As the evening temperatures in the steelhead alley area continue to fall,
this will trigger the movement of steelhead closer to shore, and eventually
into the river mouths. We have the benefit of surface temperature monitors out
in Lake Erie. They are spread throughout the lake.
After my last check of them, we are getting closer by the day to some better
water temperature readings. Most of the area is still in the low 70 degrees to
upper 60′s in some spots. This is the time of season that all steelhead anglers
begin getting the itch to go out and hunt for their first steelhead of the 2012
season. One of the prime indicators that I use to tell how close steelhead are
to shore is by listening to the walleye anglers that troll Lake Erie. When I
hear them picking up steelhead 2-5 miles out, then I know it is getting close
to that time.
As you begin your trek out to the area streams and stream mouths, take note
of the sunrise times during the early season. The best bite seems to be just
before light and a few hours after light. As the season progresses into the
fall and winter, these best bite times will continue to be later in the day.
I get many emails about where to go during early season. It has been my
experience that your best chance to hook into a few steelhead during the
September timeframe is at the break walls near the shores of Lake Erie. My
personal favorite is the Fairport Harbor “Long Wall”. I prefer this area
because the break wall extends into the lake quite a ways, and has ample room
to move around and try different spots. This walk is not for the faint at
heart, and the trek out can be tricky if the rocks are wet.
If for some reason
you are not able to fish the long wall due to a disability, your alternate
option is to fish the Fairport “Short Wall”. You can easily park and walk to
this wall, and it accessible by all that care to fish.
Some of the most effective methods of catching steelhead in this area would
be casting spoons, rooster tails, and jig/maggot combos. I like the Cleo spoons
personally, because I can cast them quite a ways. I use the countdown/fan cast
method. I fan cast the area and countdown to 5. If Iget no fish, I fan cast the area and countdown to 6, so on and so forth, until
I either get a fish or I move to another area. The rooster tails can catch the
fish as well, but I prefer the spoons.
Whichever method you decide to use,
ensure that you or someone around you has a long handled net. If you hook into
a steelhead and are going to land it at the break walls, the long handle will
allow your partner to reach down close to the water and scoop the trout up. You
would be surprised at how high above the water you are when standing on the
break wall pads.
When fishing the Lake Erie shores, it always seems that the fish move in packs.
So when one angler next to you hooks into a fish, there may be more in the
area, so get ready. Double headers are common.
Labor day seems to be the kickoff of the steelhead season, though weather
conditions truly set the stage. As we begin getting more reports from the
field, we will bring them to you.
If break wall fishing isn’t for you, then target your streams in the lower
sections before your first riffles. The current stream flows are very low, and
any fish that may wander into the streams during the evening time probably are
not going to venture very far upstream at this time.
Fish Hard…Fish Often…
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