Tweet
Hi, Fished the 18 Mile Creek near my home in Lakeview, NY this morning. Walked in at first light and hit my first pool as dawn broke.
Waded in slowly and carefully to the head of the pool, where the steelhead were rising. I hurled my first fly pattern, egg sucking leech, size 8, black and orange. Third cast in, I hooked and landed an 18" steelhead. I fished my way back down the pool to the deeper, boulder-lined hole. As the sun came over my shoulder, I spotted a good pod of them, including some lunker steelies. I carefully worked each side of the hole, without success.
Changing up, I opted for my go-to, size 6 wolley bugger, white with green crystal flash. I fired a long cast up to the right side of the hole and stripped to keep my line tight. The white wolley dead drifted aimlessly into the hole and just as I thought my run complete, BAM, he hit it! I was a tad late on the hook set and hit him a second time. He shot straight out of the hole and cleared at least 4 feet of air. I remember thinking that there was no way that I was going to land this hog on my freshly repaired 8-weight.
The brute took me up the creek 150 yards to the head of the pool where I began the morning and then back into the tailwater where the fight began. I couldn't get the head turned as I was using 5x tippet and was afraid that I'd break it off. He ran up and down the tail of the pool at will and then he did something that I never saw a steelhead do. The crafty veteran left the tail of the pool and shot into the rapids, only mostly 6" or less deep. I again gave chase and actually ran him down before he got into the lower pool.
I measured him after removing the hook and he was a hair under 31". I picked the wrong day to forget my camera, pulled from my gear in favor of Easter photos. He had wintered in the creek and was definitely in need of returning to Lake Erie for he was not robust, he was actually skinny.
After a successful release, I packed up and headed home. I knew I wouldn't be able to top that today...but there's always tomorrow!
Tight lines my brothers!
Waded in slowly and carefully to the head of the pool, where the steelhead were rising. I hurled my first fly pattern, egg sucking leech, size 8, black and orange. Third cast in, I hooked and landed an 18" steelhead. I fished my way back down the pool to the deeper, boulder-lined hole. As the sun came over my shoulder, I spotted a good pod of them, including some lunker steelies. I carefully worked each side of the hole, without success.
Changing up, I opted for my go-to, size 6 wolley bugger, white with green crystal flash. I fired a long cast up to the right side of the hole and stripped to keep my line tight. The white wolley dead drifted aimlessly into the hole and just as I thought my run complete, BAM, he hit it! I was a tad late on the hook set and hit him a second time. He shot straight out of the hole and cleared at least 4 feet of air. I remember thinking that there was no way that I was going to land this hog on my freshly repaired 8-weight.
The brute took me up the creek 150 yards to the head of the pool where I began the morning and then back into the tailwater where the fight began. I couldn't get the head turned as I was using 5x tippet and was afraid that I'd break it off. He ran up and down the tail of the pool at will and then he did something that I never saw a steelhead do. The crafty veteran left the tail of the pool and shot into the rapids, only mostly 6" or less deep. I again gave chase and actually ran him down before he got into the lower pool.
I measured him after removing the hook and he was a hair under 31". I picked the wrong day to forget my camera, pulled from my gear in favor of Easter photos. He had wintered in the creek and was definitely in need of returning to Lake Erie for he was not robust, he was actually skinny.
After a successful release, I packed up and headed home. I knew I wouldn't be able to top that today...but there's always tomorrow!
Tight lines my brothers!
...until you set the hook on a freight train,there is`nt any other feeling...regular stream trout are strong ,but no comparison.... something about these lake grown,lake-run steel bullets 
.Now you know how Sero,GBS and Shaq feel... 
Comment