Spoiled?

Spoils you for what? Other types of trout fishing, no! Fishing for pellet heads is a completely different game with different tackle. And everyone does not catch a bunch of fish every time they visit the tribs - some people catch nothing.

Erie does spoil you... The fishing is amazing there and it is worth elbow to elbow fishing.  Regular trout not so much, They are all 8 inches and you only caught 10 -20. No fight to them.  And they are fished out in two days where I live. If it wasn't for Erie i probably wouldn't get a fishing License. SO KUDOS TO YOU ERIE!!!!! I LOVE STEELIE FISHING!!!!

Those days when you feel like you just can't keep the fish off your offerings certainly make you feel spoiled. However, the days when you know there are tons of fish right there out in front of you and it takes all you have to figure out how to catch just a few, are the days that humble you.  It happens to the best of fishermen, even though many may have a hard time admitting to it.  Last weekend was a perfect example....70* Friday and Saturday and Sunday in the mid to high 30s with howling winds and rain.  Fishing got tough and the cold front shut most of the fish down.  It was tough, but we managed to catch some fish.  Imagine fishing places where 2 fish days are considered stellar, but where the quality of the fish are in question.  As far as being a "bath tub"...fishing is fishing and who justifies what bodies of water are better to fish than others concerning the way the water fishes?  Considering ourselves fortunate instead of spoiled is the way I prefer to look at it.  The only difference for me would be the fish themselves....our fish are muts, manufactured fish if you will.  But thats OK with me even though I wouldn't mind trying to catch some natural strains of steel in other parts of the world!  This has all become a recent passion of mine, a reward if you will of all the time I have put in chasing those toothy critters with limited results and knowing theres not much I can do about it other than just putting in my time and experiences...Hey, I'm good with ALL of this though.  Especially after many years of chasing muskies, working my****off year after year, just to catch 50 some fish a year on average!

ORIGINAL: anadromous

There is a lot of water to be fished other than the access and the stop sign hole. I fished a section of stream on Tuesday that had nary a person and lots of fast water and intricate drifts and lies. It is highly rewarding to make a good fly cast into a tight area to get a perfect drift presentation that results in a "ghost". I call those fish ghosts because most people dont believe they exist. Rather they gravitate to areas where fish are stacked and then fish over them until they eventually hook up. Who can blame them, there are fish there. The most rewarding is when you "read" a current seam and take the time to fish it properly. For instance changing to a heavier tippet if cover is present that could break you off, picking a better fly choice for a given section, weighting properly for the depth and current speed. People get spoiled a bit by standing over the same fish, the same drift. using the same leader length, standing in the same spot and the only factor is "what will they take".That is the end of the thought process When the crowd clears and the real fishing starts you can break free from that "bath tub" mentality and enjoy steelheading for the sport fish that they are. Nothing beats hooking a "ghost" in the winter time on a quiet section of stream, in a winter flow where only instinct and hope tell you there maybe fish, then on any given drift, a hook set, the "sploosh sploosh" of a head shake breaking the surface followed by a spirited debate with a great fish. Many people will never catch a "ghost" but they will catch dozens of fish at the elk access...Yes, they are the same species but they  are totally different fish and as for fisherman there are those that fish and then there are anglers. The "spoiling"is up to you.

So true. Well said, anadromous!

I fish Erie all year long for everything. I fish for bass, perch, pike, walleye, carp, cats, and yes...steelhead. I don't feel spoiled by the steelhead. When I get into a hole of hungry steel, I feel like I have won the bonus prize, not spoiled. However......I have always found my own fish (all species) long b4 online fishing reports. Now days you can just log on, then hit your hole. Maybe that's a bit spoiled. Convienent and fun....but spoiled.

Erie Steelhead is about the catching more so than the fishing.  You can certainly make a challenge of it "finding" fish but the more interesting aspect to most anglers who go is catching them and fighting them-- sometimes missing them and losing them is fun too. 

I dont think it is being spoiled , i think its being fortunate enough to have such a great fishery here in erie. No matter what species of fish you are after. I personally like the experience of just getting out there and fish. Whether it be by myself and the piece and quiet you can actually find out there or with a friend who you can talk fishin stories with while you are fishin. If I happen to hook up 1 time then im happy and everything after that is just a bonus. If I dont hook up at all then i was glad to have the chance to try. Thats fishin in my opinion. There are alot of people out there who help to keep the fishin as good as possible here and i thank you for it whom ever you may be.

Erie steel is a joke. To many fish for a small amount of water. Just wait till the browns start coming as well, oh boy. Nothing like a man made fishery. "Put in whatever you want we'll smoke it"

ORIGINAL: ShutUpNFish

awwww come on swinger lighten up dude....you know its still so much more fun!!  Could you imagine if the muskie fishing was this much fun and and they were as easy to come by?  I know one place where they come pretty easy  

Just one easy spot for muskies? thats it I know of at least 3 easy spots for muskies...lol...but yes muskies under normal circumstances are not an easy fish to come by. And yes I am so spoiled all I have to do is say here fishey fishey and they swim to my feet.....lol

Probably deeper too.

i do not see pools like that you must be at low tide .
yes a lot of fish but you still have to catch them ,and you just dont plug them with a 22 or a bow the warden hates that!!
and we have had a 15 or more hook up day just 2 guys, last week was 12 release no break offs and one chinn ,

It's what you make of it. I've had amazing fishing opportunities at such a young age that I've learned to just enjoy every fishing opportunity for what it is. I guide anglers in a few states and fish in a few more and I think every fishery has it's spoiling moments from early season streamer fishing on the Upper D to occasional insane hopper fishing in the Cumberland Valley to absolute craziness in Erie. Spoiled? I've been to Alaska a bunch of times so it takes a lot to spoil me

What keeps it from "being spoiled" to me is that the trib steelheads arent year round. I can always catch trout from the limestoners down here in scentral pa with the water coming out of the ground in the fifties but as someone else said, the steelhead are a great bonus.
Also like someone else said, the PFBC is promoting the CRAP out of it and the fishing experiences there will almost certainly decline in quality. Some fellers have told me it already has.
But for now, I still like it. I get to see my aged stepfather in Meadville while I'm there going after my year-end bonus.

ORIGINAL: ShutUpNFish

awwww come on swinger lighten up dude....you know its still so much more fun!!  Could you imagine if the muskie fishing was this much fun and and they were as easy to come by?  I know one place where they come pretty easy  

 
 
Honestly PA steel is not very fun to me. The only time I go is when the conditions are right for me. Not many guys out when I come up. Landing 30+ in PA is nothing special or something to be proud of. How many do you stock again?  Muskie fishing is much more fun to me, because you just never know what could happen next.

No,
We all have good days were thereare lots of fish.
 
We all have had days when you really have to work to find fish and then try to get them to hit.
So I think it equals out.