We drove through the night from Boston and arrived in Erie around 5am. The conditions were simply awesome and we knew it! It had been raining for almost two days and the creeks needed it. This was Eric’s first steelhead fishing experience, and it turned out to be one that he will never forget and I will always cherish.
Eric: After stocking up on bait (ie. Egg sacs, mini foo rigs, roostertails) we headed to Elk Creek. This was my first trip to Erie, but I did my homework and now it was time to put the preparation to the test. When we first entered the creek, I was mesmerized by the water and was full of excitement! I gradually started fishing some spots and getting a general feel for the stream. After becoming comfortable with the layout and features of the stream, I waded down about 30 yards to the tail end of a pool with a downed tree lying partially submerged. I threw out a pink egg sack tethered with a size 14 hook. Second cast and wham a nice steelhead came crashing up out of the tree limbs so fast and with such force, I nearly fell in the water. I finally got to shout those two famous words, “FISH ON!” Three anglers beside me had to hurry to clear their lines for the steelhead to safely have run of the stream. After a long fight I successfully landed the fish and it was an absolutely stunning Pennsylvania steelhead!
Toward mid-day, the sun was high and the water was very clear, but a bit on the low side. I would say it was approximately about two hours since I had a hit or noticed excitement from other anglers on the stream. The lack of action prompted me to stray from the conventional bait (ie. Egg sacs, mini foo rigs) I had been using all morning. I decided to give a white roostertail a try and use the swing technique for cast and retrieval of the lure. I had a sense of confidence about the lure because the other anglers didn’t seem to be having much luck with their traditional bait. As my first cast with the roostertail sailed through the air, my heart began to pump. A steelhead crushed the lure and the battle began that would whisper through the trees of Elk Creek for generations to come. A nice female steelhead came thrashing out of the water determined to show me who was the queen of this creek. To see the outcome of this epic battle check out the
video(Windows Movie Video-3.5mb).
Brad: On the second day of fishing, the temperature outside was above average and the sun was shining. The spring-like conditions most likely had a lot to do with the large number of angler’s fishing that weekend. The steelhead were turning on and off – there was a lot of dead time with no strikes, and the action was both sporatic and unpredictable. This taught me to concentrate on each cast and be ready for a strike at any time. I had learned before, many times, that when I was lackadaisical during a steelhead fishing trip, I missed many opportunities. On this particular day, Eric and I both showed patience and concentration and it paid off.
Just as the sun was beginning to set (and we were barely able to see where we were casting) I began to loose hope for the steelhead I had been fishing for the past two hours. I was determined to get her to strike! I turned to Eric (who was behind me on the shore) and said “This is my last one [cast]”. My final cast landed about 8-10 feet away at 2 o’clock and the egg sac began to dead drift. Before I knew it, the steelhead ran with the egg sac and I set the hook. She was running and stripping drag, and whaled out of the water a few times. We could not of been happier. By the time I got this steelie in, it was pitch black out!
On the final day of fishing, we started out with live bait (including egg sacs, mini foo rigs, wooly worms, etc.) but did not have any luck. Referring back to my luck the first day of our trip, I decided to throw on a yellow roostertail (1/4oz), and wouldn’t you know that within the first few casts I had a nice steelhead strike. Eric, followed suit with a roostertail lure and landed a nice steelhead. I was able to hook onto another one shortly after his. The steelhead just could not resist the swing technique with a roostertail that weekend! The other anglers on the stream were looking at us like we had some kind of secret weapon – not knowing that they most likely had a few spinners in their gear. Eventually, our roostertails had to much wear and tear and we ran out. We left the creek with smiles from ear to ear and memories to relive for a lifetime.
