An Erie Experience

Each year, as the summer fishing winds down and fishing tactics shift towards Fall and Winter mode, I try to make a pilgrimage to Erie, Pennsylvania to get my fix of my favorite drug of choice: steelhead fishing.

Anyone who has had one of these beasts on the other end of your light line can attest to the sheer adrenaline rush that always follows the initial tug of your line. For the uninitiated, if you never tried it, I say try it, but please, not on the days I go fishing. The small creeks up there are crowded enough as it is and the fish population seems to be dwindling.

My addiction to steelhead fishing began when I purchased a 9' Fenwick noodle rod, some 4lb test fluorocarbon line and several mini foo jigs for my first trip to Erie. I didn't catch anything, but I saw enough to get me to come back again. 

I purchased a pair of waders and made my second trip up to Erie a few weeks later, and ended up catching three monsters that weighed over 10 lb each.

These went onto my smoker back in Pittsburgh to make for some fine dining over Thanksgiving and Christmas of that year. By the way, smoked steelhead, along with a good white wine and some club crackers, provide for a very nice addition to any holiday party or gathering.

So, after a few years of this type of fishing, I began taking more and more notice of the fine folks along the stream who fished using fly fishing gear. Slowly, but surely, I began to get the itch to try it out and finally, at the ripe old age of 46, I broke down and started learning to fly fish. This past November, I had the distinct pleasure of landing my first ever steelhead on a fly rod. 

Although it was a small one, I was absolutely thrilled to land it successfully. I can now honestly say that there are few pleasures in life as thrilling as having a steelhead attached to the end of your leader, even while standing in freezing water. That trip was honestly one of the coldest trips I've ever had, but I enjoyed it very much in my cozy rented cabin along Elk Creek.

I did, however, have some nice anti-freeze solution handy:

So, for those of you brave enough to try winter steelhead fishing, I highly recommend it, but due to crowds reminiscent of opening days of trout fishing everywhere, I recommend you try it after hunting season starts, which usually draws a lot of the usual suspects away from the streams and sends them to the woods to hunt for deer and other land-based animals.