An Elk Creek Monster!!!

[Mashbill]

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.

SO,
You’re going to have a ball! The feeshies are in … and there are a lot of really big ones. You asked for thoughts on the 4wt … here’s my 2 cents …

I was up there a few weeks ago …. In Ashtabula Ohio … on Conneaut Creek. But same game as Elk, Walnut etc … it’s a short distance away from Erie. I was using a 5 wt with a new Taylor reel I wanted to test out. It’s really spiffy … ice blue, large arbor, sealed big time drag. i hooked into some real nice steelheads … a 25”, a 28” and others.

I had a real hard time fighting / controlling them. I felt bad that I had them on too long.

and I was all by myself. They blasted all over the place, one actually charged straight at me, jumped and crashed into me …. No $^*‘t!!

But I struggled to get them to shallow water where I could release them. I had them on too long in my opinion. I actually stopped fishing because of that.

I held each one in the creek, made sure they were fine & revived … made REALY sure … And they all swam away strong. The 9’ fast 5 wt I was using … I was under Gunned. I think with the 4 … you may be the same …. And if there’s other guys around … you might have some trouble.

ps …. I went up to elk a few days later. Stopped into the tackle shop/ gas station/ fly shop on rt 5 in Lake City … Tudor Hook n Nook ( used to be Elk Creek Sports ) …. The lady came out of the kitchen with a Italian sausage sandwich with onions, peppers and marinara to deliver to a table … that would have literally knocked me on my #$$ …. It looked amazingly delicious!! They have a surprisingly large fly tying material section.

Travel safely and ENJOY!!

 

[Silent Ocelot]

Thanks for response Mash, and I apologize for not getting back to you sooner.

Your own findings confirm my own suspicions, but I'm also one of those "let's find out" type of guys and may attempt this and attempt it close enough to the car so I can retreat back to it and retrieve a more suitable rod. I do know that with nymph rods in particular they have a steeper taper so mine is more like a six wt towards the the hilt. I battled (and landed) some good sized browns on the Little J with it, to include a nice 18 incher, and I felt the rod to be pretty good at subduing the fish, granted this fish aren't as powerful or big as steelhead and I landed them in a deep slow pool. I theorize this rod could handle a fish up to 24 inches sufficiently. I am an ethical angler and release my fish (I'll only keep a salmon because they die anyway and I don't care for the taste of trout) so I definitely don't want to over-play them. I like to think of myself as a good fish fighter (when I don't break off or have the fish pop the hook).

That Taylor sounds like a neat setup. It's cool that you are rocking a vibrant setup, a nice touch of color to an overall boring rod landscape of dull earth tone colors. I'll be taking some colorful rods up and my back pack will be a bright orange. I have a pretty high opinion of Taylor and think they make great rods both aesthetically and functionally. Their owner, Matt, really knows a lot about rod design. I chatted with him over email. I once had one of their T-1 reels in a pretty whacky finish that felt great, no Abel paint job, but a great reel for the 4th of a price of an Abel. I think Taylor will be a major player in the rod game in years to come.

I could really go for a meat ball sandwich right about now and I'll gladly deal with the digestive issues.

I will be traveling up safely because I'm not driving and I'll be wading recklessly as usual. I'm not worried about gripping bottom up there, it's all shale.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

There's a a 10ft 7wt I'm looking at that should just be he bee's knees for this type of fishing. A fairly inexpensive one at that too. I don't always go super crazy but the stuff I like tends to be higher end. I like this rod because it seems to have a deeper flex which is what I want in a rod for nymphing. I also want a rod for streamer fishing that is more so a tip flex for bombing out streamers to cover a lot of water. I already have this covered. I already have a reel for this 10ft 7wt, which is a blessed thing because I won't have to go full Jimmy Neutron on finding the perfect reel for it. Cash is a tad tight right now and I have 7 days on the water before Thanksgiving so I have to make sure I'm squared away for this trips too.

 

[krayfish2]

I have 7 days on the water before Thanksgiving

I'll be lucky to have 7 days on the water by May 15th 😭🤣

 

[GoldFinch]

There's a a 10ft 7wt I'm looking at that should just be he bee's knees for this type of fishing. A fairly inexpensive one at that too. I don't always go super crazy but the stuff I like tends to be higher end. I like this rod because it seems to have a deeper flex which is what I want in a rod for nymphing. I also want a rod for streamer fishing that is more so a tip flex for bombing out streamers to cover a lot of water. I already have this covered. I already have a reel for this 10ft 7wt, which is a blessed thing because I won't have to go full Jimmy Neutron on finding the perfect reel for it. Cash is a tad tight right now and I have 7 days on the water before Thanksgiving so I have to make sure I'm squared away for this trips too.

If it's the Echo Ion XL, you'll have to share how you feel about it. I've got a 7wt I'd like to retire for sentimental reasons at the end of the season and that's one of the contenders for replacing it.

 

[bigslackwater]

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.

I've fished a 6 wt many times and actually prefer it. Used a 7wt so far this year just because I have a new rod. My 6wt however gives me a bit more flex that allows me to get away with lighter tippet. As far as 4wts go, I have a 10' 4wt that I'm sure could handle some erie steelies. The length and the butt end, like you mention, give it some extra power. For example, my 7'6" 4wt, I wouldn't dare attempt to fish for steelhead with, it's just too skinny at the grip.

 

[Silent Ocelot]

No Echo. I'm going with a Clearwater, current gen model.

 

[rancid waders]

The Clearwater you are eyeballing will launch streamers fine. It likes an Anadro 7 line

 

[wbranch]

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

I was unaware of that. I just don't understand how wild brook trout could ever sustain a viable fishery in Elk Creek (Erie) considering it gets so pathetically low many times during the year and in the summer months the water temperature can get into the 80's. While there is no gage for Elk there is a gage for the Conneaut in Ohio. It is a bigger stream but with the same bottom structure and often in the summer I have seen flows of under 40 cfs and water temperatures in the high 70's and low 80's.

Shucks, I see I fell for Kray's tongue in cheek sarcasm. I'm so naive and gullible!

 

[wbranch]

That surely is a monster steelhead for PA or anywhere in the Great Lakes steelhead fisheries. About 10 years ago my buddy & I were on Elk, about half a mile above the Route 20 bridge. He landed the longest and heaviest steelhead I have ever seen in PA, OH, and even in NY on the SR. We took two quick pictures and it was released. Check out this trophy.

 

[rancid waders]

That probably is Steelie of a lifetime.

 

[wbranch]

That probably is Steelie of a lifetime.

Absolutely! Decades ago I caught a 15# steelhead on the Salmon River and comparing pictures mine looks small next to his.

 

[rancid waders]

That fish right there would have triggered most people I'm friends with into a life long obsession and madness trying to eclipse that one my friend

 

[CRB]

The tug is the drug.

 

[wbranch]

Everyone has an opinion on rod weight vs fish size. I would never use a rod lighter than a #6 for any steelhead over 23". I want to get them in and get that fly back out there to hook another. I also want to be able to turn larger fish. My preferred every day rod is 10' #6 single hand. For high water I use a 10' #7. I'm fishing only PA or OH. Maybe for the SR in heavy flows I would go to a #8.

 

[wbranch]

That fish right there would have triggered most people I'm friends with into a life long obsession and madness trying to eclipse that one my friend

I was probably no more than 42 years old when I caught that big steelhead. I can actually still remember the fight. I hooked it in the Bus Pool of DSR and landed it around the corner of the Lower Clay hole. I vividly remember that fish getting out of the pool and into the riffle water with me running after it. In the mid 80's the Salmon River was on fire with big browns and steelhead and had not yet become the zoo it became in the early 1990's. I may of returned a couple of times for steelhead but the crowds drove me away.