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2002 Outings
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11-27-02 Brrrrr..... the coldest day on the stream so far this year, but it turned out to be one of the best days of fishing. I met up with Kevin (kevinupp) and Mike (spoonchucker) from www.fisherie.com for a day of steelhead fishing on 16 mile. We started at the Rt5 bridge and found very little action for the first hour of fishing. We lost a few but none were landed until we moved a bit down stream..... after the move, the action was non-stop. I was able to land 14 fish on different colors of suckerspawn (creme being the best) and one fish on a small egg sucking leech. My biggest fish of the day and of the year turned out to be a 31.25 inch female weighing in at just over 12 pounds. Kevin and Mike also did very well on egg patterns, landing 6-8 fish themselves. 16 mile was in great condition and the fish were holding in the faster water after the sun came up. Water Temp: 35 Click HERE for the pictures from this trip 11-24-02 I met up with Doug from www.steelheadconditions.com for a morning of steelhead fishing on 20 and 16 mile. Started the day out on upper 20 mile and found very few fish and a fair number of fisherman. After fishing for 3 hours, we both had one fish to our names. Both fish were landed on small suckerspawn patterns drifted through the fast water of the snake hole on upper 20 mile. We then headed to the sewage treatment plant hole on 16 mile and found
a ton of fisherman and very few fish. I was able to land 3 fish (2 steelhead,
1 brown) on suckerspawn and crystal meth patterns. Doug was able to
hook a few, but he was unable to land a fish. Water Temp: 40 Click HERE for the pictures from this trip 11-17-02 I met up with Jeff from Washinton County, PA and Al from Pittsburgh this morning on a mid section of Elk. Upon our arrival, we noticed the stream had risen 6 inches overnight and was becoming a bit muddy. We were able to land 10 fish between to 3 of us on many different colors of suckerspawn and crystal meth patterns. After fishing for only 3 hours, the stream had come up even more, making the stream impossible to fish. With Elk so high, we knew of only one place to go ….. the Chutes @ Walnut …. Walnut was very high and a little muddy, but we knew the fish would be holding in the chutes. There were lots of people fishing the Manchester Hole (as usual) when we arrived and almost no one fishing the chutes. Within minutes we were hooking up with fish on almost anything in the fly box. I landed 10, Al landed 6, and Jeff lost count after 25!! With all the action, it wasn't long before other anglers noticed the feeding frenzy and joined us. Everyone was catching fish, netting fish for others, and moving over to let eotehrs get a chance. I was able to land 2 small brown trout along with the steelhead on
crystal meth patterns and the usual crème sucker spawn. It really
didn't matter what you were using, as long as you were able to get the
bait down to the fish fast enough in the raging water. Water Temp: 40 Click HERE for the pictures from this trip
11-13-02 All the people on www.fisherie.com saying they were catching 50 fish in one day and it was the best day of steelhead fishing were 100% right!! I was able to meet up with Larry (aka Genieman77 to all you fisherie viewers) this morning. We arrived at the Girard Boro park around 6:30am to find 10 cars already there. With darkness still looming, we were not able to fish very effectively until 7 or so, but somehow we managed to catch 2 fish in the pitch dark unable to see our strike indicators. From the time we arrived, until the time we left at noon, it was fish on all the time. I landed 15 and lost just as many on almost anything I had in the fly box. The usual suckerspawan and crystal meth worked well, along with very small pheasant tail nymphs. Larry landed most of his fish on #16 pink suckerspawn and a few on pheasant tail nymphs. Larry landed around 15 fish, but used his "quick release" technique on at least 20 more fish. After leaving the Girard Boro park, we traveled up to Struchen Flatts off of Sterrettenia. We found A LOT of cars, A LOT of people, and tons of fish to go around. The only problem was the water had dropped tremendously and the fish were beginning to bunch up in the holes. I was able to land 4 more all on a black wooly bugger swung through fast water. Larry focused on the hole with well over 100 fish and went 0 for 10 using his "quick release" method. Next stop was Crooked ….. Larry had to head home, so I took a trip to Crooked to find very few people, and fewer fish. (Crooked usually is not outstsanding until later in the season, so I wasn't expecting much) I was able to locate 2 fish in faster water and land 1 on a small suckerspawn. Today was the best day on the stream this year for most people. It
was great to see amost everyone on the stream catching fish!! Click HERE for the pictures from this trip.
11-10-02 I know I don't have to state the obvious, but I will do it anyways: Low conditions = Poor Fishing. We arrived on a mid section of 20 mile around 9am to find very few cars for a weekend. After seeing at least 30 cars on Rt. 5 just before turning onto a back road, I thought we would be shoulder to shoulder, but that was not the case where we were. We made the .5 mile walk down to the stream to find a few fish in faster water and very little angling pressure. In 2 ½ hours of fishing, we were only able to land 1 fish on a white crystal meth. I also lost another on the same fly and my buddy lost one on maggots. Fishing was very difficult due to the fact most of the fish were holding in the slow moving holes with very little flow. (I am sure the late start had something to do with our poor success) We were able to find a few fish in faster water, but they just did not respond to our offerings. Fishing again on 11/13/02 ….. report & pictures soon to come …
Water Temp: ? Click HERE for the pictures from this trip.
11-06-02 As usual, low water conditions made for a tough day on the stream. The small amount of rain we received last night really didn't have any effect on the streams..... We arrived on a stretch of upper Elk around 7am to find the place pretty much to ourselves.(i love fishing the weekdays!) I was joined on the stream today by a friend from work who had called in sick (cough cough). Between the two of us, we landed 7 fish. I landed 5 steelhead, 1 Coho, and a bluegill.(don't laugh, the 'gill took me down to the backing twice) Very small white crystal meth patterns, Montana stone flies, and the crystal meth/suckerspawn pattern all caught fish. Ryan landed his fish on a very small white crystal meth worked around two huge boulders.(i still dont know how he managed to get to that fish) We worked very hard all day to locate the active fish in the faster water, but it wasn't easy. The holes we passed were loaded with fish, but getting a drift through the stagnant holes proved to be impossible. A little rain and the fishing will be awesome!! Water Temp: ? Overall Conditions: Fair Click HERE for the pictures from this trip.
April 30, 2002 Fished 20 mile today. I am sick of Finals, so I went fishing. Landed 6, ya thats right 6
steelhead.(check out the pictures section to see some of the fish I
landed today) Don't expect cord wood when you are fishing for steelies
this late in the spring, but if you take your time and spot the fish
in the pools and faster water you will be rewarded. All the fish I landed
today came on very small (#14) light colored (light pink, light orange,
off white)suckerspawn and crystal meth. 4lb flourocarbon is also a must
in the clear spring water. People have either given up on steelhead
for the year or they have moved on to other species, so the fish are
not being pressured very much. Get out and give it a try, you might
just surprise yourself. I sure did!
April 25, 2002 Fished 20 mile today. Brian at Poor Richards East told me they stocked 600 browns at the
Rt20 bridge on 20 mile, so I made the 15 minute drive to the stream
hoping to hook a few stockies. I arrived at 3:30 to find no one around
and a ton of small stocked browns to myself. After landing a dozen or
so (all released), I noticed 3 steelhead sitting in the fast part of
the pool. I was able to land a nice male (23") that jumped half
a dozen times before giving up. After a quick picture, back to the water
he went. About an hour later I hooked into a large male (27") that
also jumped 3 times and ran me around in circles for almost 15 minutes
on a 4lb. tippet. I was finally able to land the fish and get a picture.
Both steelhead hit a weighted picket pin as it was stripped through
the faster water. The brown trout hit pretty much anything as long as
it was moving. The best part about the day was the lack of suckers.
I didnt land one sucker all day, which was a nice change from my previous
outings. Everyone keeps saying the steelhead season is over, but I am
still catching steelhead everytime I go out.........hmmmm
April 23, 2002 Fished 12 and 20 mile today. 12 mile: 20 mile:
April 16, 2002 12 mile: 20 mile:
April 13, 2002 (Trout Opener) After making the 1 mile trip down a road that was rocky, steep, and
downright rough, we arrived at the mouth of Blyson Run where it runs
into the Clarion River. The stream is 100% natives, so there is no stocking
of the stream, which means we had the place to ourselves. Blyson Run
is a very small stream with only a few small holes by the mouth, but
there are a decent number of 5"-12" native brook trout. I
was able to land a few small fish about 100 ft above the mouth and landed
one beautiful 13.5" native (pic soon to come) in the pool by the
mouth. We fished until 10am, but the rain soon made the stream unfishable.
All the fish were caught on a #12 black wolly bugger.
April 10, 2002
April 4, 2002
April 1, 2002 Walked down to the falls by the sewer treatment plant around 3:30 and had the place to myself. After making about 100 drifts through the main hole with no hits, I moved downstream about 50 ft. There I found about 15 fish holding in the faster water. I tried many egg variations and colors with no hits, so I put on an egg sucking leech. On the first cast I hooked one and quickly lost it. About 15 mins later I hooked into a smaller (17") dark colored male and quickly brought him to the bank. For the next hour or so, it was many fish hooked, but only 3 on the bank. The fish are there guys, you just have to know where to find them. March 29, 2002 Upper Elk: East Side:
March 27, 2002 I was able to fish today from 3:30 - 5:30 today. The stream was very high, but was not muddy at all.When I arrived, there was only one car parked in the parking lot and none up by the Rt5 bridge. Soon after my arrival, a stream of cars pulled up and out piled about 10 guys. Most of them had been fishing the west side tributaries in the day and were moving on towards the west. I was able to talk to a few guys and they informed me that Elk, Wlanut and 20 mile were blown out. During the 2 hours of fishing, I saw no one catch a fish.
March 13, 2002
February 22, 2002 Fished 12 mile today. I just returned from a very high 12 mile creek. The stream was a dark
green color and a little on the high side, but it was not muddy at all.
I was able to land 1 older female about 24" or so. I was using
a #10 pinkish/ orangish sucker spawn with a bit of estez material tied
in (my own personal pattern). She was pretty beat up and did not put
up much of a fight. I was there from 330 to 530 and only saw 2 other
guys. I didnt see anyone else catch a fish while I was there.
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