Serving  all of "Steelhead Alley" in Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York     Turkey Creek Oh, Conneaut Creek Oh, Grand River Oh, Chagrin River Oh,  Rocky River Oh,  Vermillion River Oh,  Twenty mile Creek Pa,  16 mile Creek Pa,  12 Mile Creek Pa,  7 Miile Creek  Pa,  Walnut Creek Pa,  Elk Creek Pa,  Crooked Creek Pa,  Racoon Creek Pa,   Cattaraugus Creek NY,   Zoar Valley south branch,  Clear Creek NY,   Canadaway Creek NY,  Silver Creek NY,  Chataqua Creek NY,                      WE GO WHERE THE FISH ARE....................... 

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Seasons of the "Alley"

To have consistent success on "steelhead Alley" you have to understand the inherited tendencies of the different sub species of steelhead being stocked into the lake.  These tendencies will be a major influence on when and where we choose to fish. Remember rule number one to catching steelhead is "fish where the fish are". Different strains of fish tend to run at different times of the year. Our guides have a excellent understanding of run timing.  We are willing to travel a little to insure that you will have a successful outing. Beware the guide that only fishes one state or worse yet one river. Wouldn't you rather spend a extra hour in the car than waste a day flailing the water in a stream that has few if any fish in it ?  In my 30 years of steelhead fishing I have found that mobility is truly the key to success on "steelhead Alley"

Knowing when each strain of fish will run is a big piece of the puzzle.  It allows us to predict with a fair amount of accuracy where we will be fishing at different times of the year.  On a typical year we start guiding for Steelhead in Early October on Cattaraugus Creek, NY. By late October we are starting to fish Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. Our efforts will concentrate in Eastern Ohio from November thru March only fishing Pennsylvania and NY when water conditions prevent us from fishing Ohio. In April we are usually fishing the Vermillion River in North Central Ohio. As you can see our efforts are being focused on the Ohio streams for much of the year. Light crowds, lots of fish, and big beautiful rivers make Ohio a steelheaders dream.

 It is my honest opinion that Ohio will soon be known as the Steelhead Capital of the Great Lakes region. Ohio is the new kid on the block. Steelhead fishing is still relatively new to us. Before the steelhead program we had little if any trout fishing opportunities in Ohio. In my youth if I caught one steelhead a week I considered that to be good. Now I average 5-10 fish a day on my Ohio guide trips. Double digit days are very common.  Given that Ohio has the most river miles of Streams flowing into Lake Erie it only makes sense that this is where the future is.  Ohio stocks a Manistee strain fish.  Its parents were wild fish collected from  the Little Manistee River in Michigan.  Manistee's are a spring run strain.  They will start to enter the streams in numbers in Late November.  The fish will holdover in the streams and spawn in March, April and May.  Ohio's Manistee strain fish get a little larger than their Pennsylvania cousins.  The average size of our Ohio fish will be about 24".  Anyone that has ever tangled with a Manistee will attest to their hard fighting nature.

New York gets their brood stock from the Salmon River hatchery in Pulaski NY.  They tend to be a fall run fish and start to enter the streams as early as September.  Due to the abundance of Alewives in Lake Ontario the New York brood stock are a little larger fish. It shows in their offspring.  The average New York fish will be 24 inches long. New York's primary Lake Erie tributaries is Cattaraugus Creek.  It is a fairly large stream and has sufficient flows for the fish to run in September and October most years.  It is a great place to fish early in the season. It is here that we do our first guide trips of the year each fall. The Catt is a very large river and crowds are seldom a problem. It is one of the few streams on "steelhead Alley" where natural reproduction has been documented. The Catt is a very long river whose headwaters are in the Appalachian mountains. In the spring runoff from snowmelt make her too high and muddy to fish most years. 

Pennsylvania is a fish factory.  Pennsylvania has a very strong trout fishing heritage. They seem to realize the tourism potential of steelhead fishing better than the other states. They want your money..!! Simply put Pennsylvania takes their trout fishing seriously..!!  They are experts at raising large numbers of smolts (baby steelhead).  Pennsylvania stocks more fish in Lake Erie than all of the other States and Provinces combined.   We affectionately call the Pennsylvania fish "mutts".  The Pennsylvania steelhead program has been very successful at raising fish that run at different times throughout the season.  It is their goal to have fishable numbers in the streams for nine months a year. Pennsylvania collects their broodstock from Trout Run and Godfrey Run.  These small heavily stocked streams are off limits to fishing. The Game Commission collects eggs at these streams at various times throughout the season.  They hope that these steelhead's offspring will return to the stream at the same time of year as their parents did.  In effect they are manipulating the runs to last longer. It is working. The major problem that Pennsylvania faces is lack of access.  Pennsylvania has very few river miles of stream and angler overcrowding has become a big problem.  Fishing pressure is another piece of the puzzle that must be considered.

Let's Go Fishin..!!

Save Time and buy your fishing license online.  Please check with your guide on what state you will be fishing.

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