Fishing: Chasing Great Lakes Steelhead

The leaves are changing, the air is beginning to become cool and crisp, to a fly fisherman this only means one thing, it's steelhead season. The anticipation of steelhead season is hard to describe. The summer is over and the good dry fly fishing has passed and while many outdoor enthusiasts may be gearing up for hunting season, die-hard fly fishermen are awaiting the arrival of steelhead into our rivers and streams.

In the northeast we are blessed with the Great Lakes that yield heavy salmon, trout and steelhead runs. It seems that steelhead draw the most attention from fly fishermen and with good reason. These are heavy fish, up to 20lbs, that readily take a fly and once hooked often take to the air and then make long frantic runs. Great Lakes steelhead spend the majority of the year in the lake fattening up before they enter the streams and rivers that feed the lakes. The first steelhead normally show up in October, chasing the spawning salmon and feeding on the fresh salmon eggs. Around early November the salmon are usually gone and the runs of steelhead entering the river will vary depending on the weather. However, by mid November into December there are normally good numbers of steelhead in most rivers that will remain in the river until spring when they look to spawn.

Fly-fishing to these fish can be difficult, as most will lie snug to the bottom in deeper pools or swift runs. Getting down near the bottom is often essential when fishing to Great Lakes steelhead. The exception being when you are swinging some type of streamer of wooly bugger. Try to cover a lot of water when fishing these streams. It can be difficult at times due to the number of anglers, but the more water you cover the greater the chances you will find that hungry steelhead.

Every year it seems as though there is a new "hot" fly that you must have when fishing for steelhead. In my experience that just isn't the case. The old standbys are just that and they are often the most effective patterns year in and year out. First, of course, there are glo-bugs (egg imitations). These are often my most successful flies and I predominantly use either orange or yellow between sizes 8-14. Then is an egg-sucking leach, this is my favorite pattern to use. This pattern can be dead drifted like an egg or swung like a streamer. Either way you fish it an egg sucking leach often provides the most electric strikes. I like to use weighted patterns with the body being black, brown or purple with either a hot pink or chartreuse head. The past few seasons a black egg sucking leach with a chartreuse head has yielded the best results.

During the harder winter months I often switch to nymphing, again with the old standbys. Black stonefly nymphs in sizes 8-16, any peacock hearl nymph like a zug-bug or prince nymph work well. However, I often have the most success on a gold ribbed hares ear. This is the first pattern I try when the fishing gets difficult and is normally effective when dragged near the bottom. Stoneflies and other nymphs do work especially in late March or early April, but in January and even February I prefer the hare's ear.

No matter which Great Lake tributary you are planning to fish the most successful techniques and flies are generally the same. Steelhead fishing can be long and grueling, but the rewards are special. Catching a beautiful chrome steelie is often the highlight of each fishing year and for me the anticipation of steelhead season starts as soon as the last season ended.