Picky steelhead

[Steeldrifter 0]

I've heard of a Swan Creek but never been there. The one I read about before was somewhere in NW part of Ohio if memory serves correct. Is that the one you are speaking of?

[outdoorsmanfool 0]

incorrect haha. does kalmazoo river ring a bell for you? if so it's rite along that by the allegan dam.

[Steeldrifter 0]

Ah okay yep. I forgot there was one there called Swan creek as well. That one also has browns in it from what I have heard from a buddy that lives in Kzoo. Never fished it myself though.

[Piker20 0]

Kzoo? Real place or local abbreviation?

[Steeldrifter 0]

Common abbreviation by people here in Michigan for the city of Kalamazoo.

[bad fish rising 0]

that whole argument was personal opinion only.

in Michigan there are no laws against fishing beds, keeping fish or even using real eggs unless you are in designated areas.

people should fish the way they feel comfortable & not force others to do as they do.

as fly fisherman we should all learn from & help others to get better in our chosen sport.

as long as you buy a license & follow the laws you should not be attacked by other legal fisherman.

we have enough groups against fishing & hunting we don't need to attack each other.

a guy asked for help catching fish not for an argument about ethics.

im sorry for adding my 2cents if it conflicts with either of you

[bad fish rising 0]

try longer lighter leaders, smaller flies & less weight to fish that wont bite.

make sure you have good drifts that don't sweep through the beds or across the far sides.

just fish the edges then you wont foul the fish plus the males from behind can see your fly off to the sides.

also look for other fish that might be more active. hunt them up.

maybe people just stopped fishing the pod you walked up on therefore they already were spooked up.

[Chefben4 0]

that whole argument was personal opinion only.

in Michigan there are no laws against fishing beds, keeping fish or even using real eggs unless you are in designated areas.

people should fish the way they feel comfortable & not force others to do as they do.

as fly fisherman we should all learn from & help others to get better in our chosen sport.

as long as you buy a license & follow the laws you should not be attacked by other legal fisherman.

we have enough groups against fishing & hunting we don't need to attack each other.

a guy asked for help catching fish not for an argument about ethics.

im sorry for adding my 2cents if it conflicts with either of you

 

I live in Michigan..as do lots of people on this forum. There may not be laws against fishing ON beds but it doesn't mean its the right thing to do.

 

Michigan salmon season disgusts me. There are more weekend warriors snagging fish and trashing the river then I even care to think about. Not saying thats what you do by any means by it still doesnt help us anyway. I saw a picture recently of a fish on the banks of the Manistee or PM gutted for its eggs. Someone caught it..gutted it for its eggs, and left it there. That is no sportsman and really turns me off personally to even get involved with that chaos on the banks up there. So Im with steeldrifter and avoid it. To each their own, ya know.

 

The name of the game is conservation. Everyone should be smart and stay within their legal boundaries as I sure most people fly fishing do.

[FlyFishin'Jam 0]

Great Lakes Steelhead surely do not get the same respect as West Coast fish, and here are a few reasons...Most wild west coast rivers have difficult access requiring some gnarly stuff in areas of lesser human population and truly wild and sometimes dangerous places. Regulations are tighter for these unique true ocean running fish, i know some fly fishing only rivers where using an 'indicator' is considered 'bait fishing' and not allowed even tho it would make fishing some canyon pools a lot easier. You have to rely on more traditional approaches and coax fish to move distances to the fly, some people take this to the extreme and will only fish a dry line. Fishing for kelts or near beds is unheard of. A zero fish day is excellent just being in your surrounds, a one fish day is superb and lucky. This is where i cut my teeth on steelhead, my buddy said 'hey take these west coast techniques to your Lake Ontario rivers, it will work'.

 

Now we look at the Great Lakes region where i believe the resource is exploited in more ways than one, garbage, fishing redds, pollution, snagging to name a few. The human population here is high, almost everyone has access to a run of 'steelhead' in one form or another right at their doorstep. It is taken for granted, people want and need to catch 5 fish a day to either fill the freezer or be satisfied with a day of angling, techniques decline to multi egg or bead rigs as fish see so much pressure they start to behave differently compared to their wilder cousins. Opening weekend can decimate a run and i know anglers who will wait till the following week.

 

I think things are changing, a dedicated few are becoming highly involved with conservation and just a respect for the rivers as a whole, sure a 'fly only' section for us to not have to deal with the garbage, miles of twisted up mono, snagged float rigs we are trying to swing through is not going to help the river as a whole. But these things are already in place or being discussed as property owners figure out fly anglers tend to have less impact on the environment and more respect for their quarry and the future of it. Plus it sucks swinging a fly that catches on mono in every run or pool.

 

What is required is education and policing, populations are rising, the demand of low attention 'catch fish now' litter anglers is growing and will continue to do so.

 

To the original poster...Steelhead are supposed to be picky, this is what makes them a fun challenge, some GL fish can travel 92km's (radio tag) upstream in one day, they are here with one thing on their minds...To spawn. You should educate yourself and read one of the many great books on 'Great Lakes Steelhead fly fishing'. Here is one example.

 

http://www.rickkustich.com/products.html

 

Lastly, it is the time of year you will see many anglers sharing the river, please all of us remember our etiquette! Rotate pools, give room, you guys know the rest. I must say 90% of fly anglers i see are great sharing.

 

Anyway fun fish! Enjoy responsibly. Or don't, but if u get rocks hurled at you it aint my fault.

 

*edit* i did google this male, redd fishing and it seems common in some GL tribs, ugly fish tho, dark, busted fins, so yeah seems for some it is a common thing, excuse me for being in such disbelief!

[JSzymczyk 0]

Great Lakes steelhead have almost zero natural reproduction success.

 

I have not fished in the spring for steelhead.

 

Fall is bad enough, that is why I have treasured the few days I have been able to get out in Lake Erie off a creek mouth in my Kayak.

[FlyFishin'Jam 0]

Great Lakes steelhead have almost zero natural reproduction success.

Not true, some rivers are 100% wild naturally reproducing self sustaining runs. Which is why we don't want people trudging through redds.

 

You might have meant to say 'atlantic salmon'

 

Here is some Michigan history, i know a strain or two of those fish, one is from an Ontario river...

 

http://steelheadsite.com/forum/cms.php?cms=article_History_of_Great_Lakes_Steelhead

[Steeldrifter 0]

Lets keep this thread on topic now for the original poster. No more veering off topic trying to force personal belief/views onto someone else.

[bad fish rising 0]

the eggs were gutted from the fish on the PM in the flies only section

[zOnk 0]

OP -- Here's a tactic you might find helpful. Fish the pool at the head of riffles. After the fish come through the riffles they will often rest in the pool just before the riffles start. Go big on the fly -- spey style (attached), and site cast at fish or work the current seams (where water looks to funnel into a chevron-style shape before it enters the riffles). Fish that worked hard to get through riffles don't like to be backed into them. Swing the fly and let it move the fish. An agitated fish, that doesn't want to be forced into the riffles again, will smack the fly.

The Swing-- Cast across stream and mend line above the fly while you allow it to sink. When the fly reaches were you want it to swing across stream in front of the nose of the fish, lift your rod tip and follow the line across the current. Allow the fly to travel directly below you and hang until the fly rises to the surface. Rinse and repeat. Add weight (twist on or split shot) to the leader to sink fly to depth where fish are holding.

Hope this helps.

 

As for spawning fish, I fish for steelhead in an urban tributary that reaches 70+ degrees by the first of June and the oxygen is choked out of the water by agricultural run off (silt and chemicals). There is no natural reproduction and the fish I see spawning have already been stripped of eggs and milt for the hatchery program. If you choose to fish a redd my recommendation is target the fish (jacks who are not in the river to spawn and competing males) below the redd -- as they are more aggressive fish. Do not target the hen on the redd because if you catch and disturb her, all the other fish will leave. You can successfully fish behind her and her dominant mate (in Lake Michigan tributaries) without disrupting the spawning fish or have an negative impact on nonexistent reproduction. Cast carefully so your swing is well behind the fish and avoid any accidental snagging -- there will be multiple fair game fish behind the redd, including browns or coasters gorging on eggs. If you happen to be fishing on a Lake Superior Tributary or river where natural reproduction does occur, then it is in the best interest of the fishery to avoid fishing near the redd.

[Rocco 0]

Probably the worst behavior I have seen on a MI stream was on the Manistee above the weir where they catch and strip steelhead

for eggs. A bunch of louts complete with a few cases of beer they humped down to the river had positioned themselves at the

narrow inflow to a large-ish pool. Spaced across this shallow neck, they beat the water with their rods to drive migrating steelies back into the pool where their partners were ripping oversize hooked weighted 'flies' through the pods. Snagging was always

illegal for steelhead and had even been banned for salmon at this point.

 

They were verbally abusive to anyone who approached to drive them off "their water" and got really mad when we took a few

pictures. Our several calls to the DNR voicemail with their license plate #s might have spawned later investigations or patrols of the area but no one from the DNR followed up on our offer of pictures of the misdoings there. I suspect that they were locals anyway and that judges hoping for reelection would toss the cases or issue slaps on the wrist.

 

Since then I have stuck to FFO waters where even ethical breeches are rare and minor by comparison.

 

Rocco

 

 

 

 

 

Rocco