Scouting Pennsylvania with a New Switch!

View from the back!
Adam casting in the mud hole!

Hen I hooked into with this rod!

I spent some time on Elk scouting for fish with my newest edition Switch Rod from Laurel Ridge Rods, and I have to tell you, it is one sweet rod! Built on a Rainshadow IF 10'8" 6wt. blank this rod really pops! All the appointments are perfect, from the blue stripping guides to the silver thread wraps, and cool reel seat, not to mention the custom grips! Wow, I'm truly impressed with this rod from Adam over at Laurel Ridge Rods! The action is rated at medium fast, but I found it to be fast. The rod perfromed as well as some of the others in my arsenal costing much much more, and I'm sure will become another extension of me on Steelhead Alley!

I did manage to entice a few strikes from the passing Steel, and every one of them liked what I hooked them with, just not the gold color they were used to! All in all it was worth my time, but very low and clear, I also managed to restock another fly box with all the jewelry these bad boys were sporting! 6X tippit did the trick with no shot, and they are spooky! At least the rain should give another push of fish, and stain things up a bit!

Here in Ohio, the rain overnight has brought up all the tributaries along the Alley. This was much needed, and will help move more fish through the system. Stay safe out there, keep an eye on the weather as it's about to change again, and as always Fish On!

Winds of change are still blowing on the Alley, and as Shops come and go, websites come and go, and blogs come and go, you can always rely on me to be there flying my kite in the winds of change! So bye bye Ben, Swat don't want you around no more as you are in the way of his dirty deeds!

Man I love this shit!

Happy Turkey Day on Steelhead Alley!

From my Family to Yours,

Have a Happy and Safe Thanksgiving!

Chagrin River Report 11-19-09 Steelhead Alley Update!

Fresh Steelhead Buck!
Denny Let's the fish get his wits before taking off!

Denny's Nice Buck Steelhead 11-19-09

The much needed rain settled in overnight and gave a rise to the Chagrin River. I decided to head out and hit a popular spot to see if anything was going on and upon my arrival I shot a clip of Denny Gant with a nice fresh Lake Erie Steelhead Buck! Enjoy the clip, and it's good to fish with you Denny, after you left I hooked 2 and landed one myself.

The river is on the rise and there are a ton of leaves. Every other drift was met with a big leaf! Looks like this rain will wash some of them out of here, but we really need a lot more to blow them out properly! Sucker spawn and egg patterns were the ticket today. Of course my spawn sacks did it for me and that small dose, has fed my addiction for at least another day or two!

Look for fresh Steelhead on a tributary near you and remember to stay safe and Fish On!

Steelhead Alley River Report and Update from my perspective!

Cory's Atlantic!
George's First Steelhead!
Jeremy's 2nd Seelhead ever!

Adam's Coho from Steelhead Alley!

Pictures sent in from the past week on the tributaries of Steelhead Alley. Also a photo from a reader in Sweden who sent this picture in of an Atlantic Salmon. Nice looking fish Cory! Of course Adams Coho was a little beat up! Look at the conditions we are faced with on the Alley, Extremely Low and Clear water conditions all the way to NY.

The Chagrin is in dire need of rain and I don't mean a little, she needs a whole lot to bring her up to where it's sporting again. Yes there are some fish to be caught, but with things the way they are, these fish have seen it all thrown at them.

Small flies #14 #16 and 5X tippet with micro split shot. Be sure to sign up for ERIE OUTFITTERS ANNUAL STEELHEAD TOURNAMENT ON THE WEST SIDE, AND LAGUNA TACKLE ON THE EAST SIDE. 100% Payout. See each shop for rules and other details, pretty much standard for those familiar with how it works. Anyways things are slow and low and not worth my time until we get some H20.

Stay safe out there and as always;

Fish On!

Steelhead Alley Update from SteelHQ

Here fishy fishy! My Sons Bluegill!
Practicing the strip and pause!

Nice fat Cat on the fly!

Man I don't have to tell you how bad we need the rain right now! Everything is low/clear all along the Alley with the exception of one or two places, but other than that, we need a fresh push of fish, and only mother nature can provide this for us. I'm not going back out till it rains long and hard!

So on a recent visit to , my mother/father-in-laws for some good home cooking and football on the tube in HD, we also got to wet a line out back in the little pond. My son soon had bluegill and a smallie, then I handed him my rod with a nice 6lb catfish that smacked a Senyo bead head woolly bugger, but he quickly handed it back saying; "No dad, it's your fish! You take the hook out!"

Ha! The nerve of that kid! He figured me out real fast on that one, so after pretty much catching and releasing most of the other fish in the pond, we went in for some grub, and R&R. Stay safe out there and do that dance, we need it bad!

Fish On!

Getting that stink off my back! Steelhead Alley Fishing Report November 12th 2009

Nice little skipper landed 11-12-09 Chagrin
Another fresh little hen 11-12-09 Chagrin

This one was 29" and full of eggs!

This big pig was ready to spit some roe! 11-12-09

Okay! That's it! Even though I felt that skunk yesterday, I took a bath in it today and washed that smell off of me! Hit the Chagrin again today, and even though things are on the low/clear side, I did manage 6 hook-ups and 4 landed. Man that feels good! The first 2 fish were small bright skippers that hit without moving my indicator at all!

The third and 4th were alot bigger and put up a great fight, but then were released to fight again. When I headed out this morning, there was frost everywhere, and a little edge ice on the Chagrin. If we don't get some rain and a lot of it soon, we may be in for some trouble if it stays this cold in the am!

The Chagrin is very low and gin clear. The tannic stain from the other day is gone and nothing but clear visibility. Do your rain dance and lets get things moving around here again! I won't head back out until the rain shows up! Stay safe out there and thank you to all who have become a Fan of Steelheadquarters on facebook. Great new stuff is coming your way!

Fish On!

Finding Old Video: A look at what my then 5 year old had to say about 911

After the 911 tragedy in 2001 I was watching the news like everyone else and my son walked into my office and said to me: "Daddy, why did all those people have to die?" What do you say to a 5 year old? So I explained the best that I could about helping those people who got hurt and he sprang up and into action! He said he wanted to help make a video for people to help donate to the Red Cross. It was so touching that I thought I lost this clip but now I have found it and want to share it here;

It makes me Proud to be American!

Then about a week later he saw the President on TV and said to me: "Dad, here's my dollar to help those children in Afghanistan! Hey let's make a movie like the last one for the Fighter Fighters in NY!" So I turned on my web cam and he said this! Wow, they sure don't stay young forever!

God Bless America and our Veterans