Steelhead, steelhead, steelhead; that one word describes this weekend's fishing opportunity. The streams are full of nice shiny fish which have recently entered the streams to spawn. The streams are somewhat low and clear but the fish didn't seem to mind. I saw many fish being caught and there is some really big fish being caught this year. If you have a nice picture of you with a fish and want me to show it off on this website, simply email it to me and I will put it here.
A couple words of importance: fishing organizations recently released a ton of smolts into the area's streams. Please don't target these little guys. Most of them are less than 9 inches but each year I am surprised to see fisherman catch and measure the fingerlings. Although it is not illegal to keep smolts that are larger than 9 inches during the regular trout season that begins on April 18, 2009, these fish should be returned to the stream so that they can venture out into the lake and become adult steelhead. Remember, right now all of your steelhead have to be larger than 15 inches and you can only keep three.
Having said that, warm weather is expected this week. The weather will undoubtedly raise the water temperature in the bay at least a few degrees. Crappies and jumbo perch may start to hit. Any day now I expect to get news of fisherman catching them. My friend Rob is a very avid "bucket" fisherman that tries to go out almost daily the next couple months. I will be talking with him for updates and checking out his blog. If you are interested in following Rob's blog, you can do so at Robfisherie.blogspot.com. He doesn't really care about steelhead but he loves his panfish. He also talks about the history of the old time pier fisherman in Erie and how the "old-timers" are disappearing. A good blog with some fine history. Have fun fishin' this week and stay tuned for more updates!
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