Sunny Skies and Steelhead on the fly...Steelhead Alley River Report

The alley has been unseasonably warm this week! Highs in the 70's and 80's with blue skies make for tough steelhead fishing! The good news is we did very well again this week and put several quality fish in our nets. Rain is expected for tonight and into the beginning of the new week, but the amounts being forecast are very small amounts. We definitely need the water and any rain will only help our rivers at this point. Right now everything is fishable with most rivers on the low and clear side. Alot of walking to find fish is necessary, and switching fly patterns frequently is a must to increase your chances.

Hot flies for the guides this week were; Robinson's Chicken little's and Chicken Hawk's, Senyo's Ice Man Minnows in Emerald Shiner, Blue/Pink, and Creek Chub, JC's Peacock Creature, Various single eggs and sucker spawns in white, yellow, cream, light pink, and steelhead orange. Small stone flies were coming off like crazy and wiggle stones, princes, pheasant tails, and black rubber legged stone fly patterns were on the menu.

We are out everyday with the exception of the Easter Holiday, which we all plan on spending with our families and loved ones! After that we will have alot more for you through out the rest of the spring runs. Remember our Small mouth Bass trips are filling fast and if you are interested in expanding your season on the Alley this is an exciting and fun way to do it!

Here is a few of this weeks photos from the staff, have a great Easter and thank you all so much for fishing with our services!

The Smith's enjoy there first experience on steelhead Alley

with SAO guide Patrick Robinson!

Derrick releases the fish to fight another day!

Robinson's Chicken Hawk's were one of the hot

flies for guides this week.

SAO Guide Mike Schultz poses with

JD's First Erie Steelhead!

Can you say doubles....

Beautifully colored drop back steelhead.

Conner had a fantastic three days on the

Alley fishing with his father!

Conner with another fish with SAO guide John Miller.

Vic with a great looking fish.

Another good fish on SAO Guide John

Clouser's Peacock Creature.

Chuck with one of many nice steelhead

with SAO guide Scott McClintock.

The Warren Family spends some quality time together

with a few Lake Erie steelhead and SAO guide John Bowling.

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Until Next Time...

Greg Senyo

Owner/Operator SAO

The Fast and The Furious!

Today was one of those days. You sometimes approach the day with the greatest of expectations, and sometimes you have no expectations at all. My counterparts for the day came in with a pure sense of easement, taking in every step along the river as though each step uncovered that moment that would give you a renewed sense of being.

Stephen and Cathleen took in the beauty and amazement of nature at first light and then BAMM! The next two hours were literally filled with chaos delivered first class by fish with fire in their eyes. We spent our time running up and down river with fish stripping line faster than you could reel. Lightning strikes by hefty hens and crazed bucks gave way to powerful runs that would challenge the most seasoned of anglers. With roughly twenty hooked fish and two to the net apiece in the first hours of daylight, I think my clients would agree; the fast and the furious would awe inspire all with the greatest of expectations!

Steve's first fish to the net.

Cathleen's triumphant catch....

....and a well deserved release!

Every fish hooked with my guests crashed either Senyo's Ice Man Minnow or a single egg pattern. It was truly, "one of those days"..........where the big ones ruled.....and got away. It was my pleasure to have been your guide... Stephen and Cathleen, thank you both!

Until Next Time!

Tim Hess

SAO Fly Fishing Guide

A Busy Day on Steelhead Alley

Today we watched the weather break before our very eyes. What started out as a cold day with ice all over the rods, turned quickly to a high blue sky, 60+ degree day. Some of the rivers shaped up from previous days and those who were willing to give chase were able to grab some fish.

Hot flies today were Senyo's Ice Man Minnows hands down. We got most of our grabs on those and other small streamers such as bunny zonkers and Robinson's Chicken Little. When the stonefly hatches fired up, we started getting fish to hit smaller stonefly patterns, but this was intermittent. Keep changing flies in challenging conditions and you will be rewarded.

With a bunch of guides out today, we covered a lot of water and it doesn't look to change anytime soon...the number of guides that is! The waters will be changing daily, as levels drop and warm with the high temps forecasted for the next few days. Here is a fish from one of John Miller's clients...a nice shiny hen....

Kevin with a nice fish for the day

My day was spent with a father/son team that have been repeat clients for years, and let me tell you that you don't find a better team. Conner is the young man in the photos below and his father Parker has a lot to proud of in this young fly fisher. He is definitely following in his fathers footsteps!

Conner with a first fish of the day on the first cast no less

The best story of the day was just as the sun was coming up. I had just rigged Conner's rod and handed it to him. I said, "Conner, now what I want you to do is catch a fish before I can get your Dad's rod rigged up!" This young man was a great listener, because before I could get the reel cover off his reel, Conner was fighting his first fish of the day (above). Now that is the way to get it started!

Parker follows suit to get the skunk out of our bags

Parker did a fine job as well in catching the fish, but on day one, it was all about his son and watching Dad's smile was almost as good as watching Conner's! For me, this is the pinnacle of the fishing experience.....family passing it on!

And here is just a short selection of photos from this young fly fishers day...

Conner with a heavy shouldered buck

Smile for the camera

Conner's trophy for the day

Yeah, there were more fish, but that is a good highlight of his day....and what a day it was!!! Every guide on the water put fish in the net today, and more photos of their days will be posted as they come in.

In the meantime, I want to give a shout out to a guy from West Virginia who I met on the water today. We talked for a few minutes following an awesome display of etiquette. He stepped in about 40-50 yards down stream and looked up toward me and asked, "Am I giving you guys enough room?" I almost chuckled to myself as he asked. What a gentlemen on the stream! So, since I didn't get your name sir....if you read this, you will know who you are....I hope you had a great day after we left, and you can share our hole any day. Just do me a favor and keep teaching people the etiquette that you display as you fish! It was truly refreshing to see it again!

We will be seeing you on the water.

Patrick "Flybum" Robinson

Head Guide

Steelhead Alley Outfitters

Nothing like "Cold Steel" in your hands!

A good friend of mine Matt Smith and I ventured out on a cold (26 degree) day this past Friday to introduce Matt to some first time steelhead fishing on Elk Creek. Matt and I have enjoyed fishing together on some Central PA streams but Matt has never had the thrill of chasing bruiser bucks and hungry hens.....Until Now!

Matt with his first ever Steelhead. Congrats Matt!

After adding layers to fight the cold, we were on the creek at first light. It did not take long for Matt to adapt to the cold and more importantly, swinging flies to aggressive fish. He was able to bring a colored up buck to the net in the first fifteen minutes on the water! Not bad for a newbie.
The action was steady throughout the day, as I watched Matt bring a total of ten fish to the net. Most all fish fell to Senyo's Ice Man Minnow with a few taking a blood dot egg pattern.

Matt trying to convince one to "come to PaPa"

As the day went on and the sun rose high, the temperature held at COLD! Although this had quite an effect on the fisherman, the fish seemed to care less. But, as any steelheader knows : the way to keep warm is to keep fish on the line! Matt was destined to stay warm the day through.

A nice hen taken on an egg pattern

A smile worth a thousand words

Myself with one of the Ice Man Minnow takers

Until next time!

Tim Hess

Steelhead Alley Outfitters