Soliciting advice..first Erie steelhead trip...

[Pghtrouthunter]

Hey all,

I am headed to Erie for the rest of the week for business. I am looking to do some fly fishing for Steelhead. While an experienced angler and trout fisherman, I have never fished for Steelhead and never fished any of the Erie tribs.

I am looking for some advice for a mid week (Wed. and Thursday) fishing excursion. I am just looking to get on a few fish. Im more of a quality versus quantity guy and Im hoping to avoid the major crowds by going mid week.

Assuming I have the right gear for the purposes of this discussion any advice is appreciated. Where to go, park, explore, time to go during the day, etc. Not looking for secret spots, fly, or equipment advice, just looking for some get started info....


Thanks,

EJ

 

[ryguyfi]

avoid crowds by staying away from the mouth of elk and walnut. You can fish upstream by hitting several parking areas and walk away from the crowds. We're meeting at Folly's End Campground on Friday next week to fish and that's a nice spot on Elk IMO to start.

If you really want to avoid the crowds mid week, then drive down route 5 and park at one of the "mile" streams where you see the least amount of cars. 20 and 16 mile are the bigger 2 streams, but the smaller ones can provide solitude. Fished Wed last week on 16 and 7 mile and saw maybe 10 guys all day.

The water's probably going to be low and clear. Try different tactics and flies and keep moving.

Have fun!

Ryan

 

[fishingood]

PM Sent

 

[pwk5017]

Walk as much as you like, I highly doubt you will find that much solitude. It is easier when the water is higher and the fish hang out in riffles etc., but with it returning to normal low, your fishable water reduces, and thus the anglers pack into the known holding lies. Dont let this deter you though! I fished yesterday on lower elk and had a guy 30' to my left and a guy 30' to my right all day. At one point some guy edged up 8-10' to my right and i was like "wtf, there is 60' to my left", but i didnt make a scene and budged over to the left to let him in. He wasnt a jerk or anything, I just dont think he knew any better. Anyways, the crowds arent too bad, so dont get turned off. Yeah, I would rather have 200' to myself to fish, but thats unrealistic at this point in the season. Everybody caught fish, everybody had a few laughs, and guys helped each other. I netted 3 fish for guys that didnt have nets, and one was a 9 year old's first of the day. Honestly, do you have a few days to fish, and all day, or just windows? Also depends on what you want out of it. I knew on my first trip up last year that I was most likely going to enjoy this and therefore wanted to educate myself on the streams. I walked more than I fished. I think I hiked a combined 4-6 miles of elk. Didnt catch anything, but taught myself a good bit about the stream. If you just want to catch a few and introduce yourself to the excitement, I would look up the popular spots on elk or walnut, and join in with the crowds. If 10 guys are fishing a stretch, I gurantee fish hold there/are holding there. Politely ask to join and then let your trout instincts take over and catch a few.

 

[Pghtrouthunter]

Thanks guys. Ill let you know how I do. Im taking this trip as a learning experience more than a catch a lot of fish experience. Looking forward to exploring...

 

[Pghtrouthunter]

Just wanted to say thanks to the guys that PM'd me. The trip was a lot of success. Hooked 10 fish, landed 2 and took a pic of the bigger one. Definitely a novice on getting these bruisers to the net.

Im definitely hooked on this. What an experience landing a fish this big on a fly rod. I truly enjoyed myself, the weather was great, water was low and clear with not a ton of fish, but I easily entertained myself and was able to sight fish in the runs and riffles to the fish I hooked. I didnt even mind the crowds, which were respectful. All in all a great first experience.

 

[elonDO]

Great looking fish. Glad you had a good first time experience!