The weather was good. It stayed in the lower to mid 90’s most of the week. That would make the walleye go a bit deeper than normal, but it was great for the smallmouth fishing. We caught several bass in the 17″ range, but Brian topped out with a lunker at 19-1/4″, and around 6 lbs. Even though the walleye were a little bit deeper than normal, we still had plenty for the frying pan, as we ate fresh walleye every day that week.

As everyone knows, the real prize of the north is the toothy and ferocious Northern Pike. Some lakes in Ontario are completely polluted with Pike to the point that you get tired of catching them. However there are pike in those waters that are absolutely huge and would look great on anybody’s wall. And nobody knows that better than Sean. I’ll make this story as short as I can. It goes something like this:

 

Sean hooks into a huge pike. Sean spends the next 20 minutes battling the huge pike. Sadly, the pike wins by snapping the line, and smiling as he swims away. Sean heads back to camp, wondering, what could have been.

The size of this fish was estimated at 48″ (maybe a larger), a real trophy. Anyhow, I haven’t seen Sean that upset since the retirement of Mario Lemieux. The real reason for the loss of this huge pike is still up for debate. And the truth will probably never be known. Even though this was a tough defeat for Sean, he would hold his head high, gather the pieces, and move on to fish another day.

Bruce topped out with the biggest pike for the week at 35.5″. A nice pike, but, there are bigger ones out there.

This was my sixth year going to Ontario, and by far the best year yet. The fishing was excellent, the beer was cold, and the laughs were plentiful. I already can’t wait to see what next year will bring.

Greg

Halloween weekend some friends and I traveled to western New York in search of football Brown trout. When we arrived the streams were off color, actually pretty chocolaty in color. The weather was great (50’s) and the leaves were peaking in color, making for beautiful days on the stream.

The larger salmon here stretch the tape at over 40 inches! Mostly I was bouncing split shot rigs off the bottom with egg sacks, crawlers, egg imitators,and small nymphs. I was fishing with steelhead tackle, 10’6″ noodle rod and 6 lb test. Which made landing this salmon quite a task.

Not many brownies were being caught, but boy were there a ton of salmon to keep us entertained. The brown trout that were in the stream were mostly just males. The monster females had yet to show and I will be back to catch them soon!

I did manage to catch two male brownies that were around 25″. And I ended up landing 10 salmon on my stretched out 6 lb test. It was one of those days when being on the Salmon River was all that I could ask for; beautiful weather, great friends to enjoy the outdoors with, and oh yeah! landing these pigs were quite a plus!

Angler	10/25	10/26	10/27	Total
Sam DeNillo	9	12	9	30
Eric Lally*	1	11	5	17
Brad Lovas	4	6	4	14
Total/Day	14	29	18	61

* Most improved angler! Eric landed 1 steelhead the first day and 11 on the second.

On October 27, 2006, Sam, Eric and myself set out on

an Erie, PA steelhead fishing adventure. We stayed at the Presque

Isle Motel off of route 5, which was about 10-15 minutes away from

are fishing destination, Walnut Creek. We selected a spot which was

upstream from the mouth of Walnut. This was a new spot for us to

fish and away from the large number of fisherman concentrated at the

mouth and Manchester hole.

The weather conditions were great for catching steelhead, it had

rained a few days prior to our arrival and the streams were up a bit

and the water was slightly murky. It was a great feeling to know we

picked the right time to make the trip. We used minnows as the

primary bait based on the recommendation from the BAC tackle shop

steelhead guru. We also loaded up with egg sacs, mini-foos, and a

number of 1 1/4oz rooster tails (my favorite!).

Each day we woke up around 5am and made it to the stream by 6am.

It was still pitch black out until around 7am and we could not start

fishing right away, but we were able to secure the best fishing spot

for the start of the day. Eric was able to improvise on the last day

by using a bobber with a light inside so he could start fishing as

soon as we got there. Great idea, but he did not catch any fish

before the sun came up.

We would fish for 4-5 hours straight before

breaking for a can of soup and an orange Gatorade. Each day the

fishing was so action packed I had to force myself to take the time

to eat something on the side of the stream. We landed a

total of 61 steelhead in the three days but had the opportunity to

land double that. Factors such as nicks in the fishing line,

incorrectly set reel drag and the unanticipated power of the

steelhead contributed to the low ratio of landed versus “fish on”.

We wrapped up fishing for the day around 6:30pm. We went to the

local steakhouse and diner for dinner each night and then headed

back to the motel to get rest and do it all over again the following

day.

This was around my 10th year going to Erie to fish for steelhead

(thanks to Moe and Sam), and by far one of the best trips

ever. The fishing was excellent, the company was great, and the

laughs were plentiful. I am already looking forward to the fall trip

next year.

I flew into Pittsburgh on Thursday morning, October 5th, 2006. Mike picked me up at the airport, and we headed directly to Erie. After stopping at the BAC Bait and Tackle shop (814-838-2850, good people here – PTO approved), we headed to Elk Creek. The streams were up and very muddy. Mike and I approached the stream with caution, realizing that most fish would stay close to the shores, avoiding the raging currents. We covered probably 6 miles of the stream within about 4 hours, working various baits and lures. Absolutely no luck! For the last several hours of the day, we fished about 3 miles of Walnut, working our tails off. Unfortunately, no luck, again…

After a big, hearty meal, we got well deserved good nights of sleep. We worked the mouth of Walnut from 6:30am till 8:30am, again, no luck. The water had come down dramatically, but the water still had a nice, light brown color. We drove upstream several miles, and began our walk away from other anglers. The fish were on the move, but were taking breaks in the pools and runs.

Mike was drifting various colors of egg sacs, and I was working some black mini foo rigs. I hooked two small-to-average sized steelies, by keeping my mini foos suspended just below a small waterfall (I was positioned directly upstream from the fall). Aside from these two fish, the fishing was unproductive, and by 11:00am, Mike and I were beginning to fade…

But, we never stopped experimenting, and more importantly, we never stopped smiling and joking on the stream. Because let’s face it, being on the water, appreciating the many facets of a stream, and hunting for fish with a great friend is just about as good as it gets…well, not as good as it was about to become.

Remembering Brad and Eric’s experience from 2005, I tied on a yellow rooster tail and worked a swing retrieve from beneath an over-hanging Pine. We could not see any fish back there, but this is a good sign, as fish love cover. No lie, on this first cast I hooked into and landed an enormous female. Wow! After landing her, I worked downstream about 30 feet and hooked into another steelie on the
> swing!

I walked upstream, around the corner, and out of site from Mike. I worked the spinner from directly above a small waterfall, letting it move back and forth just below the tumbling water. Again, I could not see fish, but I just knew that this was a perfect spot for a resting/feeding steelie. Crrracckkk! I fought the fish down stream, tumbling over several small falls, right back into Mike’s spot on the stream. Well, after this third steelhead, and boy was it a beautiful one, Mike tied on a non-typical blue rooster tail, and headed upstream with me.

We approached the tail-end of a 45ft long pool. The sun was shining bright and the water was still milk chocolate. We stayed as far from the fish as possible, and Mike tossed out a spinner in the direction of 12 o’clock. As he swung the spinner across the pool as a surging wave approached it! Unbelievable, we saw the steelhead charging!!! Mike kept his cool and his retrieve steady, as we watched the steelie unleash a huge hit! He landed his first steelie of the day, with a huge smile.

We landed about 8 more out of this spot alone, losing probably just as many. After fishing for about another hour with spinners, we landed about 20! Every single hit was huge, and every fight felt unbelievable. Mike and I could not stop smiling, shouting with joy, and thanking Brad for introducing us to the idea of spinners for steelies. Hands down, the best steelhead experience ever.

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).

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.