first time steelheading

[Jayg]

a friend and i are venturing to Erie this weekend and it is my first time fly fishing for steelhead. any tips or tricks that a beginner should know? thanks.

 

[flipnfly]

wait till erie gets a decent amount of rain.....

 

[ryguyfi]

Looks like you might hit it right up there. Rain today and tomorrow. My advice is to have plenty of flies. You'll lose a fair share, and fish will key on different flies on different days. Have your staple egg flies, nymphs and streamers/buggers. Bring plenty of split shot... not your typical trout shot, but some good sized ones. You want to get the flies down to the fish and sometimes it takes atleast 2 or 3 good sized shot to do so. Use 2x or 3x tippet, and when you hook one, just let go and let your rod and reel do all the work. Hardly anyone ever lands their first steelhead because it is not what you expect. They will pull like a freight train. Have fun. Here's a few links to help you see how the conditions are.

http://www.weather.com/weather/tenday/USPA0509?from=36hr_topnav_undeclared

http://www.unclejohnselkcreekcamp.com/Webcam.htm

http://waterdata.usgs.gov/nwis/uv?04213152
(ideal cfs for walnut is 70-200 in my opinion)
best time is when the water is dropping from a high level.

 

[Jayg]

thanks for the help. i have one question though. is the fishing more like sight fishing or finding deep pools or riffles?

 

[jaybo41]

Good advise given so far. Right now it's sight fishing, the trips are LOW. I am here now and so far no rain yet, but it's supposed to be coming. The tribs are maybe 1/2 the width in some spots I saw today. Make sure you're stocked up on flies or be prepared to pick some up at one of the shops. Good luck.

 

[Acristickid]

Not the best conditions- might improve with some more rain. The flows mean alot in Erie.

If you okay at nymphing you'll catch'em. I use eggs and sucker spawn most of the time with weight and thingambober- unless the water is really low and clear- then probably no indicator.

Fish can hold just about anywhere when the water is off color and they are moving.

Probably be a decent amount of anglers there this weekend.

Good luck- it's fun to catch 5-10 pounders in small water.

 

[ryguyfi]

no matter what the conditions are like, do your best to pass up the fish in the slow pools. You will see them sitting there, but they are resting and will usually resist any presentation. Cast over fish in the faster water. They are moving and active and will usually draw attention to your fly. Walk and keep fishing. If you find fish that aren't being fished over in the right conditions you can have a very good day.

 

[AlwaysWading]

Depending on the water level and clarity be ready to switch up tippet. Brings lots of eggs in a variety of colors, shapes, etc. Bring some tiny trout nymphs for those clear water days. Purples, whites, reds, orange, all good colors to try when it comes to wet flies.

I always fish to a particular fish, then move on to the next, so on and so on. For me steelhead fishing is all about angles, trying to place that fly right on their mouth forcing the issue.

If you foul hook, simply hold the rod straight out and pull. We use little connectors so the line in those cases, or if you somehow grab a snag (that's where the fish tend to be) or a tree, the tippet breaks at that point and you don't wreck leader.

Most of all simply have fun.

 

[SonofZ3]

Don't rule out streamers either. Olive zonkers have produced for my father and I every steelheading trip so far this year, even when the water was clear. The fresh fish were game to grab the zonker. The same fly was also the only thing that got a a strike at all on our recent trip up to oak orchard. The nice thing about fishing streamers is that you can use large tippet sizes, 2x or even 1x is alright when swinging streamers. Maybe only 1 fish out of 15 or 25 will be in the mood to smash a streamer, but when fishing the erie tribs you can literally present the streamer to a hundred steelhead in a day. If a fish breaks off your tippet, or a snag does, maybe throw a streamer onto the heavy leader thats left and give it a few casts, if nothing happens tie on some more 4x and continue nymphing, no harm no foul.

 

[AlwaysWading]

The first time I took a well seasoned fly fisherman up for steelhead, he was like a kid in a candy store. He soent well over 30 years in the stream, he taught me to fly fish, and the first steelie he tied into, he was like jumping up and down, hooping and hollaring. It was different that he had imagined. Steelies are a toal blast to get into.

 

[bowhunter0131]

Steelhead are a blast everyone you catch can do something diffrent. i have lived on elkcreek my whole life and i have caught at least 500 steelies and still get excited with every take. great time for anyone when you get the first one on a fly. long runs and lots of jumps when they are fresh fish.

 

[govtmule]

make sure your drag is set!!!...use side pressure when fighting them...not above your head.

jeff

 

[TroutBuster]

Eggs and Sucker Spawns in every color you can tie up will do ya just fine at erie. Nymphs and buggers are decent sometimes too.. White, apricot, yellow, and orange are usually the hot colors for me, but it pays to have as many colors as possible.