An Elk Creek Monster!!!

[CoffeeB4youFIsh]

I dont post on here too much (sorry fellow anglers!) But I decided to try steelhead fishing out for the first time...had a guide...some private Lake Erie Trip waters...and hooked this absolute beast that measured 37'!!! Guide was saying you'll fish a lifetime for a steelhead like that...caught him on a white zonker...jeff blood 7wt.

Thankful to be able to catch and realize this guy!...an experience ill never forget

 

[albatross]

Definitely large for a Lake Erie Steelhead, congratulations! Nice photo too.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Large for a steelhead in general. Great catch man! The two kings I landed this year out of maybe the 14 salmon I hooked weren't even that big.

 

[CoffeeB4youFIsh]

Large for a steelhead in general. Great catch man! The two kings I landed this year out of maybe the 14 salmon I hooked weren't even that big.

He was just a tank!....was happy he went back into the stream...guide was saying he was probably a 5 year old or even maybe a 6 yr old...the fact that I was able to land him is a miracle lol

 

[whheff]

Very nice fish. Never came close to anything that size.

 

[CRB]

Nice fish.
Not happy about the private water above Girard.
But, we got some back on 20 Mile and Elk around I-90.

 

[Dave_W]

Very nice - congrats!

 

[Millsertime]

That's a biggun....white zonker on the swing or dead drift? I hope you say swing as I bet that would be one heck of a headturn once the hook lodged in his mouth.

What size tippet?

Also, are you related to Jimmy Fallon 😛 Just messin

 

[bigjohn358]

I'm seeing more and more photos of very large steelhead from the PA Erie tribs. Thats a good sign! I just might have to venture up that way again!

 

[Mashbill]

I’ve been fishing up there since the late ‘70s …. When the 3CU stocked Coho Salmon prior to Steelhead. I’ve caught a lot of big steelhead over the years.
NEVER have a tied into one THAT BIG!! That one really is a trophy. The first run had to be incredible …. That will keep you coming back! A great picture … and a great story for you to tell!!

 

[krayfish2]

That is very big lake rainbow for Erie. Pulaski sized.

What I find sad is that people celebrate invasive fish such as that. Elk was once was the range of our state fish, the native brook trout. I wish everyone was just as passionate about removing these invasives and restoring the brook trout to the water they once called home.

^^^ that's sarcasm BTW

 

[Mashbill]

I think 10 nice congratulatory responses wishing you a “ way to go / nice fish “ is about right …. Then the “ chop busting “ usually begins … which makes sense.

 

[Zipper]

Time to buy popcorn and open a beer.

 

[bigslackwater]

That's a beutiful fish! Nice catch! We just got back from Saturday to Wednesday. Took a gamble going up but we lucked out with the rain. We spent all our time fishing Elk from the Trestle at Elk Park down to the mouth. Fished all day bellow the powerlines down from Uncle Johns on Tuesday. We had fresh chrome running up all day long. They fought like mad!

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Nice one ,congrats. GG

 

[CRB]

That is very big lake rainbow for Erie. Pulaski sized.

What I find sad is that people celebrate invasive fish such as that. Elk was once was the range of our state fish, the native brook trout. I wish everyone was just as passionate about removing these invasives and restoring the brook trout to the water they once called home.

^^^ that's sarcasm BTW

Sarcasm.....But that was how it was. Have been told stories by long gone family members of how the fishing was.

 

[krayfish2]

I think 10 nice congratulatory responses wishing you a “ way to go / nice fish “ is about right …. Then the “ chop busting “ usually begins … which makes sense.

Oh no, I was in for "nice fish dude". That's giant for Erie. The brook trout bit was very tongue in cheek. I'm sure that was the home range of brook trout and many other fish at one time. Unfortunately, things have changed and none of us have a time machine to go back there so we have to accept it at it's face value today

 

[goose54cdd]

Nice fish.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Looking to get up there Nov 16-19. I know it's gonna be cold and a grind as it usually is. I've already began my rod testing and am planning on taking up 8 rods for the hell of it just to see which ones I like best. Right now I'm really digging the 6wt 9'6" platform as I like the extended reach and the power of a 6wt. A good streamer platform too. Surely a 6wt would be a tad light for the steelhead in OP's pic but I usually catch the smaller ones around 24 inches. I'm debating also employing an 11ft 4wt for maximum reach. I know that a 4wt is light for steelhead but given this is a nymph rod it's more like a 6wt towards the butt. I'm confident I could get a steelhead on it, heck, I run 5X in clear conditions. A good reel with an easily tunable drag with very low start-up, inertia will be going on it, a reel I have used for steelhead last year around this time and it got 5 in. Thoughts? Am I stupid for running a 4wt haha? I will be taking two 8wts and a 9wt sledgehammer of a rod incase I need heavier duty rods.

 

[6xAdams(Jones)]

Sarcasm.....But that was how it was. Have been told stories by long gone family members of how the fishing was.

Great fish, CoffeeB4.
When I lived in Erie (Lawrence Park), we only fished in the lake, and I didn't pick up a flyrod until I was in my 30s. CRB and Kray have me wondering if Elk Creek ever had "sea-run" brook trout.