Fly Fishing for Fall Steelhead in the Lake Erie Tributary Streams
By John Nagy
As the water temperatures drop to 68 degrees F along the southern shoreline of Lake Erie and the days become shorter (in mid to late September), mint-silver steelhead (specifically Pennsylvania strain) begin congregating along the Erie tributary mouths. This initial steelhead movement is the beginning of a spawning run which closely mimics the migratory behavior of steelhead in the Pacific Northwest (the original range of Lake Erie steelhead).
When cool fall rains create silty run-off (that dumps into a relatively warm Lake Erie) it triggers a steelhead movement up the tributaries in the fall and the opportunity for the fly fisherman to catch one freshwaters most elusive and magnificent game fish.
Since most of the southern shore Lake Erie tributaries are normally low and clear, it is critical that they get run-off (from either rain or snow-melt) to both facilitate movement of migratory steelhead upstream and create more fishable water for the fly fisherman.
In recent years, consistent, early fall rains have been more a rarity than the norm on the Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York tributary streams. This has limited steelhead movements upstream in the tributaries with most action in the lower large, deep pools (and along the lakeshore). The exception has been the Cattaraugus River in New York which fish’s exceptionally well in the fall. This is due to a good water flow a result of a power plant dam release and substantial spring sources in a huge watershed that encompasses 436 sq. miles.
When heavy fall rains do occur, Pennsylvania tributaries like Elk, Walnut, Crooked, 20 mile, 16 mile and 12 mile Creeks are the place to be for great action for fresh run fall "chromers". After peak run-off from rainfall or snowmelt these tributaries can quickly clear to fishable levels in a day or two depending on the tributary.
The Ohio steelhead tributaries of the Vermillion River, Rocky River, Chagrin River, Grand River and Conneaut Creek can provide good action also in the fall, but are primarily a winter and spring run steelhead fishery (although they get there share of fall running Pennsylvania steelhead that have strayed from Pennsylvania waters). This is due to the late running Little Manistee strain steelhead that is almost exclusively stocked in these waters by the Ohio Division of Wildlife.
In the spring of 2002 the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission began stocking the Pennsylvania portion of Conneat Creek with an initial planting of 75,000 Pennsylvania strain steelhead smolts (which is a good fall runner). Ideally this would relieve some of the fishing pressure on some of the other major Pennsylvania tributaries like Elk and Walnut Creeks. This is also a bonus for the Ohio steelheader who can now sample a potentially good run of fall chromers in the Ohio waters of Conneat Creek.
During the fall, Lake Erie tributary streams are relatively warm (in the 45 degrees F plus range) making the steelhead very active and aggressive. They enter the tributaries looking for holding water prior to their spawning. In warm water run-off flows this means the heads of pools, pocket water, fast runs and chutes as well as the lower ends of pool tail-outs where the current flow picks up speed.
Steelhead will use these locations until the water drops below 40 to 45 degrees F (late October to early November) which forces them to seek slower current areas. Many steelhead at this time lose their bright coloration’s and begin to darken up which is a sure sign that they are maturing sexually and getting close to spawning.
Fly fisherman will find that a more dynamic approach in his presentation (as opposed to just strictly dead-drifting flies) can result in a surprising number of hook-ups in the fall. Stripping and jerking wooly buggers and streamers (on the drift and retrieve) through pools and runs can result in some incredibly hard-hitting strikes at this time.
Aggressive fall steelhead will actively move out of holding locations to chase and strike these flies with seeming abandon. These fish not only strike flies hard, but also fight hard; with drag screaming runs and cartwheel jumps not out of the norm.
A traditional downstream fly swinging technique (with either a sink tip or floating line) also works well at this time of year. This method is effective at covering large amounts of water such as the long, wide pools and runs of the Cattaraugus River in New York and the Grand River in Ohio. Popular swinging flies include wooly buggers, streamers and traditional wet flies and spey fly patterns.
As water flows cool down in late October to early November steelhead become more lethargic and less able to hold in strong currents. They seek slower current areas at this time and also seem to key in on drag-free presentations such as achieved with floating indicators and long leaders or strictly bottom-bouncing without a float. Effective dead-drift flies include egg patterns such as sucker spawns, glow balls, scrambled eggs and blood dots as well as bead-head nymphs such as princes, pheasant tails, lightning bugs and copper johns.
Fly equipment for the steelheading fly fisherman includes both traditional fly rods (stiffer, shorter blanks) for stripping and swinging flies and long, soft action fly rods. The latter fly rods allow for maximum line and leader control and mending when dead-drifting flies as well as big fish playing ability when using light tippets.
Fly reel selection includes finding a reel that has both a light-end setting with multiple fine adjustments and slow initial start-up inertia. Both these features help to protect light tippets from the surges and runs of fall steelhead. Large arbor fly reels are ideal for quick line pick-up which comes in handy when a "hot" fall steelhead decides to come straight toward you after being hooked!
By John Nagy
Fly fishing the Lake Erie tributary streams in the spring is in a lot of ways a paradox of the winter steelhead season. To begin with, stream temperatures are pushed from the frigid low 30’s into the 40 degree F plus range. This causes sluggish steelhead already in the streams to become more active and aggressive.
Rising air temperatures and spring rains melt winter snow cover and stream ice resulting in higher flows. This, in turn, brings fresh runs of steelhead in from Lake Erie. Steelhead begin moving from their winter locations (deep, slow moving pools and eddies) to shallow gravel beds fulfilling their strong spawning urges. This usually occurs in late February and continues through April. Scientists have determined that this spawning behavior is triggered by a combination of two factors: stream temperatures (40 degrees F or above) and increasing "photo periods" or periods of light versus dark.
Locating spawning areas can result in some fantastic steelhead fly fishing during this time of the year. This is not only true for spawning steelhead on their beds but also pre-spawn fish located nearby and spawned out steelies (drop-down fish) heading back to the lake. Ideal spawning areas are basically riffles, which have large-size diameter gravel, are 1-4 feet deep, and have darker color bottoms. Next to these areas are usually deeper runs, pockets, or pools which harbor pre-spawn and post spawn fish, as well as fish that have been spooked off their beds.
Actual spawning involves a female steelhead moving into a spawning area and digging out a redd. She will do this by turning on her side and making powerful upsweeps of her tail in the gravel. The current washes away loose gravel until a saucer shaped hole has formed which will hold her eggs. Males will be attracted by this activity and begin competing for spawning rights, with the largest and most heavily kyped males winning out. They will use their superior power and large kypes (which are grown for this purpose) to drive inferior males from the redd. After the female drops her eggs, about 20 % of what she is carrying, the dominant male will fertilize them (sometimes one, or possible two, sub-dominant male will also participate), and the female moves immediately upstream to begin making another redd. The displaced gravel from this redd covers the previously fertilized eggs downstream. The female will continue this process until she is spawned out.
When you are fly fishing a spawning bed there are several things to keep in mind. If you don’t notice any spawning activity on the bed itself, blind fish adjacent deep-holding areas. As previously stated, these areas can hold steelies that are not in a spawning mode.
Fishing on the redds themselves has a simple strategy; fish for the males. They will be easy to distinguish from the females since they appear almost black while the females are bright silver. If you catch the female first, the males will quickly scatter. These aggressive males become very territorial and are not actually feeding, but will chase flies to dominate the redd.
Before fishing, position yourself slightly upstream of the redd and cast your fly so it reaches stream bottom as it drifts through. Mend your line to maintain a dead-drift and keep a tight line so you are able to quickly set the hook. Try to visually follow your fly through the redd so that you target the males and react quickly to their takes.
More often than not you won’t be able to see spawning fish very well on the bed. This is usually the result of spring run-off, which causes high, turbid water, or a spawning bed with a dark bottom. The dead giveaway though is the female as she turns on her side; the tail shakes giving flashes of silver, or gold in muddy water. Wearing polarized sunglasses on bright days is a tremendous help in seeing these flashes. Mentally mark this spot in the stream and fish to areas just downstream where the males will be holding.
Effective fly patterns for spring steelhead include yellow, white, and black Wooly Buggers, bright egg patterns (glo-balls, sucker spawns, scrambled eggs and blood dots), various streamer patterns like the Lake Erie Emerald Shiner and Clouser Minnow, Wooly Buggers, Spring Wigglers and bead-head nymphs (prince’s, black stoneflies and green caddis larvae).
Fly rods in the 9 to 10 foot range with medium to medium-fast actions are ideal for fishing egg patterns, nymphs as well as wooly buggers and streamers. Longer 10 ½ foot fly rods (custom made from "noodle" spinning blanks) provide superior line and leader control when trying to achieve drag-free drifts. They also allow for big fish playing capabilities on light tippets due to their soft actions and shock absorbing abilities.
A floating fly line, like the Wulff Triangle Taper, works well on the spawning beds particularly when fly casting at a relatively short distance (30 ft. or less). They have the delicacy of a double taper at short distances, which makes line mending rather easy, and at the same time provide the power of a weight forward to turn over split shot and floating indicators. This is due to their unique triangle taper configuration, which concentrates the bulk of the heavy part of the taper (which can interfere with drag-free drifts) away from the butt of the leader.
Leaders should be kept relatively short (9-10 feet) when fishing the beds. This allows for close in casting in relatively shallow water. In adjacent runs and pools (which are deeper) longer leaders up to 12 to 14 feet work better especially when using a floating indicator. Adding a florescent red section of Sunset Amnesia monofilament to the butt section of the leader is a good way to build a strike indicator into your leader especially when you are not using a float.
Fly fishing steelhead spawning beds seems to have its proponents and detractors. In the Pacific Northwest this practice is strongly discouraged on rivers with wild steelhead feeling it is very detrimental to successful spawning. On the other hand Michigan steelheaders seem to have no problem with fishing on the beds even though 50 % of their fish are known to be naturally reproduced. The American tributaries of Lake Erie produce a very small number of naturally reproduced steelhead (the runs are primarily based on hatchery raised steelhead smolts and fingerlings) so fishing the beds does not have much of an impact on future steelhead runs. One exception is the Cattaraugus River in New York which has been documented with 25% naturally reproduced steelhead. Here it is not recommended to fish the beds in the spring to protect a developing wild steelhead fishery.
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