Steelhead 
Brad_porter77
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Steelhead
What's you favorite steelhead story? Mine is when I was fishing at the mudhole (lower elk) at night and I caught a lake trout! I didn't even notice until the morning when the sun rose. That night we also caught many steelhead on powerbait. And it was cold that night. It was late October with a cold breeze from the mighty Erie. And anyone that ever fished down at the mudhole at night in the last couple years you probably heard the beaver chopping down trees on the other side (before they put the other parking lot over there.) that morning we moved to the ledge. When the sun came up everyone was catching chrome. I wasn't paying attention and unfortunately a steelhead took off with my new noodle rod. Then the strangest thing happened, a guy fishing on the other side of the creek hooked the SAME steelhead! It was a 10 pounder and he released it. Long story short I got my rod back. I will never forget that eventful night
post edited by Brad_porter77 - 2016/04/04 20:59:23
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Divemaster
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/04 22:01:03
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Wow, Lakers are rare even in the lake itself east of the peninsula. To catch one in the most western trib in the state is something that may never happen again for several decades even!
Not many stories from the creek for me. I do have a couple good open water Chromer stories though. The first was when we trolled along the Canadian border in 100 FOW last August. I had the right downrigger down to 90' with only a four foot leader from the ball to the lure of thick 25# mono to a large green spoon trolling almost 3.0 mph. Sure enough, the first fish on this setup only a few minutes after putting it down was a 27" Walleye, so don't let anyone tell you you need a 100' leader from the ball and need to troll below 2.0 mph because it's BS!
The other funny story was trolling in 130 FOW on the mountain last July. Brought up the left cannonball and saw a fish way back on the end of the 60 foot leader from the ball. Unclipped the line and reeled it in and I had a nice 22" Salmonid that we put in the box because it hooked pretty bad in the gill and the mouth. When we first caught it, I thought it was just another Steelhead. Then I post a picture on another forum and two guys tell me it's a Coho. A few days later I post a picture of it on yet another forum and get almost a positive ID that it was a Chinook. Now a few months ago I post a better picture of it on that same forum and have twice as many ppople including some of the ones that originally said Chinook tell me that based on the better picture it was actually a very large Pink Salmon. At 22" 5 pounds it would've been a new state record! But oh well, it was funny seeing how many different Pacific Salmonid species people tried to ID this fish as haha, and it tasted pretty good too!
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genieman77
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/05 07:30:57
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"The one that got away"......it's still the biggest steelie I've ever had on and still one of my best (though bitter sweet) memories
Late '90s/early '00s I'm fishing Sterritainia (sp?)
a little ways up stream of the old bridge foundation there used to be a pretty good hole.
I'm chucking a blue marriboo jig thru the hole.
As my drift nears the end of the hole, I see something cutting a wake out of the boulder strewn tailout .
My float stops, and I tug.."dang, I snagged bottom"...or so I thought.
.til it put a more pressure hoping the light wire hook would bend out..and I felt a head shake !!!
The hog moved straight to center of the hole and lay there.
I'd pull hard, it move just a little, then goes right to the bottom hole and lay again.
I knew it was a heavy fish, knew it had to be big by the wake it cut coming out of the boulders .
I KNEW I couldn't horse it with 6 # test and light wire hook (and my knot tieing skillz)
Knew I'd have to play him to tire him out to have a chance to land...
BUT HE WOULDN'T FIGHT!!
I'd put as much pressure as I dare, he'd bulldog around the bottom of the hole a bit, then go right back to his immovable fat pig routine and lay at the of the hole...I'd be there all week at this rate....so I lit a smoke and thought about how I'll get him to fight
the bright idea came to me...I'll make him fight by walking in the hole and CHASE him out!!
That was a mistake....
he came up out of the hole alright, and that's when I saw just HOW big he was !!
Honest to God it had to be near or above the state record ..
a yard and more long, and FAT.....20+ pounds and more ..EASY
I've caught thousands of steelies and seen 100 times that...I've NEVER seen a steelie this big then or since
The hog headed straight for the fast water ...trying to turn him was futile
Drag screening, I'm stumbling and bumbling down stream trying to keep up with my ever shrinking spool of line with a 100 yrds or more of fast water he's charging down in front of me
100ft of line out, the inevitable happened..the knot broke ...and my "once in a lifetime" trophy was gone forever
True story from the genieman fishtail files
..L.T.A.
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pafisher
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/05 09:42:14
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I landed a 38" male up near RT79 several yrs ago ,did n't have a camera and released him to fight another day,that was the biggest in Erie but caught a couple more that big in NY on some Ontario tribs.
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johnthefisherman
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/05 09:45:55
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- Managin to land a steelhead on Walnut with two guys lines tangled on mine.
- Catching two citation browns in an hour on sixteen mile.
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workcanwait....
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/05 10:35:14
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It was about 8 yrs ago 2nd week of April...friend of mine from out of town came to visit and see what Erie steelhead fishing was like. We grew up fishing trout streams together and the SRNY we were always trying to out fish each other.
We fished Elk and did good in the morning then he asked if there were any more scenic areas we could take a long walk and fish so we walked from the gun club up on Walnut.
There were fish in most spots but we got to one hole and I could not believe what I was seeing the hole had a dark cloud of steelhead in it taking up 2/3 of the hole.
We each ended up LANDING 62 fish that day it was ridiculous.
We purposely stopped fishing with the same amount of fish landed.
He had to go home next morning but I went back and landed 78 fish that day the best day steelheading I have ever had as far as numbers.WCW
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genieman77
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/05 19:37:41
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workcanwait....
We each ended up LANDING 62 fish that day it was ridiculous.
We purposely stopped fishing with the same amount of fish landed.
He had to go home next morning but I went back and landed 78 fish that day the best day steelheading I have ever had as far as numbers.WCW
someone that's never seen/fished anything like the Pa tribs would never believe that. even in lean times, when there they're "turned on" and/or you have just right shape/look, size or color, you can hook darn near every fish in the hole or run years ago on a small feeder creek of the Grand, there were 10-12 steelies in a gin clear slow shallow trough. I put on a pink trout worm and they went crazy after it i caught EVERY fish in that run within an hour..a couple I caught twice and one little one I caught three times ..L.T.A.
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smally hunter
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/06 05:24:48
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Not that exciting but I tied 200 eggsacs the night before a trip to trout run ... Split them 4 ways ... Got to the lake at 6 am and by idk 8 am every one was gone and all but a few landed a fish ... It got to the point where me and my dad switched to fly rods and anything orange would result in a hook up ... There were moments I couldn't even make a 5 count ... I had a bruise for weeks right above my belly button ... I'm thinking it was 2008 ... Best day I'll probably ever have for steel ..
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pafisher
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/07 12:28:28
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Back in the glory days we hit it right on Elk ai the rt 20 area,caught fish on every cast,or so it seemed,and the best thing there were only 7 people there including me and friend.I talked to one of the other guys there and he was from Ohio,he told me he was counting fish landed and he had 42 at 2 PM,everyone was fighting fish all day and I estimate I caught 70 by dark.By the way 4 of the others there that day were from Switzerland,they flew in to fish Erie!
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Smallsac
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/10 08:58:00
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Early October '15, over a couple beers I bet my girlfriends father Bill, I could catch a steelhead on a vintage cane pole, using one of his cigarettes as bait.
One week later four of us are on twenty mile with fresh fish coming consistently; I headed back to the car and returned with an old 12' cane pole, with about 15' of kite string type line. The other two guys with us, well aware of the bet, started to laugh; one removed the ciggy from Bills lips and handed it to me, as I tied on a small section of fluorocarbon.. I ripped the top off of the cigarette, fashioned the filter into a streamer and it chucked it into the hole. I worked the top, the bottom and the middle with no luck. Realizing I was going to have to buy this ballbuster a case of beer and probably never hear the end of it, I tied on a copper john when he wasn't looking. I went back to the top of the hole and stood right next to him; we're talking and I'm not paying much attention as the cane pole almost got pulled out of my hand.
I set the hook, and instinctively reached for the reel....oh shi*....
I began to dance with this fish, it was like a knife fight, this was up close and personal....
The fish ran down, back up, dragged me into the hole, ran towards me as I backpeddled back out, I heard the first crack as the tip of the pole broke...oh shi*!!
I began to walk backwards, tripping over guys gear, trying not to break stuff..crack, crack, crack, crack..four more breaks in the pole...I'm now left holding 15" of stubby cane, trying to beach this fish.
Just as the head of the fish hits the bank, POP, the line breaks and away goes the fish. The other guys with me dropped their rods and are holding their sides laughing, as was the small group that gathered on the other side watching. Only one that wasn't was Bill, who thinks he now has to buy me a case of beer and informed anyone who would listen, the rest of the day, about how I hooked a steelhead on a cane pole using his ciggy butt as bait.
That evening as the four of us drank the beer laughing, I finally came clean n told him about the copper john.
I'll never forget the feeling of that fish, one I haven't felt in almost 40 years; it was like hooking my first fish. I'm now looking into Tenkara rods for steelheading, after having success with a smaller rod on the stockies this spring. Bill is now looking into new glasses, realizing he needs to pay better attention to what people are using for bait...
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genieman77
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/10 18:26:51
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Smallsac
Early October '15, over a couple beers I bet my girlfriends father Bill, I could catch a steelhead on a vintage cane pole, using one of his cigarettes as bait.
One week later four of us are on twenty mile with fresh fish coming consistently; I headed back to the car and returned with an old 12' cane pole, with about 15' of kite string type line. The other two guys with us, well aware of the bet, started to laugh; one removed the ciggy from Bills lips and handed it to me, as I tied on a small section of fluorocarbon.. I ripped the top off of the cigarette, fashioned the filter into a streamer and it chucked it into the hole. I worked the top, the bottom and the middle with no luck. Realizing I was going to have to buy this ballbuster a case of beer and probably never hear the end of it, I tied on a copper john when he wasn't looking. I went back to the top of the hole and stood right next to him; we're talking and I'm not paying much attention as the cane pole almost got pulled out of my hand.
I set the hook, and instinctively reached for the reel....oh shi*....
I began to dance with this fish, it was like a knife fight, this was up close and personal....
The fish ran down, back up, dragged me into the hole, ran towards me as I backpeddled back out, I heard the first crack as the tip of the pole broke...oh shi*!!
I began to walk backwards, tripping over guys gear, trying not to break stuff..crack, crack, crack, crack..four more breaks in the pole...I'm now left holding 15" of stubby cane, trying to beach this fish.
Just as the head of the fish hits the bank, POP, the line breaks and away goes the fish. The other guys with me dropped their rods and are holding their sides laughing, as was the small group that gathered on the other side watching. Only one that wasn't was Bill, who thinks he now has to buy me a case of beer and informed anyone who would listen, the rest of the day, about how I hooked a steelhead on a cane pole using his ciggy butt as bait.
That evening as the four of us drank the beer laughing, I finally came clean n told him about the copper john.
I'll never forget the feeling of that fish, one I haven't felt in almost 40 years; it was like hooking my first fish. I'm now looking into Tenkara rods for steelheading, after having success with a smaller rod on the stockies this spring. Bill is now looking into new glasses, realizing he needs to pay better attention to what people are using for bait...
Ha!! Love it great story!! ..L.T.A.
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Porktown
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/10 20:18:05
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FredT
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/10 21:48:37
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Working as a tech troubleshooting problems on automated machinery, I was called to a machine that had faulted out and shut down. I found that some plastic dust from the parts that were being assembled had accumulated over the fiber optic eyes of one of the sensors. The fine dust was pink in color that highly resembled egg yarn but fuzzier. I didn't hesitate to wad this stuff up into a baggie and take it home and tie a glo-bug out of it. The following day I headed out to give this thing a try. It was a snowy, blowy, miserable winter day, temp down to 17 degrees F. I tied it on my frozen line and gave it a flop into some riffles. I saw a chromer turn her head and laugh at it. After a few more tries, It nailed it! 26"! Not too bad. I moved up a few yards and tossed it in again. At first I thought I snagged the bottom. But another steelhead had inhaled it. This one never gave up a fight. It was so cold, I think he didn't even have it in him to try. It was like trying to haul in a log. This big buck measured out to 34". Biggest steelhead I ever got. (over 40 years of steelhead fishing). Needless to say, I was right there at the machine to clean out that priceless dust whenever it started to accumulate again.
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CAPTAIN HOOK
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/11 00:31:51
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Was fishing below Follies on Elk many years ago with a friend . I watched a decent size Steelhead come up and grab my one inch fluorescent orange bobber (float)off the surface, swirl around, and head downstream. Now I'm actually fighting this fish thinking this is crazy and he'll probably spit it any time now. I holler to my buddy come up here and see this I got a Steelhead hooked on just a bobber ! Five minutes later I beach this beauty and see that the bobber is actually wedged inside his mouth and the hook is at least 18" away untouched ! To this day he still tells the story that he seen it all that day ! I was so thankful to have an eyewitness because nobody would ever believe that fish story ! One in a million......never happen again
post edited by CAPTAIN HOOK - 2016/04/11 00:33:55
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indsguiz
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Re: Steelhead
2016/04/21 19:31:32
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Way back in the day, I think t was the late 70's, when there were still kings in the creeks, a friend of mine and I were fishing right below the "Cascade Hole" below the campground; Almost right even with the old road grader. We had been catching a few fish with the "mixed bag" that the fish commission was putting in the streams. As we were walking down stream we saw two BIG shapes coming upstream. I recognized them as Kings and warned my buddy not to cast to them as our rods were too light for a king.
My buddy, who was fishing with "garden hackle", (I had a fly rod) laughed that he had spooled up with 25# that morning, (the rod was medium/light). As he cast toward the fish his cast came up about 6' short and the one king did a 90 degree turn and took the worm. My friend set the hook and the game was afoot. That fish went upstream to the log jam and then decided that Canada looked pretty nice and headed down stream. All the while my buddy is trying to rush thru the shallow water to keep up.
The contest finally ended down by the power line when my friend's rod broke just below the ferrule. But it was right then that the fish ran out of steam, So my friend reeled the fish in on the broken rod, got it halfway in the net, reached down and unhooked the fish and let it go. I almost had a heart attack. His reasoning: It was too big to haul to the car, and it wouldn't fit in the cooler. Was the biggest fish I have ever seen taken on the tribs and my fishing span covers almost 40 years.
Illegitimis Non carborundum
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