Smallies...But Not Really!

Every year with the winding down of Steelhead season, as we say our goodbyes, hello's to another fanciful gamefish are heard. It is no secret that many a warmwater fisherman would rather pursue Smallmouth Bass than anything else. They are feisty little fish, or are they. With the warming weather, the trees start to leaf out and the forest floor blankets itself with wildflowers and morels...the signs of spring are here and the snow has gone at least for a little while.

The trees show signs of spring as the green

explodes across the forest canopy.

All of our tributaries on the Alley have resident populations of Smallmouth Bass, but these aren't what really tickle my fancy. Instead it is the lake dwelling cousins that come in river to visit family that peaks my interest. These fish start moving in starting in late April, and by mid-May are often in prespawn mode. A few days ago, SAO guide Ben Barger and myself decided to get out for a day for ourselves. The fishing has been very good when you can get on the stream, but the rains have made it tough! Nevertheless, when we went out, we hit it right and capitalized.

SAO guide Ben Barger holds a very

nice pre-spawn Smallmouth.

Ben's fish hammered one of Senyo's Egg Raider Minnow.

All of our fish came swinging big sculpins on lighter weight rods in the dropping and clearing flows. Man was it fun to watch the light rods double over under the weight of these brutes.

SAO Guide Patrick Robinson poses

with another healthy Bronzeback.

Senyo's Shaghead Sculpin brought this fish to hand.

Time and again, the rods bent and we were glad to watch it happen. Below, it was Ben's turn once again and I was there to grab a couple of shots of the moment.

Ben fights a nice lake run Smallmouth.

Bringing the fish to hand...

And the lip n' grin! Always fun, even after many years!

Now, of course I didn't want to miss out on too much of the fun, so I got to swinging the waters as well and time and again, we came up with beautiful pre-spawn females full of fight and many jumps to boot!

Another hook up on a great day of Smallmouth fishing.

What a pig!

Yes, she had that big of a belly! It didn't matter how I held

her, the belly still spilled out of my hand.

All in all it was a great day! We had a blast and I think the photos show it. When I get a chance to put together some short film (no frills) I will post it. We did shoot a couple minutes that is good for bringing a bit more life to the action...so stay tuned.

Until then, get out...the gettin' is good!

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson

Head Guide

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

Finally Feels Like Spring!

I can't remember the last time we experience so much rain during the spring season? Regardless- This spring was the toughest to try and schedule trips due to the high water and more high water! The trips we were able to complete were due mainly because many of you had the flexibility in your schedules, or needed to fish as bad as we did and were willing to gamble last minute. We thank you all for that!

Currently the Ohio Tributaries are high, but on the drop.... The PA Tributaries such as Elk Creek are already fishable. There are still good numbers of steelhead still available in Ohio, and with the unseasonably cool temperatures you should be able to find fish through the end of the month. Just an FYI more rain and thunderstorms are in the forecast, so stay on top of the weather reports and USGS gauges.

We still have a few guides available for spring steelhead if you are interested in getting that last steelhead fix of the season in... Let us know as the season is winding down!

Lake Erie Steelhead that took one of Senyo's Black Egg Raiders.

April Vokey with a nice Lake Erie Steelhead

Lake Run Smallmouth Bass have started to show up on the Lake Erie Tributaries, and it is not long before we will start targeting them! We have already been taking RSVP's for late spring and early summer Smallmouth Bass fly fishing trips. We have already seen and caught a few fish in the 5 pound range, and with all the high water, we should see an exceptional bass run this year. If you are interested in spending a day or two fly fishing for Bronze Backs, please don't hesitate to call me at 888-453-5899 or email us at team@steelheadalleyoutfitters.com.

Lake Erie Smallmouth Bass on the fly!

I will be out of cell phone and email contact starting May 12th through May 25th for Brook Trout Retreats! Please contact Patrick Robinson at 419-348-7199 or email at flybum@windstream.net if you are looking to book a trip for Smallmouth Bass this spring or to put in your fall steelhead trip RSVP. I will return all messages when I get back. All Brook Trout Retreats are currently full for 2011. If you would like to book one of our retreats for 2012 please contact me ASAP, as space is very limited.

Nick With A Healthy Brook Trout From A Recent Outing!

Johnny Miller is back home on the Delaware System! Anthony Albano and "Miller Time" pose with a fat streamer caught Delaware River Brown Trout from a recent outing at the West Branch Angler. Look for alot more from John over the course of the summer!

FYI: End of season sale on all our custom fly assortments! Sale is available until stock runs out!

50 assorted steelhead nymphs for $50.00

50 assorted Buggers/streamers for $60.00

50 assorted Sucker Spawns for $50.00

10 "Swung Fly"  assorted streamers/sculpins for $25.00

Please call 419-466-9382 to place orders.

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.

A Change Of Pace...

Our Steelhead season on Lake Erie is slowly coming to an end! The Great news is we have changed gears and have really started to focus on our trout fishing trips and retreats, and the up coming Small Mouth Bass season is looking very good.

Lake Erie Tributary Small Mouth that took a Creek Chub Ice Man Minnow Tube. We are booking Small Mouth fly trips now and dates are going fast. If you are interested in fishing bass on the fly, we would love to spend the day with you on the water!

SAO Guide John Miller with a 20+ inch Delaware River Brown Trout. Both John Miller and Scott McClintock are working the summers with the West Branch Angler, and report that the fishing is getting hot! If you are interested in big browns on dries give us a shout and we will get you hooked up with one of the guys!

Sorry about not getting every one's pictures up it a timely manner! It's been a busy but great season for all the guys at SAO! Here are a few more of the pictures from mid April with SAO Guide Mike Schultz. Before the water got too low "Schultzy" got his guys into some great swing action with the hot fly being one of Mike's custom 6" string sculpins. Check out the photo's Below!

Jim Petty and SAO Guide Mike Schultz with a fat buck caught on one of Mike's String Sculpins.

Jim Petty and Mike Mulvahill double up on the swing.

Mike with another good fish!

Jim with a good drop back on Schultzy's egg stealing string sculpin.

Swinging was good on this day!

Big sculpins were the ticket!

We'll have alot more for you soon, and we will have more of our spring steelhead pics up in the coming days. Thank you everyone for an outstanding spring season so far!!!

Tight Lines!!!

Greg Senyo

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

SAO Spring Update And Thank You!

Well as most of you already know the steelhead season is over! For us it was an extremely busy year with 214 steelhead trips completed from anglers across the country. The staff would like to thank each and everyone of you that fished with us this season and for a ton of great memories on the water! We look forward to servicing your fly fishing needs in the future and wish you all a great summer.

Busy or not I still took a few days to catch some silver of my own.

Looking back through all the photos I was amazed at some of the big fish this year! We were grateful they found the bottom of one of our nets and were not one of the many that got away. Even though the season is over our bookings are quickly filling now for prime fall steelhead days. If you are interested in fly fishing the 2009 Fall steelhead runs on Lake Erie Tributaries give us a shout we would love to get you into some silver of your own. Call us at 888-453-5899 or email us at team@steelheadalleyoutfitters.com to RSVP.

JP hit this big buck while fishing with guide

John Miller! One of many this year!!

Currently we are guiding the tributaries for Lake Erie Small Mouth Bass, and we are catching good numbers on a variety of tactics from top water to stripping large streamers, leeches, and tube flies. Our Small Mouth range from 2 to 5 pounds and the fishing is best until about Late June, when our focus changes over to other warm water species. If you are interested in wet wading and big bronze backs give us a shout at the above contact information.

Swinging and stripping streamers for Small Mouth is hot right now!

We will be hot and heavy on the fly tying Blog this summer with a variety of fly pattern tutorials put up weekly. Look for our newest installment here in the next couple of days. The Fly patterns we will focus on are guide patterns and custom ties for Lake Erie Tributaries and ties for around the region.

Next Tutorial Senyo's Elk Creek Craw Tube

Pretty soon you will see some new faces and some well known faces with the SAO family. These new editions will help us keep up with the top notch services you have come to expect from SAO. We will always continue to serve you the angler with the best possible experience and surround you with knowledgeable and professional fly fishing guides everyday of each season. I would like to end with a final thank you to Orvis, Eumer, and Hare Line for their constant support...it has been an awesome year!

If you are new to fly fishing take a moment to check out our Fly Fishing Reports history. Over 120 posts and 1200 pictures with guests and SAO experiences around the country on the fly!!!

See you on the water!!!

Greg Senyo Owner/Operator

Steelhead Alley Outfitters