Postscript to My January 2007 Winter Fishing Trip to Erie

We fish Lake Erie waters and other locations because of the expectation of catching steelhead, walleye, perch, crappie or whatever, but after many trips and good and bad fishing days we realize that the experience is the goal and not the number of fish we catch.

Who you fish with or beside is as important as what presentation or bait/lure you use. Some things will determine the fishing outcome and some things the quality of the experience.

Want to schedule a successful winter steelhead trip?

Trip planning suggestions that I always follow:

Check the weather . Check the stream flow. Check with your spouse – significant other. Check your gear – that rat’s nest of line is still on the spool. Check your wallet to make sure you can afford it. Finally, check with a trusted friend that has been fishing recently or a tackle shop you trust to get a prediction for your trip’s success. Now with all that done to your satisfaction, go!

When you arrive and prepare to start fishing:

First check your drag – that first fish you hook may be your last for this trip and it will snap the line if you have not made the check/adjustment. Find open water or find safe ice [you can catch plenty of big steelhead through an 8” hole.] Learn to safely fish shelf ice – steelhead love to hide if cover is available. Fish smaller presentations in clear water and fish larger presentations in stained water. Fish the head and tail of each run or hole. Fish the current/flowing sections of a run or hole rather than the dead water. Fish a chosen location until you are sure the place is not holding active fish, then change weight and try again, then take off your favorite bait/lure and put on something different and try again. Fish any location where you can’t see the bottom in a deep hole or run, you will have fish in front of you – apply previous sentence. Fish your favorite locations until you are satisfied then move – the fish do!

Best winter baits for me are pink eggs sacs, black jig/maggot or wax worm, white jig/minnow, minnow without weight drifted through tail end of deep holes and finally single eggs.

The color of a jig head or the presence of flash material in the jig hair/marabou is open for debate. I like black fox tail hair with a few strands rainbow flash . The fox tail dressing seems to get tangled in the steelhead’s teeth and when they shake to get it out I notice the float twitch and set the hook.

I can’t tell you much about single egg fishing because I have so little experience perhaps someone reading this can drop me an email with some advice, but I have witnessed a guy named Joe fish lower Elk Creek with single eggs. If you ever bump into him just watch [you will recognize him because he will be catching 10 fish to your one]

His casts are short for better control and a good view of his float. He uses very little weight. I seldom see his float move, dip or twitch, but he sees something I miss because he sets the hook into fish time and time again.

What to expect?

Fight: A winter Steelhead is just as powerful as the fall fish, but the cold water dulls their fight. Especially the breeder stock that is netted at Trout Run stripped of eggs/milt and returned to Elk Creek , Walnut Creek Channel or the McKean Hole . Some will fight like a wet sock, some fight with surprising energy even jumping at times. If you hook a “fresh” fish that just arrived from the lake, you will notice the difference – bonus time!

Bite: Many times a fish will hold the bait/jig that passes by and you will notice the drift has stopped. When you lift the rod that snag starts to pump and thrash and may make a quick dash so be ready. Floats or strike indicators are seldom jerked under the surface. Instead, they slowly descend under the surface or they just twitch slightly. Once you get accustomed to the “hit” you will get your share of the action.

Safety: Watch your step. Edge ice is tricky and Erie streams can freeze from the bottom to the top. When you are walking in open water, you will notice several inches of ice on the stream bottom. Wade with caution. Stay out of swift currents. No one wants to be the next over dressed, water logged angler washed out into Lake Erie.

I patiently will wait for the January thaw and then I plan to visit Erie in early February. With the Lord’s Grace and Mercy, I will post some reports and create a new blog on StoryTrax.com at that time.

If you want to be notified and/or receive an alert, drop me an email and I will make sure to keep you posted.

If you have not seen my previous blog with photos and video clips and want to check it out click here .