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is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average?

 
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is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 6:58:42 AM   
genieman77

 

Posts: 1948
Status: offline 		The "mother load" thread got me thinking


There are days I get lucky and stumble onto some dumb fish.
Sometimes i even catch one or two of the dumbest ones.
but in general, over the years I'm one of those duUds that never seems to catch a lot of hogs.
Lots of 4 to 6 pounders, but never  a lot of 8 to 10+ pounders

this year seems different.
The fish I'm catching seem larger than average.
BTW, I noticed the same thing last year.
at least early in the season, as I put more 10+ pounders on the bank in Sept alone than I did ALL of the last few previous  seasons

Do ya'll think they're bigger than average this year?


..L.T.A.




Post #: 1
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 7:14:21 AM   
dano


Posts: 3013
Joined: 9/21/2000
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: genieman77

I put more 10+ pounders on the bank in Sept alone than I did ALL of the last few previous  seasons




Same here but I also am fishing a lot more this year.
Oct. hasn't been bad, either for those heavy fish.  

(in reply to genieman77)
Post #: 2
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 8:12:30 AM   
Noplacelikehome

 

Posts: 350
Joined: 6/15/2002
Status: online 		Many people talk about the "good old days". Let me tell you this is the BEST fishing(just about ALL year) in North America. I have fished the tribs since about 1980 and let me tell you there were a lot less guys, and fish(Coho). BUT there are so many Steelhead now it makes me think I am fishing in another COUNTRY!!  The average size of the fish has only gotten bigger since about 1991. I still can't believe double digit catches are not that uncommon in THE BAY. I won't even go into the "other fish"(walleye,bass,perch,lakers,crappie). If people only knew how GREAT our fishing is. I can attest to this because when I moved away in 1993, the only thing I wanted was to MOVE back!!!  Fortunetly I make many trips back through out the year, and having a brother who lives in Erie and owns 2 boats helps a little. Be up in 2 days!!!!!

(in reply to dano)
Post #: 3
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 8:28:20 AM   
chartist

 

Posts: 451
Joined: 10/18/2008
Status: online 		I've seen some big fish but I don't think the size is bigger than usual.......Didn't someone catch a 20-1/2 incher last year?

(in reply to Noplacelikehome)
Post #: 4
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 8:46:45 AM   
young

 

Posts: 89
Joined: 9/23/2009
Status: offline 		The PA fish are about 1/2 - 3/4 the size of NY and Wisconsin fish.

"Let me tell you this is the BEST fishing(just about ALL year) in North America."

Are you high?

Alaska, Canada, Washington and Oregon offer better steelhead fishing with much less fishing pressure.

New York offers much better brown and salmon fishing.

PA isn't even the best of the Great Lakes states for steel.

(in reply to chartist)
Post #: 5
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 9:07:49 AM   
chartist

 

Posts: 451
Joined: 10/18/2008
Status: online 		I agree Young....Erie tribs drain off far too quickly, imo.....That leads to fish caught in pools with guys standing around them pounding the water....When someone says Erie is the best, I guess that means catch rates....And that could be true since folks don't have to work hard finding them......But the fishing pressure is high, the scenery is not great, the restaurant options are not great, and the fishing supply shops catering to fly fisherman are far and few in between.....To me the Erie tribs cater to the lower budget fishermen who get a thrill from dragging three steelhead through the Walnut marina parking lot.  It's akin to guys driving around with a six point buck tied to their pickup truck.....And I don't see Erie's economy recovering enough to alleviate any of the issues I've listed.....

(in reply to young)
Post #: 6
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 10:01:21 AM   
clearwater


Posts: 864
Joined: 10/28/2004
From: kittanning
Status: online 		got more that hit the 10# mark this year than years past..

(in reply to chartist)
Post #: 7
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 10:12:50 AM   
Noplacelikehome

 

Posts: 350
Joined: 6/15/2002
Status: online 		That's right guys Lake Erie sucks. Don't fish here. Good thing no one knows that there are more fish consumed from Lake Erie than ALL of the other Great Lakes COMBINED. Chartist once again, don't like it, DON'T COME HERE! I come to Erie to catch fish NOT WORK, give up bashing Erie's economy. You sound like a broken CD, cause you probobly don't even know what a record is.   Young, Erie has it ALL. Not just one abundant species like Ontario(Kings). But you would not know this if you only fish for Steelhead or Salmon.

(in reply to chartist)
Post #: 8
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 10:18:00 AM   
Noplacelikehome

 

Posts: 350
Joined: 6/15/2002
Status: online 		Young, forgot to mention I have fished Canada(fly in trips),Lake Ontario,Lake Michigan,Lake Huron. I DO NOT compare Lake Erie to salt water. That's like comparing peas to watermelons.

(in reply to Noplacelikehome)
Post #: 9
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 10:47:36 AM   
Minnie Food

 

Posts: 86
Joined: 11/7/2008
Status: offline 		i think theres too many steel in erie. i wish it was more like oregon and what not where you have to actaully fish in order to catch something. but erie is what we got so im not going to complain

(in reply to Noplacelikehome)
Post #: 10
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 10:51:51 AM   
Fang1


Posts: 353
Joined: 12/12/2003
Status: offline 		A few thoughts to the Erie nay-sayers. After fishing Erie's steelhead for ten years 97-07 and then moving to the southwest -- there is NO place like Erie ---year round for quality fish and fishing. Granted the conditions are sometimes iffy and the angler numbers can be frustrating, but if you walk away from the crowded waters there are fish, beauty and solitude to be enjoyed. By the way, talking with several guys who do fish the Columbia River for Steelhead - a GREAT day on the Columbia is MORE than one hookup and two to three fish is a memory day. Granted the Columbia fish are larger with 10# to 15 the average. But where else can you catch steelhead from September through April in the streams,as well as in the bay and the lake all year round? Oh yeah, I forgot to mention the browns, smallmouth, largemouth, pike, walleye, lake trout, perch, crappie and panfish all year round too. WHen I show pictures of 7# and 6# smallmouth, and the summer/fall walleye and perch the eyeballs get real big out here among the Arizona anglers. Take another look at what you've got and SMILE!

(in reply to Noplacelikehome)
Post #: 11
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 11:40:01 AM   
young

 

Posts: 89
Joined: 9/23/2009
Status: offline 		Uh, Ontario has plenty of coho, steel (which are larger than those in Erie), browns and a few atlantic salmon. WTF are you talking about?

Erie has the most fish. No one can contest that. 1,000,000 fish are stocked into a handful of ****er creeks.

It also has the most fisherman per square mile of stream, the shallowest and clearest streams and the smallest fish of all the Great Lakes.

The question was whether it's the best fishing in the world. It's clearly not even close. Only someone who had never left Erie could think that.

It's like those patriotic morons who scream "USA IS THE BEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD!!!" when they've never even gone to another country.

(in reply to Fang1)
Post #: 12
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 11:55:17 AM   
steely34


Posts: 351
Status: online 		Thought the original question was whether or not the fish were a tad larger this year.

_____________________________

Erie Steelheading - so much water to fish - so little time left in life.



(in reply to young)
Post #: 13
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 11:58:17 AM   
Mr.Slickfish


Posts: 1991
Joined: 3/11/2008
From: The greatest place on earth....Erie
Status: online 		It was....and my answer is....

yes


_____________________________

You can always tell a fisherman...
But you can't tell him much...



(in reply to steely34)
Post #: 14
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 12:02:51 PM   
chrisrowboat


Posts: 3479
Joined: 7/4/2002
From: not here
Status: offline 		They seam to me they are bigger.
I even broke my fly rod this morning on one them on a section stream with loads of fish.


_____________________________

Proud to have been a FOT/
I've been out fishing.
Clean your gear/
http://www.fish.state.pa.us/cleanyourgear.htm




(in reply to genieman77)
Post #: 15
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 1:13:11 PM   
fish5000

 

Posts: 86
Joined: 1/19/2002
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: steely34

Thought the original question was whether or not the fish were a tad larger this year.

Yes Steely34 , it was , lol . It's funny how things can deviate from a direct question and I'm not much help as I'm going to respond to some others' comments . Erie is known as a world class fishery in local and national magazines . It is known to have great numbers of steelhead , the key word is numbers. Sure , other other places have bigger fish on average, but not the numbers . A 'better' fishery ? Better in which way ? Better is subjective . Erie may very well be better to someone that can only go to other places once in a while as opposed to Erie a number of times a year . Or it could be better for one to catch numbers of fish and are satisfied with local cuisine . It can be "better" to a number of different people for a number of different reasons . To expand on Fangs' comments , there are many people in the west- southwest that are envious of the ample fishing/hunting opportunities that we have in PA . While many in PA complain about the costs of licenses here , try experiencing the cost of other states / countries. Some outdoorsman don't realize how good we have it here.

(in reply to steely34)
Post #: 16
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 1:22:05 PM   
Mikastorm


Posts: 3884
Joined: 10/18/2006
Status: offline 		C/R gives ya bigger fish. Maybe thank the cr guys.

_____________________________


(in reply to fish5000)
Post #: 17
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 1:35:40 PM   
spoonchucker


Posts: 7891
Status: offline 		"C/R gives ya bigger fish. Maybe thank the cr guys."

Not always. In fact it can sometimes have the opposites effect. There are alot of factors involved.

The majority of Steelhead caught are 3yr olds. If you caught 6-8lb 3yr olds last year, and you're catching 8-10lb 3yr olds this year, something other than C&R, is the reason.

_____________________________

Get Informed, Get Involved, And Make A Difference.

Step Up, or Step Aside

It's no wonder mankind is messed up. The Earth is bi-polar.

The next time you say "Somebody should do something", remember that YOU are somebody.

GL&TC

(in reply to Mikastorm)
Post #: 18
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 2:59:48 PM   
Mikastorm


Posts: 3884
Joined: 10/18/2006
Status: offline 		Are you saying they only live 3 yrs.?

_____________________________


(in reply to spoonchucker)
Post #: 19
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 3:41:29 PM   
Split Shot


Posts: 998
Joined: 3/11/2002
Status: offline 		I agree Genie, It is a SHAME that all the threads end up off track.

_____________________________

My Wife said, if I go fish'n one more time, she'll leave me! God, I'm going to miss her!

(in reply to Mikastorm)
Post #: 20
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 4:58:49 PM   
young

 

Posts: 89
Joined: 9/23/2009
Status: offline 		Better in which way ?

Better in the way that (1) I don't have to worry about hooking someone in the face when casting because they're standing less than a rod length away from me, (2) the fish are bigger, (3) the fish are wild, (4) there aren't fish cops hiding in the bushes waiting to bust me for forgetting to pin my license on my hat.

(in reply to Split Shot)
Post #: 21
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 5:33:12 PM   
gct069

 

Posts: 44
Joined: 10/2/2008
Status: offline 		i think the fish seem to be bigger this year.today i hooked into mutliple "hogs", a couple of which i landed.my biggest fish to date was 29 inchs and weighed just under 10 lbs...the ones i hooked today were every bit of that.either way,big or small,i had a blast.

_____________________________

gerg

(in reply to genieman77)
Post #: 22
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 5:58:26 PM   
ShutUpNFish


Posts: 2235
Joined: 3/16/2007
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: young

The PA fish are about 1/2 - 3/4 the size of NY and Wisconsin fish.

"Let me tell you this is the BEST fishing(just about ALL year) in North America."

Are you high?

Alaska, Canada, Washington and Oregon offer better steelhead fishing with much less fishing pressure.

New York offers much better brown and salmon fishing.

PA isn't even the best of the Great Lakes states for steel.



It all comes down to what he constitutes as being "The Best".  If its shear numbers of fish, theres no place in the world that you can get "abnormal" catches of steel in a day than like in PA.  Is it "the Best" as a total steelhead fishing experience?  For me, Hell no, but it sure is fun and its right in my back yard.  I'd be nuts not to take full advantage of it.

< Message edited by ShutUpNFish -- 11/1/2009 5:59:55 PM >

(in reply to young)
Post #: 23
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 6:10:43 PM   
cp13


Posts: 517
Joined: 10/24/2007
From: Erie, PA
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: ShutUpNFish
Is it "the Best" as a total steelhead fishing experience?  For me, Hell no, but it sure is fun and its right in my back yard.  I'd be nuts not to take full advantage of it.


Exactly.

(in reply to ShutUpNFish)
Post #: 24
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 6:29:15 PM   
swinger

 

Posts: 801
Joined: 11/11/2006
Status: online 		Every year I see the same thread. This year is bigger than average. If that is true. With all the years I have seen this thread, times the ACTUAL average steelhead size. This years average size would be around 25 pounds.  But in all actuality. No this year is not bigger than average. It is just average. That is all it is and all it is ever going to be. Unless you stop polluting Erie with fish, giving them more forage per fish to eat. Then the average size may go up. So next year when somebody brings this up. No,just average.

_____________________________

Quality over quantity

I am reality

I>U

(in reply to genieman77)
Post #: 25
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 6:35:56 PM   
krott243

 

Posts: 1500
Joined: 10/7/2002
From: Erie, PA
Status: offline 		This same topic is brought up every year and if it were the case, then we would be catching average fish of 12 pounds by now. I have noticed some days this year, landing a good number of all big fish, 8-10 lbs, other days I've caught loads of jacks and average 4-7 pound fish.

_____________________________

"There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot."

byahn32 is a baitdrifter

(in reply to cp13)
Post #: 26
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 6:37:46 PM   
krott243

 

Posts: 1500
Joined: 10/7/2002
From: Erie, PA
Status: offline 		Swinger, we must of been typing the same thing around the same time. I posted, and it was like your post appeared and took the words right out of my mouth.

_____________________________

"There's a fine line between fishing and standing on the shore like an idiot."

byahn32 is a baitdrifter

(in reply to krott243)
Post #: 27
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 7:00:15 PM   
wishfishin

 

Posts: 360
Joined: 10/8/2006
Status: online 		My experience has been much the same as yours, Genieman.  It seems to me that 10s have been pretty easy to come by, and even 11s and 12s haven't been uncommon.  And though I haven't caught anything bigger than that (I did hook the proverbial "big one that got away"--a dark old male that looked like a tuna), I sure have seen some pigs on stringers.  

(in reply to krott243)
Post #: 28
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 7:03:39 PM   
swinger

 

Posts: 801
Joined: 11/11/2006
Status: online
quote:

ORIGINAL: krott243

Swinger, we must of been typing the same thing around the same time. I posted, and it was like your post appeared and took the words right out of my mouth.


Great minds think alike.

_____________________________

Quality over quantity

I am reality

I>U

(in reply to krott243)
Post #: 29
RE: is it just me, or are the fish bigger than average? - 11/1/2009 7:59:55 PM   
fisherofmen376

 

Posts: 762
Joined: 9/28/2006
Status: offline 		Ive only been fishing the tribs for 5 years. But in my brief experience, ive seen and caught some bigger fish this year that in past years.

_____________________________

"Come, follow me," Jesus said, "and I will make you fishers of men."
Matthew 4:19

(in reply to swinger)
Post #: 30
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