how many fish does it take??

Let me preface by saying I'm not being a wise guy or poking fun at anyone in any way.
Just genuinely curious

Over the years I see the same/similar questions asked over and over.

"is it worth it"

"should I come up"

I know we all love to see hundreds of dumb fish willing to bite any junk we toss at 'em.
I can dig  the increase in gas costs to chase the Silver Bullets
(which is a considerable amount   to some of our "far away" friends)
and it's sure not "cheap" anymore for us that travel 1 to 2 hours for our chrome fix

I'm kind of curious "how many" fish and what conditions make it "worth it" to you?

I know there are a lot locals here, but I'm really interested in the boys and girls that have to travel a minimum of 45 minutes to the nearest steelie


Thanks


..L.T.A.

I personally don't think that the number of fish caught is making it worth it. Sure, everyone thinks about it in the back of their head but I rather think of how many hours I had on the water, and if it was a good experience.
 
Obviously amount of fish could be linked to the experience but that only makes up a margain. At the end of the day I'm happy, 5-6 hours on the water, get to see some beautiful fish, and to leave satified.
 
Once again how many could be tied into there. I think if you care to much about oh how many did I catch it really takes away from the whole experience....

I agree, good question.  I, like most people in here, am pretty passionate about fishing.  Don't get me wrong, I love catching fish when I get out, but just being out there trying to outsmart an animal with a brain the size of a pea is half the fun.  Do I feel disappointed when I go out and have a bad day and get skunked?  No...it simply feeds the fire for me and makes me work harder the next time I'm out.  Being an avid muskie fisherman has definitely instilled that attitude within me.  When I have an off day, my attitude is that my odds can only be better the next time I'm out there.  When I'm fishing, I'm away from work and all of the hectic day to day stresses that I go through and most of us can relate with.  Therefore I'm thankful just to be able to be out there relaxing and having fun, catching fish is just a huge bonus that goes along with all that.  With all that said, the more time you put into it, the more you learn and the more bonuses you will achieve.
 
I just got a camp at Erie this past summer, thats how passionate I am about it.  However, its not just the steelhead that brought me there.  Its ALL the many opportunities that Erie has to offer.  Family fun, wineries, beaches and to top it all off the vast fishing opportunities....Bass, walleye, steelhead, pike, muskie, perch, etc.  If you really love fishing, Erie is the place to be IMO.  The kicker is that its only a little over an hour away from my home and the rest of my family loves it there...what more can I ask for? 

KJH yeeeessssssssss finally someone who finally sees the light,after 6 or so i am having way way too much fun to count. these guys who say 36 hooked 23 landed really should be playing basketball or something i break it down like this bad day,good day great day and like so many of the great counters,exceptional day 100 plus hook ups with a 88 percent landed ratio lol

I drive over 2 hours to get there. Today was worth it, whatever your parameters are.

Well, looks like i started something i was not supposed to. I don't need alot of fish to say i had a great day Heck I don't even need to land one. If i can hook into a couple I'll be happy. Now with that said  it's a 3 hour drive for me. It would be like walking into a bar after a long ride just to find out they have no more beer. I apoligize if I started some thing wrong and after i think about it you guys probably get the same questions all the time . just wanted to know if there was a chance at landing one out of the creek

ORIGINAL: Chainsaw

Well, looks like i started something i was not supposed to. I don't need alot of fish to say i had a great day Heck I don't even need to land one. If i can hook into a couple I'll be happy. Now with that said  it's a 3 hour drive for me. It would be like walking into a bar after a long ride just to find out they have no more beer. I apoligize if I started some thing wrong and after i think about it you guys probably get the same questions all the time . just wanted to know if there was a chance at landing one out of the creek

don't take it personally...

go with the right attitiude...1 fish is better than no fish
if you get 0 fish... learn something, make what you thought to be an impossible cast, spook fish with bad cast... so you know when you make a correct one, learn something that you had no idea about or didn't know existed

BUT if you have to plan only 1 weekend all year to come up... wait to NOV or DEC

ORIGINAL: FlashDance

I drive over 2 hours to get there. Today was worth it, whatever your parameters are.

 
 
Woulda been allot more "worth it" if you didn't break off that hog eh?
 
 
I've been lucky enough to have lots of time to spend fishing. So if there is 1 in there to be caught, it's worth it to me.  If I could only fish a few days a year (a few to me would be less than 50 days a year), then when there wasn't as many steelhead around early on, I'd probably spend those days targeting some other species somewhere.  Although I'd still want to spend a day or two before the masses show up targeting the handfull of fish here and there.  
 
A 2 hour trip isn't bad, it only costs an arm. Now, if it was a 4 hour trip,and it cost an arm and a leg, then I'd want to wait for the big run. A 5 or 6 hour trip,  I'd probably go twice  in November and that's about it.

coming from 6 hours away i'll say that like many on here, just the fact of fishing somewhere is enough for me. especially with the change of scenery and the time spent with fellow friends and fisherman. yeah, im not going to lie, if i made the trip up and didn't catch a single fish, i would be pretty dissapointed. but no so much with the fishing as with myself. i feel that someone who fishes 200+ days out of the year should be able to manage 1 fish, it they are there. but thats not always how it happens. i guess it's just a matter of how much you love to fish. im happy just getting out of the house and away from this college.

A friend of mine has this little golf score counter he uses to keep track of hook ups and fish landed, it cracks me up. I personnaly dont care how many i hook/ land. If some one asks me how i did i say Uhhhh.....scratch my head.....i think like a dozen!? Even if the number is more like 25 hooked/15 landed.  Although i do pay lots of attention to the number i've landed versus hooked.  My dream is to one day be perfect.  I've been close a few times! Other times in low clear water i use two lb fluro with a single egg and sight fish them.  Just like to feel the fight for a little bit before they bust off.
 
P.S. If you want a challenge this year, try taking a nine foot three weight, and two lb tippet, see how many you can land!  Just dont do it around a bunch of other anglers, it takes a while to land one if you are good enough! 

ORIGINAL: Bughawk

I just want to be fishing, but my goal is to catch one fish.  Once I have one fish on the line, even if don't land it, that is fine with me.

That says it for me too !! 5 secs. with a fish on and I'm good.

There is always a place to fish for steelies from late September to early spring.  You just have to get creative.

1. Everyone wants to fish the creeks, ok, the East Side Creeks become fishable first after a rain, followed by Walnut, followed by Elk (assuming the rain fell consistent in Erie county and the surrounding area).  This is great because there have been many times I have fished Twenty in the early AM followed by Walnut followed by Elk at the end of the day chasing that perfect fishing water.
   
2. If the creeks are completely blown out, check the lake?  Where is the mudline.  Grab the Cleos and start casting.  If the creeks have dirty mouths, walk either way until you find clear water.  There are a lot of unpressured fish all along the shoreline.
   
3. If the lake is completely blown out, keep those Cleos on and head to either wall at the mouth of Presque Isle and start throwing.  You won't be dissapointed.  If you're on the East Side, stop at the North East Marina and toss those Cleos.

#3 is usually a sure bet to catch one or two, at least you're fishing steelie waters that don't look like chocolate milk.

I have to travel 6+ hours to get to the Tribs and my first trip was for 3 days in late Dec between Christmas and New Years.  Conditions were close to being blown out but I was able to catch and release one fish each day and was addicted to Chrome from that point on.

"Woulda been allot more "worth it" if you didn't break off that hog eh?"

That's not funny !!! Well, actually, today it is. Yesterday not so much so.

"If given the opportunity, I'm up slingin'  junk at the first 6 steelies that sneek past the Wall of Nutz.
be it gin clear no flow water, to 6" visibility moving out water."

That's beautiful right there. I don't know anybody like that

Jim is making fun of me because I had a monster jump on my junk yesterday morning. Blasted fish decided he wanted to swim back to the lake. He moved quicker than me.

Funny in retrospect, but sad in that it was probably the biggest fish I'll hook all year.

Never, ever expected a fish that size to be where he was on September 15.

Oh well. Could be a good sign that there may be lots of bigons this year.

As soon as I am suited up and walking away from my car its been a good day Helping someone get into their first makes it a great day.