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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Dfishinfool's Guide Service

River Reports Page

Hi I'm Don Mathews welcome to our Steelhead Alley reports page.

No B.S. "Steelhead Alley" river reports and stream conditions. Compliments of Don Mathews and the staff of guides at Dfishinfool's Guide Service.

 

 

 

Brilliant colors of buck steelheads cheek

3-30-08 Sunday  Had to cancel a float trip this morning. Was going to go swinging flies with an industry rep. on the Grand River.  Of course the Grand is blown out, so we rescheduled.  I have been busy tying flies for this trip and I had tied some of my favorite spey patterns on tubes last week. Don's Sunrise Spey, Cheek Meat, and Barneys Revenge all got adapted to tubes.  I will be the first to admit that I was skeptical that they would work. I couldn't wait to try them so I headed out to a Ohio trib this morning with a few buddies. Remember almost everything is flooded so here I am fishing a tiny stream with a huge tube flies. I took my 12' 6" two hand.  Got a brand new Vortek on it all spooled up with the S A short head spey line. I was running my home made Rio T-14 Tungsten Sink Tips in 3-5 foot lengths. It was just cracking light as I made my first cast.  Wham. Good solid take but I was still half asleep. I hooked up on my 3rd 4th and 6th cast of the day.  All the hits were the bone jarring takes that a steelheader swinging flies lives for. What a way to start.  I wish I could say it was non stop all day.  Actually it was a rather tough day. We did better with flies than the pinners did with bait today but nobody really killed them.  Water was 36* this morning.  Very few fish on gravel and guys everywhere.  Today was OCBS spring C&R tourney.  With almost everything blown out in Ohio the few small streams that did fish were packed with people. Chagrin, Conneaut, Vermillion and Grand are till a few days away.  With rain in the forecast it could be longer. Smaller streams are fishing but there getting beat up bad as are the Pa streams. Called it a day early so I could go play with my new Yak a bit. Really wanted to run the Grand but it was too high for my liking so I paddled around a little on the upper Cuyahoga. Watch those flow gauges and hope the rain stays away. Good Fishin..!!  Don

3rd cast of the morning on Don's Sunrise tube spey

 3-29-08  Saturday    All of the guys cancelled their trips for this morning. Everything in Ohio is flooded out.  So I met up with Guide Jeff Novak his morning over in Pennsylvania.  We went to scout out a section of upper Connie but there wasn't much to see in the brown muddy flow.  It will be several days.  Headed to Elk and it took awhile for the slush to burn off but the water had a nice flow and color.  Smolts are everywhere so be extra careful over there.  We only got in about two hours but we landed a few fish in surprisingly good shape. Stream was VERY crowded in most sections.  Stopped in and shot the breeze with Clyde and Jim a bit at Follys End Flyshop before we called it a day.  I looked at the Grand on my way home and it is roaring. I would say it will be Monday or Tuesday before anything but ditches fish in Ohio. Again if you do fish the smolt factory in Pa tomorrow please use extreme care with the babies. Good Fishin..!!  Don

one of the very few fish caught in the state of Ohio friday

3-28-08 Friday 10:00 AM Update  The sort term forecast isn't looking good. I cancelled my float trip for today.  Snow melt has all of the Ohio streams roaring.  Add to that the steady downpour we got last night and I think it will be a complete blowout in Ohio until at least Sunday. Once the water levels drop I look for some of the best fishing of the season to happen.  I got home this morning and called my other guides to see what they did. Jason called his trip also. Unbelievably Dick Keagy is out guiding in Ohio right now and they are catching a few in the high muddy water.  If you can't wait for the Ohio rivers to clear the lake shore at the stream mouths and warm water discharges are stacked with fresh Manistee's waiting to run. Our Centerinn Guide Greg Lum has been working the lake fish  hard with his Pinn the last few weeks.  He has been having great success.

 On the Pa side of Steelhead Alley the snow was all gone by Tuesday but mud coming off the high banks below Follies has kept the lower sections of Elk and Walnut dirty most of the week. Last night Pa got three inches of snow instead of the rain we got here in Ohio.  Elk and Walnut are a bit high but as of now they are both still fishing.  There are quite a few fish still around in the Pa streams...  Good Fishin.!!  Don

3-27-08 Thursday Report   Ever have one of those days?  I fell in the river, fried my cell phone, took a header down a muddy bank, and forgot the coffee.  At least the steelhead gods took pity on us today. I started my day with three first time fly fishers.  Conditions were less than ideal.  99% of the water in Ohio is blown out so we were limited to fishing the skinniest of water.  Flow was strong and visibility was about a foot.  Luck was on our side and we had an excellent day landing about 15 or so.  We had two fish in the 30 inch class and we lost a real hog at the net.  Not too bad for three first time fly fishers considering only a small handful of people even tried to fish in Ohio today. We got some real nice fish today and a few were very fresh. Water temperature jumped 6* in the last 24 hours and it turned the fish on big time. In the warm water the fresh fish fought like bulldogs and we were into our backing many times today. Sort of nice to see fish jumping for a change.  Fish were aggressive today but they shunned our nymphs and eggs.  Buggers and maribou spey's were the ticket.

Good Fishin..!!Don

Please note:  A few words about the Orvis Endorsed Guide program. Dfishinfool's Guide Service has never paid ANYBODY for an endorsement..!!   I want to get something straight with everybody.  We are not Orvis Endorsed Guides.  We have never paid any money to Orvis to say we are super guides and we never will.  Myself and Jeff have  been provided Orvis equipment at a discount price for our guests to use.  WE DO NOT PAY ANY MONEY TO ORVIS we are not obligated to use or endorse their equipment.  Many leading fly fishing manufacturers provide us with discount pricing on their gear because we are professional guides.  They do this so our guests can see the quality of their products firsthand.   I'm sure many of my clients are familiar with the fit and finish of the Green 10 foot  7 weight  Orvis Power Matrix Rods we used to use. Those who know me, know that  I'm not a wishy washy guy and I'm not afraid to call it like I see it. One thing I can guarantee you is on our guide trips you will use only the best of the best.  It doesn't matter to me who makes it..!!  We use some Orvis equipment and like it.  But we also use gear from Scott Rod (made in USA) , Fenwick, Penn, Cortland, Hardy, Nautilus Reels, Teton, Scientific Anglers, Berkly, Seaguar, Dr.Slick, fishpond, Rio, Redwing tackle and other leaders in the industry.

Our reputation is built on hundreds and hundreds of guide trips over the last 11 years. If you want an endorsement talk to any of our past guests or simply go thru the over 900 pictures on this website of my smiling guests holding a steelhead. Simply put we are the busiest Guide Service on "Steelhead Alley" for a reason.  We don't need to pay anyone to say we are good guides.  We are so confident of our ability to put you on the fish that we offer the "You Catch Fish or You FIsh Free" policy on our guided trips. Enough said about  Orvis.. Good Fishin..!!  Don Mathews
 

Good Fishin..!!  Don

3-26-08 Wed Report  I'll keep it short cause I'm real tired tonight. I was disappointed this morning to find the Ohio streams had came up much more than expected from overnight snowmelt.  Tried to start where I left off yesterday and it was too high. Punted and headed for the far upper stretches of a larger trib and found clean water but a strong flow.  Pay dirt lots of chromers until the stream blew out in the afternoon.  Swinging Crystal minnows and buggers kept me busy netting fish. My prediction is Ohio will be red hot when we can get at them. Things are kind of looking bleak for tomorrow.  I think continued snow melt may blow everything out. I'll keep you posted..!!  Good Fishin..!!  Don

3-25-08  Tuesday Report  With most everything in Ohio still high and muddy we started at a smaller trib this morning.  There we found every other guide in Ohio but we didn't find many fresh fish.   Moved to bigger water after lunch and had it all to ourselves. It was still a bit high but we found some chrome.  Should be much better in the morning. Still a little snow left and as it melts it adds to the flow.  If it stays warm at night the rivers may stay high until all of the snow is gone.  My prediction is the next few days will be touch and go depending on the weather.  Grand is dropping fast and may fish by the weekend.  Pa streams are low and clear with fair numbers of fish in them. Small black stones were every where today.  Despite this we did our best on crystal minnows and wooly buggers.

 

WE ARE YOUR SOURCE FOR QUALITY STEELHEAD FLIES..!!  WE HAVE OVER 1,000 DOZEN FLIES AVAILABLE FOR IMMEDIATE DELIVERY..MORE PATTERNS ARE COMING SOON.. I have been working hard with the best "Steelhead Alley" guides adding new cutting edge patterns  to our line.   Flyshops call for volume discount pricing..!!!

WATCH OUR FLY SHOP FOR SOME GREAT NEW PATTERNS. GUIDE PROVEN STEELHEAD CATCHING PATTERNS TIED ON TOP QUALITY HOOKS THAT WILL NOT STRAIGHTEN OUT ON BIG FISH. WE ALSO HAVE INDICATORS, SCENT, SHOT AND HAND TIED LEADERS. REMEMBER OUR MOTO OUR FLIES ARE "CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN"

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3-21-08  Steelhead Alley Report  Here we are in mid March and the main spring fishing hasn't even started.  Now there calling for up to 6" of snow. We have been catching fish most days but we have had to fish the ditches.  Most of the larger Ohio streams have been unfishable for almost two weeks. To be honest I haven't seen a whole lot of fresh fish recently.  Most are old males and spawning hens.  I think the best is defiantly yet to come. It will be Sunday before anything of size fishes in Ohio.  Pa is fishing good.  Quite a few fish in all of the Pa streams. Its your best bet for Saturday. For those fresh Ohio Manistees, Watch the flow charts and hit them when they drop. Good Fishin and Happy Easter..!!  Don

***We still have a few openings for our Fall 2008 Garden River trip. Enjoy the best Salmon fishing in the Great Lakes region with absolutely NO CROWDS. See our website for more info Fish The Garden and  Garden River Trip

3-10-08 Steelhead Alley Report      Friday and Saturday was the worst winter storm of the season along most of Steelhead Alley.  Some areas of Ohio were in a State of emergency and all roads were closed.  I got 18 inches at my house in North Eastern Ohio.  The snow wasn’t lake effect so most of the Lake Shore areas received about 12 inches.  All of the snow quickly slushed the streams up Saturday.  Sunday was sunny and the slush burned off of most of the streams by late afternoon. I saw the Chagrin and upper Grand this morning and both were still high but free of slush and major side ice. Chagrin should be good by tomorrow. There are good numbers of fish in all of the streams in both Ohio and Pa now but getting around in knee deep snow isn’t easy.  Problem is going to be snow melt the next few days. I look for the streams to blow out this week when all of this snow melts. After the melt fishing will be good as they drop. Lets hope were done with the snow..!! We still have two openings in next week ends steelhead school if anybody is interested in learning access points on the Ohio streams. http://www.steelheadschool.com/steelhead_school.htm    Good Fishin..!!  Don

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

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NEW YORK TRIPS

In addition to our guided Ohio and Pennsylvania trips we offer a select number of trips each Fall to Western, NY and the Cattaraugus Creek. Steel headers often refer to the Catt as the "Crown Jewel" of our Great Lakes tributaries. We fish the Catt during the month of October. It is a beautiful stream and the early fall fishing is great. Give me a call and we will discuss a trip to the Catt. Don Mathews NY License #4348

We also have a presentation "Finding Fish on Steelhead Alley" available to put on at your seminar, event, or club meeting. We have assembled a awesome slide show and have all of our own equipment. We offer this presentation at a very minimal cost, and your audience will learn from it. So Please contact us....

Many lodging options exist along "Steelhead Alley" and Interstate I-90.  Here are a few lodging options located near to the streams that we fish.

LOCAL LODGING
Comfort Inn Elyria Ohio;  440-324-7676
EconoLodge Elyria Ohio; 440-324-3911
Howard Johnson's Geneva Ohio Exit#218; 440-466-1168
State Park Lodge Geneva Ohio Exit #218; 866-806-8066
Hampton Inn Ashtabula Ohio Exit #223; Call   440-275-2000
Comfort Inn Ashtabula Ohio Exit #223; Call   440-275-2711
Days Inn Conneaut Ohio Exit #241440-593-1226
Best Western Erie Pa exit#18 814-838-7646

Clarion Inn Erie Pa Exit#18 814-833-1116

Comfort Inn Dunkirk NY Exit#59 716-672-4450

White Inn Fredonia NY Exit#59 716-672-2103

Best Western Dunkirk NY Exit#59 716-366-7100

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