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Hi, I am a complete noob when it comes to flyfishing for trout and steelhead, so before I beg my parents to fly me to Ohio I want to make sure that there are SUMMER STEELHEAD in Ohios rivers and streams. Please inform me as I am clueless,

 

 

Thx

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According to this site it doesn't look good for summer steelheading: http://traveltips.usatoday.com/fly-fishing-rivers-ohio-33284.html

 

But then again if someone was willing to fly me off to someplace for nothing I'm sure I could accommodate them ( never happened yet in my 66 years of life but just saying).

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Looking like a bleak situation

Yeah summer and Steelhead makes for kind of an oxymoron. Maybe think Large Mouth Bass or something.

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I dont really know much about ohio steelhead, but if you are flying somewhere to target them I would go Northwest. There are a lot of rivers in Oregon and Washington that have summer runs. The rogue river has a really fun "half-pounder" run in september-ish. google it. I can't imagine the scenery is any better than the northwest. I know its a difficult river to learn, but if you are looking for a guide, get one for the North Umpqua and fish some of the most fabled and legendary steelhead water in the world.

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Ohio as a steelhead Mecca?

 

Why not Atlantic salmon?

 

Rocco

Atlantic Salmon don't live in the Great Lakes ... Steelhead (Rainbows) do. Look it up, Rocco, Ohio has some great fishing opportunities.

But to you, Flats ... I don't see much good news for SUMMER Steelhead.

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At this stage, I would stick close to home. You have a wealth of opportunities right there in South Florida. Lots of bass, and too many salt water and inshore fish to count. Not to mention Peacocks, and other exotics that have found their way into most of the canals. Just walk outside and fish the wet spots. You can fish with just 3 different kinds of patterns. A bait fish, crab, and shrimp imitation is all you need for most water connected in someway to the ocean. Fresh water shrimp, and bait fish imitations should work in most of the fresh water near you.

 

Spend your money and time learning how to catch what's in your own back yard. Plenty of time to explore when you know better what your doing.

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As others have said, this ain't really the time.

 

That isn't to say that if you get up here, you stand NO chance of catching one...just that May thru August is probably the worst time of year to try for an Erie rust head from shore (that being said, if you're planning on going out on a boat, this changes dramatically, and Erie bows are regularly taken by walleye trollers throughout the summer months.

 

Not to be a Debbie Downer, but if I were you, I'd mothball your plan for now. If you really want to catch Erie steelhead, shoot for mid-October at the earliest to get good fishing. Ideally, hold off until early-to-mid November. My experience is primarily with the PA tribs, which are tiny creeks, but have some experience in OH and NY as well, with larger water. That being said, though, the overall game is largely the same: they stage at trib mouths starting in early Sept., start moving up into the streams in early Oct in small numbers, by mid-to-late Oct, there's plenty of fish in the lower reaches, with a few going up higher, and from mid-Oct to mid-November, a big push of fish comes in and establishes decent numbers of fish across most trib water. They hang out all winter and start to drop back in late-Feb/early-March. The drop back continues through April and by May, there's only the occasional straggler left. Once we get our first legit heat wave of the summer season, any steelhead (in a PA trib at least) is a rare sight. OH has more water, and so they're probably not quite so rare over there. By June, PA water levels are so low that you could likely identify any stragglers by the dust cloud they kick up into the air when they try to swim.

 

It's important to remember that the steelhead in Erie are mutts, and don't have as much of the specific habits as their PNW cousins. You may well get a few that descended from summer running fish that stage and dabble in the mouths through May, but they're less than 1% of the fish. If you were already on the Erie shore, I'd say your best bet at a May steelhead would be to hit the mouths of tribs where they empty into the lake, and throw 1-2" long white streamers from about an hour before sunset, through the night, until an hour after dawn. Once the sun's on the water, go get some sleep. Even then, your chances would be rather slim (though you'd probably take a few smallmouth in that time).

 

If you really want to travel for steel, I'd hit the PNW. If you really want to travel to Erie for steel, plan a November trip (best balance between waiting late enough into the season for good numbers of fish, but not (likely) risking having to deal with a few feet of lake effect snow or single digit temps). As far as specifics, I'll leave that to the OH natives, as their water is significantly different from PA's, which has a significant effect on how you fish it. That said, if you're ever headed to the PA tribs, let me know.

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Mike by and large I agree, there is however a small or maybe not so small, population (I don't know) of land locked Atlantic Salmon in the Great Lakes. I caught one around Pulaski 15 years ago while fishing for Kings and Silvers.

 

FlatsRoamer, no summer steelhead? Bummer. Okay, now make lemonade. Lots of fish you will not find here in S. FL. Smallmouth, walleye, yellow perch, musky, pike etc. Mikechell frequently posts a URL that gives local fishing opportunities in just about any puddle you could think of. It is takemefishing.org I think. Mike?

 

Now if you can pick where to go and steehead are your desire, I would have to agree with others, I would pick the Pacific Northwest. It's on my own bucket list. I would go not just because of the fish, I'm sure there are arguably just as productive waters elsewhere. I'd also go because of the history of the fishery and the location itself. For example we can fish for Peacock Bass/Oscars/Mayans when ever we want, lots of fun and I highly recommend it (I plan on it tomorrow as a matter of fact). However I'd rather go to the Amazon if given the choice. It is the Amazon after all. Atlantic Salmon? Scotland, Ireland, Quebec. Nothing against Maine (I'd go in a second), but those locations are just more romantic and fabled. I would do some serious research about gear, guides, best times, etc. regardless of what you decide.

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Ditto what others have already said about the timing of the runs--steelhead don't show up in Erie tribs in any appreciable numbers until October at the earliest. Once they're in, there is decent fishing for them even in the Cleveland 'burbs (where I lived for a year before moving to Michigan). Google "Cleveland Metroparks" if you're interested in fishing that area. Wherever you fish steelhead in Ohio, you will have company. If you're dead-set on Great Lakes Steelhead, Michigan has some of the best there is--the Muskegon, Pere Marquette, Manistee and Little Manistee Rivers have fabulous fishing for steelhead (roughly the same timeframe as the Ohio rivers) as well as Chinook salmon starting in late August/early September.

 

As previously mentioned, the St. Joseph River, in both Michigan and Indiana, has some summer-run (Skamania) steelhead, but my understanding is that they are sort of the unicorns of the Great Lakes steelhead world.

 

The Pacific Northwest obviously has stellar steelhead fishing, but it is a totally different game out there compared to the Great Lakes--different flies, different techniques, and much more challenging wading. Wherever you go, do yourself a favor and hire a guide for a day or two if you can. It will exponentially increase your chances of learning the game and connecting with some fish.

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Sort of an interesting read on trout and if you use the search function you can read specifically about various species, just type in the generic name: http://search.usa.gov/search?query=rainbow+trout&affiliate=nmfs.noaa.gov&commit=Go!

 

Also, Stealhead vs Rainbow: http://www.fishandboat.com/pafish/steelhead/id.htm

 

That said , my understanding of Rainbows and steelhead of the great lakes is that they are not quite the same as the PNW fish.

https://fortress.wa.gov/dfw/score/score/species/species.jsp

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