Diary; 3 Days Steelhead
11/15-11/17/2022
11/15/22
After setting up the camper at Folly’s End Campground I got my fishing gear together and headed out to get some late evening steelhead fishing done. It was around 3:00 so I knew I had only a couple of hours before dark so I didn’t go far. I parked along side of the road and was the only truck there. While I was getting my gear on another truck stopped at the end of the road and left a fisherman off.
Down at the creek there were a couple of other fishermen at the first good deep section. I walked up the trail looking for fish. I knew a good hole where steelhead usually hold so I continued on, waded across the creek and headed upstream. There was one other fisherman there and we had the section to ourselves. In the next couple of hours he landed 2 nice steelhead, lost one and rolled one. He was using single eggs. I landed two, lost one and rolled one also. The other guy netted the bigger one I caught being it was aggressive and I had a hard time landing him by myself.
11/16/2022
Brian met me at the camper this morning and we drove over to where I fished the evening before. It was chilly and at times breezy. He fished with home made egg sacks and I fly fished with streamers and sucker spawn.
We did pretty well hooking up in spurts during the morning hours. In the afternoon the bite quit. The steelhead were quite fresh and had a lot of spunk.
After the bite quit in the section we were fishing we waded and spot fished downstream. We picked off a couple more steelhead before we headed back to the camper. It was around 2:30 by then.
At the camper we feasted on venison stew I had cooking in the crock pot and hot coffee. That evening he sent me a text of a Lake Erie weather alert warning. There was a lake effect snowfall of 8” to 12” to come overnight. It was too late for me to pack up and leave. I had enough provisions to last till things cleared out by the following week if need be.
“I wasn’t scareed!”
11/17/2022
I woke up in the morning to what looked like 12” of snow or more!
I was in no hurry to go fishing. Besides it was freezing out and I didn’t care to fish with line, eyes and leader freezing up. I ate breakfast and tied sucker spawn. Around 10:00 I went outside and was heading to the restrooms. A neighbor, 2 campsites over, and his son were dressed in their fishing attire and were heading to go fishing. I got my gear on and joined them and a couple of other fishing behind the shop office. It was above freezing but it was still cold and breezy.
In the 3-4 hours fishing near the campground I only saw 2 steelhead caught and landed. 1 was accidentally snagged. Other than those that was it among 8-10 of us fishing there at the time. I could never say I had a bite. Disappointed and cold I headed back to the camper.
I got a bite to eat and decided to take a drive to see how the roads were. I kept my fishing waders on. The roads were clear with no problems driving. I got to the parking area up creek and decided to give it a try. There were already a few vehicles in the parking area. I trudged through the deep snow to the creek, waded and fished down creek a piece. I was surprised that there wasn’t any people tracks in the snow even though there were vehicles in the parking area.
I fished a couple of deeper runs that usually hold steelhead but couldn’t get a bite with streamers. After wading the wavy, rushing, shallow water and climbing up on the snow covered bank I decided to switch over to sucker spawn.
The shallow riffling water emptied into a long wide stretch of deeper water. Out, midstream, it was more slate rock. I couldn’t see any fish but I have caught steelhead in this section years past. I stepped off the bank into the shallow water up to my knees near the bank. The water was stained enough I couldn’t see how deep the going would be but I knew it probably wasn’t deeper than waist high near the bank, I figured.
My first cast was up into the shallow wavy current that emptied into the deeper water not too far from the bank. When my indicator flowed past the wavy current and into the deeper section it went under. I lifted and set the hook. The rod bowed and tight lined a steelhead immediately. The line shot out midstream and line took off through the guides spinning the reel spool. The steelhead sped out and then downstream like a scared turkey escaping a chasing fox. Down and across creek the fish continued with body shakes and force until the hook let loose and flew back towards me. The leader and line ricochet up in an overhanging tree in a mess. I wasn’t positive but the way the steelhead took off I was pretty sure I may have snagged him. Anyhow I got the line out of the tree limbs. I had to cut the leader and retie everything back together. My fingers were cold and almost numb but I did the best, I thought, I could.
Two more casts into the same area my indicator dropped again. I yanked up for a hook set and the rod bowed once again. The steelhead took off towards midstream. It was like dejavu all over again. This time it stopped briefly midstream with ferocious head shaking. I could tell this time I had a good hook set as his head appeared within the surface splashes. It turned down creek with purpose and took off like it was late for a hot Thanksgiving buffet. I gripped the cork handle tight and locked my wrist as the rod bowed into the midsection. With the scraggly young tree branches overshadowing the creek from the bank I couldn’t wade down creek with the fish. Also I wasn’t sure how deep the water was going to get if I tried wading so I had to stay where I was and hope to get the steelhead tired out and towards me. He wrestled the leader and line with head shakes and quick body turns until the line finally snapped. Evidently my numb finger knots weren’t tight enough. I was disappointed but with a long no strike earlier it was fun while it lasted.
I retied more leader and tippet on and made sure my knots were tight. I knotted on the same color sucker spawn and cast up stream watching it drift into the deeper section again. Not getting any more strikes I slowly waded along the bank and cast outward into the current.
I watched my indicator drop. The line moved out through the water surface midstream. Sweet potatoes pie, I hooked another! I yanked back and set the hook. The rod arced towards the hooked fish and I could tell I had another nice steelhead. Feeling more confident in my knots I wasn’t anxious to get it in too quickly. The steelhead turned down creek after a couple of hard head shakes and tension line slid threw the rod eyes. Downstream it turned up creek and fought hard against the current and the bowing rod. Each forceful thrust, by the steelhead, arced the rod deeper into the sections. I had the butt of the rod in my gut for leverage as we fought like two kids over a drumstick. Sooner or later one of us was going get tired and give in.
I was now able to wade down the bank a bit and it took off midstream. I now put side pressure on the fish as it fought out and across from me. Slowly but surely I was able to reel the steelhead closer. Once, within sight, it rose and then took off across and down some until the rod arced enough to put more pressure against it. It battled against the force but was tiring. I got it close a couple of times before I finally got a hold of the steelie tightly by the neck of its tail. I laid her on the deep snow covered bank for a quick picture and to unhook the pumpkin colored sucker spawn from her mouth.
Maybe not as fresh as some we caught the other day but she was plump as a stuffed turkey and she fought just as strong as the others.
I fished a short while longer before it got too dark. Through the deep snow I headed back upstream to my truck. I couldn’t wait to get back to camp and warm up.
It was all cold fun while it lasted!
~doubletaper
