remeber when.....

you made your first trip to steelhead alley ? i sure do me and a friend left @ 11 pm got to elk access at 2 and that's when we realized we had absolutely no idea what we were doing!! there were people everywhere and it seemed everyone was catching fish (but us) we went to poor richards (they helped us the best they could) we left there a couple 20's lighter but with new hope that we were finally going to catch som steel... got back to elk access fished till around 11 am (still no fish) my buddy got tired and a little frustrated i guess so he went to the car to sleep.  i went up stream and down stream w/ no luck.  i seen fish lots of fish but could not seem to catch them. man what a sight seeing those huge fish swimming up the low fast water like torpedos (i'll never forget that ever) around 4 pm i met my friend above the blow downs where he was trying to work over a pod of fish he said he managed to loose one now it was my turn.... went down stream to the blow downs but it was packed so i had to fish that fast shjallow water in front of those log jams that's when it hit me these fist are only big rainbows no special magic bait is needed to catch them just fish like you would anywhere else i tied on a small snap bean (made by yozuri the come two in a pack) first cast i made the hook got wrapped around my line and caused the lure to spin across the top of the water on the way in just then a huge brown came out of the water after my lure but excitement took over and i missed the fish (i know it was a brown no other fish looks like a leopard) well i fixed my line/lure problem and made my second cast not even two cranks later and the battle was on!!! the fish was jumping running jumping i couldn't belive it!!!!!! i finally landed my first steel head although only 15/16'' long i was hooked!!!
                                                        well that's my story. thank you for taking some of your time to read this,
                                                                                                                                                 josh

brad has a pic soon as he get's me his camera i'll have it posted

I went to Elk in 1999.  Had no idea where to go or how to fish.  I brought spoons and spinners.  Went to Walnut, got the last ten inches of space on the wall, me and a friend plunked egg sacs from PR's for an hour and said we were never coming back after looking at the crowds even upstream. 
 
I came back in 2000.  Went to Walnut upstream (stop sign hole, to me that was upstream).  Some guy gave me a jig to use.  I had a 7' bass pole.  Threw a jig in, without me even moving it and before it hit the bottom a 12 lb male with perfect colors hit it.  I managed to land it.  The rest is history.
 
Came back 1 week after that and landed 2 8 lbers on flatfish lures.  Thought I was a pro.  The next trip landed 8.  I made so many phone calls I used up a huge phone card. 
 
For me it still feels like the first time when I'm catching fish.  It just seems like a surprise every time.  Even on those big number days. 

I remember my first time. I fished one of the main creeks at the access. I went with my in-laws. It was my senior year in High school late December 2000.  Didn't know what to think about the trip. Wasn't really big into fishing much. Just first day of trout and some messin around at local ponds. But I was excited. Went up with my little ugly stick and my trout net...(only if I would have known what I known now) Fished this one hole and I was using white powerbait. But then a true outdoorsmen came over and gave me some skain/skank and told me to use this. OMG It was fish after fish... I think I caught 9 that day. Not bad for your first time right. The next year I bought a Silvstar steelie rod and used all the right stuff and the rest is history. Now I am getting into the art of fishing. Fly fishing..... Can't wait.
 
Thanks for taking the time to read this - Happy Fishing - Joe

First trip was about 1981 or 82.  Had a friend tell me about the big trout they were catching in Erie.  So I made the trip up from Altoona and went to the powerline hole on Elk  (Before the mudslide)  Didn't know better but I was fishing with a big green drake fly like I used on Spruce Creek.  Spotted a nice brown  (about 14") and was casting to it when what I thought was a grey rock came up from the bottom and inhaled my fly  (dry fly mind you) I didn't have a net and my rod was about 4-5 weight set up for normal trout.  I fought  that fish for about 100 yards down stream before a nice gentleman netted it for me.  I was all excited till he told me they were no good to eat, just fun to catch.  The fish was a female about 28 inches long and was actually caught on a dry fly.  I have caught 1 other on a dry and I'll be trying agin this year!

here's a picture from that day. This is Frank with one of his first, don't think it was the very first.  Look at that crowd!!!  This is the area of the "log jams" on lower elk.  Look at that crowd!! a couple people below us and a few down on the rocks.  There was probably 500 fresh fish in front of us.
 
 
Check out that high tech rod and reel !!!

ORIGINAL: wishfishin

Great picture.

That water looks kinda low and clear.  You mean you guys catch fish then? 

Hi Rob,

haha, yeah, we occassionally catch a fish or two then. It's tough though, you gotta go with light line and real small presentations.

hey josh you know my story, moved to pa 1992 went to elk creek 1st time caught several in dec and actually thoughtitr was too easy, now before all you guys say OH THIS GUY thinks hes great let me tell i started my steelhead career on the creeks around watertown ny, salmon river sandy creek,grindstone etc, if you caught more than 3 it was really good,so to move to pa and whack numbers really seemed easy. ask this thread starter,he may actually learned some tips from me lol

Early 90's (92 i think) I went up with a friend to fish steelies. I dont remember the name of the creek but friend was raving about it. He was a massive fan of Steelhead. I landed one and had two hook ups before the crowds got to me and I left and fished the bay. That was first and last time I ever went up for Steelies. I am thinking of going up  this winter in hopes bad weather forces the crowds to stay home.  

My first trip was 1984, with my dad to the wall at walnut.  Got there around six in the evening.  Probably five other guys there, fished most of the evening, it was slow, so went to sleep in the truck.  My dad woke me up around 7AM.  Action was still slow, broke off afew.  At this point i had never seen a steel head.  Around nine, a was hungry, so my dad ran mcdonalds for us while the guy next to us kept an eye on me, i was seven years old then. A soon as he pulled out, one of the rods got slammed, almost pulling it into the water, i picked it up, and with the guys help, landed me first steelie, an 8# female.  I ended up limiting out before he got back! Boy was my dad suprised.  Now at that point, i didn't know thousands of these fish ran the streams.  The next year, the fishing at the wall was real slow, so i told my dad me and my friend were gonna go explore. We did not even take our poles. We were just bored. LOL Until we saw roughly 1000 steelies in the gin clear manchester hole.  I think our eyes bugged out of our heads! That is when i became hooked.  With in hours my dad my friends dad and us boys limited out on night crawlers.  Thats back when you could fish both sides of the manchester.  I'll be honest, it is as much fun, if not more everytime i get up to erie. Twenty four years in a row!  We are truely blessed to have such an awesome fishery.  All the good times and safety to all this year! Dont forget to honor and respect one another and our precious resource.  10-4

don't recall the "first" trip.
(I know i didn't hook anything)
Sometime in the late '80s
My best friend had been telling me about steelie fishing and invited me many times.
i always declined cause I didn't think it would be much fun to  fish in cold weather.

Finally I relented.
What I recall most vividly was the jig he gave me to tie on.
I was a regular  bass angler and used to 1/0 to 3/0 hooks.
I saw that little jig and thought, you're kidding, right?
And the hooks for eggs/skien/skAnk seemed down right silly to me

I almost gave it up.
I went my first year with out a fish on.
But seeing those brutes (and my compulsion to hook at least one) kept me coming back.
The first time I eventually hooked up and then hooked up and landed several more in a short time, addicted me for good

So i don't recall my first "trip", but I do recall the first fish.
I recall exactly where it was too..
I fished that same spot religiously the whole year and cut my "baby teeth" in the "shrub"  hole


..L.T.A.

Our first trip was back in 2002.  A lot of my dad's coworkers went up to erie and brought back pictures of alllll these big steelhead they caught.  He decided that since we killed the lake trout that year to try something different in the fall, so we took a family trip up to erie to check things out.  We stopped at poor richards and asked them how to rig up for the fish and where to go.  Ended up joining the mess in manchester hole, which was not too much different from spin casting in the lake for trout to me.  My brother was bored out of his mind.  My mom was just shocked to see all the fish in the hole.  My dad managed to hook into a small 22" one with some eggs.   I still remember the guy next to us telling my dad, "That's a baby fish!!!! wait until you get a big one on".  I was getting some hookups on a size 20 hook with a single maggot on by letting it drift past them.  I had a real problem keeping the hook from straightening out.  Last cast I hooked into what the guy next to me said was a salmon?.  It jumped in the air and was a good 3-4 ft long.  I was so shocked I didnt release the tension on my line and the hook shot past my head.  I just stood there dumbstruck.  I didn't even move my rod.  We made a few more trips up and always consult with Poor Richards.  I still remember my dad being shocked that the nice lady there would be up at 2 am for those night fisherman who forgot something.  Always had a good time and great memories with my dad.  Still trying to talk him into going back up this year but he isn't cooperating... 

My first trip was in 1981, fished the Manchester hole with my dad. It sure was different back them. Caught(?) some kings & browns. Saw a huge Palimino that day too. Snagging was still pretty prevelant back then and lots of guys were doing it me included (I was 11 years old at the time & didn't know any better).
 
My next trip was in 1991, made several that year with a buddy. Caught a few that year, maybe 10 total.
 
Started to fish it heavy in 1999 and have been doing so ever since. The last few years not quite as much since the birth of my two daughters, but I still make it up once in a while.

In 2004 after a 3 year break from ANY fishing (surprising since it is a life long passion) I finally let my new friend and fishing partner talk me into going to Erie to catch Salmanoids.  I made it plain, up front, that I was a boat fisherman who chased panfish.  I liked catching panfish because I ate every one that I cleaned.  I told him that I disliked trout fishing in Central PA because it was elbow to butthole and I did not like to kill trout.  He laughed and just said "you need to go check this out".  We came up that fall, 3rd week of Sept. to enjoy an early run after a hurricane.  I remember seeing Elk for the first time and thinking, they put little stock fish in bigger water back home.  We fished the tubes that day, above the tubes only a couple of guys were there at 7:00 when we got on the water.  We fished down the shallow tube and out the other side and the hole below it looked like Beaver Stadium on Homecoming!  I figured, well, we drove the whole way up here.  Then I saw all of these guys with fly rods and what they were calling "strike indicators"  I told one guy, where I fish that is a BOBBER ( a medium sized thill spring model was what he had) he conceeded that it was a float, we could agree on that!  I had a new 10' steelhead rod (thanks to kokanee killer's excellent powers of persuasion) and 6lb yo zuri but had lost my fluro leader on the second cast at the top of the tubes.  Anyway, I found a pocket of fish holding by a log in the middle of the stream.  I figured that the key was a natural drift, I lip hooked an emerald shiner (I still think that they are odd and the scales stick to everything!) and it took me a while, with the big spinning equiptment and my small "stike indicator" to figure out a fairily natural drift.  I hooked my first steelie and had a fun ride.  I wanted to play the fish but another guy next to me said to annouce "fish on" and land it as soon as possible so as not to ruing things for the rest of the crowd. By this time it was 9 or 10 and the stadium sized crowd looked more like Times Square on New Years!  Guys were closing in on "my fishing hole" every time I caught a fish and by now I had to pee. . .well that was not a possibility.  I had this had been in one place, on top of 50+ fish since I arrived.  Long story short, the bite stopped dead, the crowds thinned, the natural drift became non-productive.  I reached into my vest (purchased for the occasion) and pulled out a small jig.  The long rod allowed me to be able to cast the jig and emerald.  I started to "rip" it past the fishes mouths, this worked and I got 2 more hook ups and landed 1 more.  I liked the experience, I liked the battle, I found the fish OK to eat.  I think that I mostly go to accompany my buddy whom I fish with 2-3times per week most of the year.  Don't get me wrong, you will see me.  I would like to learn to fish where it is a bit less crowded.  I would like to improve my skills.  If you see a 6'8" bald guy with a 10' fishing rod spitting snuff juice who is talking to most of the people around him. . .introduce yourself, it is likely to be ME.
 
Brent

My first time steelhead'n was in 1995. My exwife's girlfriend had a party and her husband was looking for someone to fish with the next day in Erie, as the night went on he was telling me about all these huge fish in the streams, he told me they are huge trout. Well needless to say, I had to get a crack at these fish, being a trout fishing nut. The next morning arrives and he picks me up at 4:30am and off we go! On the way up, he pulls into the rest stop after Meadville and starts smoking the "funny stuff" I said, what are you doing? Aren't we going fishing? Well after waiting for him to finish, it's off again. We get to Rt. 5 on Elk and he grabs his cooler and pops open a beer (at 6:30 am). I'm so pumped to fish and he's partying like there's no tomorrow. That was getting old, so I put on my waders and started to the creek in the dark with never being there before. I get to the stream and wait a little while for it to get light. As it's getting light I can hear fish splashing every once in a while, the lighter it got the more fish I could see. I started casting to them with 8lb test in low and clear water only to watch them swim straight away from any and every fly I had. I'm thinking WTF am I doing wrong. By this time my fishing partner shows up with a good buzz and starts casting beside me using nightcrawler and more weight than I could imagine. He told me to keep fishing, sooner or later they'll grab it. I asked him how many has he caught since he's been fishing for them? His answere, one! I said your kidding me. The day goes on and I'm at wits end. How do you catch these beasts? About 3 pm it starts raining, I mean pouring buckets, partner goes to the truck to continue his binge. I stand in the creek, trying and trying. Next thing I know my net that was on shore is floating away, I look back and the water has risen about 2 foot and really moving. My net is now gone and I'm trying to get out of there. I couldn't believe it, my day was over and I didn't even hook a fish! I tried four more weekends in a row with my dad and both got skunked every time. Finally on the fifth trip, I run into a friend from high school who I haven't seen in 10 years who now lives in Erie. He gave me and dad some flies, fluorocarbon, a tiny indicator and some small shot and said come with me! I followed him to the bend at the Elk access and the fish gods shined on me! I caught fish after fish, my dad was hookin up like crazy and we had doubles and triples on! I was addicted and every spare moment I had, it was Erie here I come, I never looked back and after 13 years with some 50 fish days and many 20 fish days, I can't believe how I couldn't even get a bite back then! What a blast!!!!!!!!!!!!