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Jake W.

Lake Erie Steelhead

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Hello,

I was wondering if anyone has any advice on fishing in Buffalo for the fall steelhead. This is my first year fishing and I would like to try it out, but am not sure when to go, what flies work the best, and where the best spots to fish are. Any advice on any of these topics would be incredible.

Thank you for your time,

Jake Wojnicki

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There are several streams and rivers that come off of lake ontario and lake erie that have steelhead runs. I could post up a bunch of random streams that are really crowded and you might have a shot but the best way to go about it is sit on your computer and do some research and you will find better, less popular spots to go. Remember also, the DEC in NY state is a great resource, a lot of people treat them like they are cops and just give out tickets but in reality its a really untapped resource, you can call your local office and talk to an officer for half an hour about fishing and they will probably be happy to do so. The US fish and wildlife service is a great place to find good, up to date maps, and google earth is a nice way to navigate to specific spots. The whole program, the adventure, getting shut out and rained on, and realizing some spot is shit, is the best part of steelheading for me because that day will come along on some random stream you are checking out that you didn't bother to wader up for, and you get freight trained, and all the countless hours driving looking at maps, drinking crappy gas station coffee, arguing with your girlfriend on the phone, flat tires, frozen digits, pays off ten fold. Buy a folder, start printing maps and buying steelhead flies, fill up your tank and go for it. Good luck man, you are in a great area with some big fish.

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and i agree with Khoss, go to your local shop and buy some crap, talk to the staff, and if you're buying flies and asking questions, they will help you out, its a good relationship to build.

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There are several streams and rivers that come off of lake ontario and lake erie that have steelhead runs. I could post up a bunch of random streams that are really crowded and you might have a shot but the best way to go about it is sit on your computer and do some research and you will find better, less popular spots to go. Remember also, the DEC in NY state is a great resource, a lot of people treat them like they are cops and just give out tickets but in reality its a really untapped resource, you can call your local office and talk to an officer for half an hour about fishing and they will probably be happy to do so. The US fish and wildlife service is a great place to find good, up to date maps, and google earth is a nice way to navigate to specific spots. The whole program, the adventure, getting shut out and rained on, and realizing some spot is shit, is the best part of steelheading for me because that day will come along on some random stream you are checking out that you didn't bother to wader up for, and you get freight trained, and all the countless hours driving looking at maps, drinking crappy gas station coffee, arguing with your girlfriend on the phone, flat tires, frozen digits, pays off ten fold. Buy a folder, start printing maps and buying steelhead flies, fill up your tank and go for it. Good luck man, you are in a great area with some big fish.

 

Truer words have never been spoken. I have only steelhead fished a few times and in Ohio, but you nailed it. I have had trips where I have driven nearly 4 hours from SE OH to NE OH, only to find less than stellar conditions or just poor fishing. Then I hit one day that was cut short by rain that raised and dirtied the water, only about a 3 hour outing, and it was the most amazing fishing I have ever experienced. There were steelhead everywhere, hooked a lot of fish, broke several off, and landed 4. Subtle takes, screaming runs, and one fish I landed was just shy of 30". Do you really need any more to make you want to go back?

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I live in Erie pa and have been fly fishing for the chromers for many years. You will want all and any egg patterns you can find. Glo bugs, blood dots, sucker spawn, crystal meth, milking eggs, otter eggs, nuke eggs, etc etc. Steelies really like their egg patterns. A variety of wooly buggers are also a good idea. If you get low and clear water you will want small nymphs like pheasant tails, copper johns, hares ear and prince nymphs just to name a few. Any small baitfish patterns will work too. Make sure you have a variety of sizes of tippet too as you can fish up to 8lb when its dirty water the whole way down to even 2lb when its super clear. Best of luck!

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Just a personal preference, I'd never dream of going under 6lb tippet on chromers. There's a reason God invented fluorocarbon, the stuff virtually disappears in the water so you can get away with heavier line. I've never gone under 6lb tippet and never plan to do so. Definitely good advice on small streamers, the best day (by day, I mean 3 hour stretch) I have ever had steelhead fishing was all done on small Clousers. I used olive/white and my buddy that day fished all white Clousers in #6 and we flat out worked them over. This was a day when the fish were easily seen and we were dead drifting Clousers until the rain finally muddied the water enough to make us go home.

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going to 2lb tippet in erie is not a good idea

with the amount of people on the stream your either going to be a jackass and tie up a hole/run, play a fish to the point of killing it, or constnatly break off

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Just seeing this thread now, am a local Bflo fly fisherman very familiar with the Ontario and Erie tribs for steelhead. I'm surprised no one mentioned it yet, but pick up a copy of the Sanders Fishing Guide WNY Edition. This is all you need to select and visit any stream in the 8 counties of western NY. Yes there is an investment in time, but no more than anyone else has put in to find their favorite streams and locations on them. Anyone at the fly shop mentioned above will recommend the same; no one will point you to their favorite spots, you have to do the research and invest the time. As someone already said, use Google Earth to follow your stream, find the bridges and foot paths to the water. The rewards are that much better, when you are catching fish after hiking for an hour and no one is around for miles it seems, its just you and the fish.

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The "endless" Steelhead topic of where to start........

 

2x fluorocarbon...4x in low clear situations.

Total leader/tippet length equal to the length of your rod(9-10ft.)

Indicators

Split Shot

 

Nypmhs: black stone, prince nymph, copper johns

Eggs: KISS and small (charteuse, pink, peach, blue)

Wooly Buggers: White, Black, Olive, Brown, Purple (BH and Non-BH)

ESL: Black w/chartreuse, red, orange and pink heads

 

I personally like a weighted(BH) fly followed by an unweighted trailer.

 

I had a guy tell me that he only uses olive wooly buggers and hasn't found a reason to deviate from that for 20 years. Presentation is the key, over some miracle fly. I'd pick up a copy of John Nagy's book "Steelhead Guide" before any other if you are gonna do the Erie tribs.

 

And, like its been said.........."Go to your local fly shop"....info from there is priceless! An hour there is equal to 20 hours of searching on the web.

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Just a personal preference, I'd never dream of going under 6lb tippet on chromers. There's a reason God invented fluorocarbon, the stuff virtually disappears in the water so you can get away with heavier line. I've never gone under 6lb tippet and never plan to do so. Definitely good advice on small streamers, the best day (by day, I mean 3 hour stretch) I have ever had steelhead fishing was all done on small Clousers. I used olive/white and my buddy that day fished all white Clousers in #6 and we flat out worked them over. This was a day when the fish were easily seen and we were dead drifting Clousers until the rain finally muddied the water enough to make us go home.

 

How did you fish the clousers? What sizes were you using? I want to use them a lot but often times I don't have enough stream for a good swing.

 

Dan

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Just a personal preference, I'd never dream of going under 6lb tippet on chromers. There's a reason God invented fluorocarbon, the stuff virtually disappears in the water so you can get away with heavier line. I've never gone under 6lb tippet and never plan to do so. Definitely good advice on small streamers, the best day (by day, I mean 3 hour stretch) I have ever had steelhead fishing was all done on small Clousers. I used olive/white and my buddy that day fished all white Clousers in #6 and we flat out worked them over. This was a day when the fish were easily seen and we were dead drifting Clousers until the rain finally muddied the water enough to make us go home.

 

How did you fish the clousers? What sizes were you using? I want to use them a lot but often times I don't have enough stream for a good swing.

 

Dan

 

We were drifting them, presenting to fish we could spot easily in the shallows that day. You had to practically hit them in the face with it, but if you put the fly where it needed to be they would take it. We were using Clousers I tied on Mustad 3366's in #6, total length of the fly was roughly 2" so they aren't big.

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What shops in Erie would you suggest stopping in for a few tips? If you are ever in Mercer area, be sure to stop off at Neshannock Creek Fly Shop in Volant, Bob and his clients are great.

 

The "endless" Steelhead topic of where to start........

 

2x fluorocarbon...4x in low clear situations.

Total leader/tippet length equal to the length of your rod(9-10ft.)

Indicators

Split Shot

 

Nypmhs: black stone, prince nymph, copper johns

Eggs: KISS and small (charteuse, pink, peach, blue)

Wooly Buggers: White, Black, Olive, Brown, Purple (BH and Non-BH)

ESL: Black w/chartreuse, red, orange and pink heads

 

I personally like a weighted(BH) fly followed by an unweighted trailer.

 

I had a guy tell me that he only uses olive wooly buggers and hasn't found a reason to deviate from that for 20 years. Presentation is the key, over some miracle fly. I'd pick up a copy of John Nagy's book "Steelhead Guide" before any other if you are gonna do the Erie tribs.

 

And, like its been said.........."Go to your local fly shop"....info from there is priceless! An hour there is equal to 20 hours of searching on the web.

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