clients.  If you are interested in getting out, keep us in mind.  We have many guides available for Ohio, Pennsylvania or New York.  You pick, we will take care of the rest.

In the meantime, be safe on the water and tight lines!

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson

Head Guide

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

Can I get a rain check Please?

Winter black stones were present every where this weekend and stone fly imitations like Senyo's wiggle stone in peacock and blue were good producers.

I find it pretty funny how the weather works over here on the alley.. The guys spent most of the weekend scouting out just about every river in Ohio and PA, and caught and located alot of nice fish. Well the intent was to fish with clients all week, but again here come the rains!!! Thankfully everyone was able to reschedule and we will be hard at it by weeks end, that is if the weather cooperates.

Dan with a beautiful colored buck.

At any rate and despite the high and muddy rivers, the good news is PA has seen a good push of fish and the rivers will eventually come down. Hopefully a good push of steelhead will enter the Ohio tribs during this series of high water as well. Hot flies for the guys this weekend were #12 Pink eggs, peacock and blue wiggle stones, assorted sculpins and buggers, and Ice man minnows.

Steve with a good looking Elk Creek buck!

Our spring schedule is filling rapidly and if you are thinking of making a trip to our Lake Erie tributaries for steelhead this spring, please don't wait to reserve your prime date for the spring run. Please call Greg Senyo 419-466-9382 to RSVP.

Pink was the hot color for egg patterns this weekend.

Remember on March 14, 2009 we will be at Folly's End Fly Shop with D'arcy Egan and Jerry Darkes providing a steelhead work shop. Steelhead Alley history, fishing tactics, and fly tying will all be covered during the day. Lunch is also provided during the seminars and afterwards on the water help and demonstrations will be provided. Please contact Jim at Folly's at 814-474-5730 or Greg Senyo at 419-466-9382. This event is limited to 30 and is filling fast, so don't hesitate to RSVP if you plan on attending.

Joel holds a nice Elk Creek Steelhead.

Tim with a nice scout trip PA hen.

Tim's Release.

See you on the water and have a great spring!!!!
Greg Senyo