# Pier fishing for steel



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

I seen a couple videos on youtube of people catching steelhead from piers in Erie but they are either on extreme eastern Ohio water or Pennsylvania. Anybody ever do good from piers farther west around Huron or Vermilion ?


----------



## freyedknot (Apr 10, 2004)

eastlake power plant wall and east 72 power plant. also avon PP but you have a long walk to the opening of the cooling waters.


----------



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Thanks for the info , those are around Cleveland right ? Any places farther west than that ? I know the farther east the better but is it a situation where it would be a waste of time trying the eastern piers ? I dont know if this is accurate or not but seems like at the rivers that get fewer steelhead and are normally less productive , fishing a pier at the river mouth should give better access to more of the fish passing through than taking a gamble at a spot upriver. Might possibly even be able to get a steelhead or two earlier than they would be caught in the river ?


----------



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-ItOVhN9-Q"]YouTube- PIER FISHING lake ERIE RAINBOW TROUT[/nomedia]


----------



## KSUFLASH (Apr 14, 2004)

Fishing for steelhead in the river is overall more productive then fishing for steelhead from the piers. In the river the steelhead are somewhat channeled into areas. From a pier you are not able to take advantage of this. You would be catching the steelhead that happen to move by. 

Early season, fishermen hit the piers to get a jump start on their season due to multiple factors. Sometimes the river flows are not really high enough to trigger the steelies to come in, and the ones that do come in are still stacking up near the mouth's of the rivers.

Once the October rains come, then there are plenty of fish in the rivers. You just gotta find the deep holes.

I am not very well versed on all the piers, but for my early season jump start I hit the Fairport Long wall at Headlands beach.


----------



## freyedknot (Apr 10, 2004)

cold creek trout camp on rt 6 just west of rt 250 . in the movie clip they said they were at niagra mohawk power plant. most PP will attract baitfish and trout ,but only in the winter months. over on the canadian shore they absolutely hammer trout from the shore.


----------



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Cool. Anyway , here is what Ive been thinking of trying and it will give you a better idea of my thought process in this thread. Im still planning to hit the rivers but I have a closer river , the Huron, and I am familiar with the pier. The Huron gets some stray steelhead but not in good numbers and not really predictable. There are some steelhead caught in that river but with much fewer fish , finding them , spread out over a few miles is more difficult than on the better rivers farther east. The mouth of the Huron is really fishable and from what I can tell , pretty much open to fish 24/7. Taking all this into consideration , catching the steelhead that happen to pass by or feeding in the area about to move into the river might in some circumstances be better than roaming the river farther upstream. They all have to pass through the channel which puts them within reach atleast. This just opens up more opportunity when I cant make the long drives east. I'll still fish the Rocky river , and the marina at night when I can but its nice to have a closer option.


----------



## Steel Cranium (Aug 22, 2005)

Your problem with fishing for steelies in the western part of Ohio in Erie is due to strains of steelhead. Ohio stocks a strain that *should* enter the rivers late in the fall, over winter, or mostly in the spring in preparation to a spring spawning. PA stocks fish that spawn in the fall, so will start showing up near the shorelines as temperatures permit. When Ohio stocked fall-run "london" strain fish (80s - mid 90s), we would routinely catch shoreline fish in late August/very early September near all stocked streams.

As KSU mentioned, I would stick with the Fairport (grand river / headlands beach area) piers. Weather/waves will dictate location - long pier = more room to cast and further out in the lake, west winds. Short pier, east side of the river mouth = stronger north or east winds. It is far enough to the east to get more PA stays than the rocky, Vermilion, and others to the west. Conneaut piers will provide a better and earlier fall bite, but is a long haul from western Ohio.

If I lived in the west side of the state, I would investigate the driving times to get to the streams/piers on the south-western end of Michigan as compared to the eastern end of Ohio. Bigger fish and more variety in MI.


----------



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

I like the headlands beach pier , just too far away for regular trips and even farther away than the Rocky , Vermilion, and Chagrin rivers for me so because of distance its out of the question. What Im looking to do is improve on my chances at places closer to home. Take the lemons in life and make lemonade. 

I have been looking into the lake michigan steelhead and salmon runs around Allegan dam....forgot which river it is , but thats still quite a drive from Findlay. Between my wife and I's work schedule and the fact that atleast one of us has to be home with my son , my fishing time except for night fishing , is extremely limited and I usually figure out if I can go or not "last minute" , throw stuff together and get on the road. Distance means everything.


----------



## FISHIN216 (Mar 18, 2009)

from what I have seen at piers is alot smaller fish..my average fish in the rocky was about 6-8 pounds..maybe I am just lucky. but I have seen alot of big steelhead come out of the rocky


----------



## KSUFLASH (Apr 14, 2004)

I think many of us are in a similar situation with time management, and being able to get out as much as possible all while balancing family and work commitments. I am a bit more lucky that I live in Akron. I can go to the Rocky in 1 hour, Chagrin in 1 hour, Grand in 1 hour 20 minutes, and then Elk Creek in PA in 2 hours 15 minutes.

Due to the fact that I can only get out 2 times a week max, and most of the time it is just 1 day a week. I determine where I am going to go based upon several factors.

1. Flow readings 
2. Water Temp readings if possible
3. Word of Mouth from the guides and friends I contact that are out during the week.
4. Weather predictions for the day I am going

During the fall time, it is your best bet to go as far east as you possibly can in order to increase your chances of getting into steelhead. The temps of the streams begin falling from east to west. 

Flow of each stream is a deal breaker or maker. Based upon experience, each steelhead fisherman knows what they feel is a prime flow for their goto spots on the river. If the flow is too high or too low, they have other spots they can go to on other rivers that have better flow.

I learned early on, that driving is part of the game. To increase your odds of getting into numbers of fish, you gotta put the gas in the tank and drive.

Though I completely understand those that live in the West and would have to make a long haul East. 

My philosophy is if PA is at prime conditions, I would rather drive the 2 hours over, then to drive 1 hour to the Rocky/Chagrin only to struggle to find fish. I would spend more time searching for them in unfavorable conditions. Else spend the extra hour of driving, and increase my odds of having a better day on another tributary.


----------



## center pin daddy (Apr 15, 2004)

Excellent advice by KSUFLASH. If you are a diehard then you better like driving to find prime water or sometimes the only fishable water. My wife thinks that me and my fishing buds are crazy. On more than on occasion I have driven four hours one way to fish for maybe 4 to 6 hours and another four hours back home. In the truck more time than we are fishing. Do I think it is worth it? YES--but I have the sickness.


----------



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

I fully agree , and for most of us its worth the drive if the drive is possible. When I lived in Georgia I would make the drive from Valdosta to Buford , nearly 300 miles one way , to go trout fishing for 5 hours and then turn around and go back....sometimes that was after working all night. But that was years ago and things have changed. Those drives are neither possible or affordable anymore except on occasion.


----------



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

I'll may give the Huron pier and the mouth channel a try this fall atleast once , just to satisfy my curiosity, at a time when going farther is not an option and I'll post the results on here if there are any. Im kinda wondering how to fish the deeper water so that I have a better chance of hooking up on passersby steelhead but not catfish and sheepshead. Either spawn bags or jigs under a float ( but at what depth ? ) , or spoons/spinners. Would steelhead be close to the bottom in a deep channel or would they not be anywhere in particular and just any depth would do ?


----------



## KSUFLASH (Apr 14, 2004)

I have found that at the mouth's of the rivers, when the fish are in lake erie, they don't always relate to bottom as much as they do when they are actually in the rivers. It seems they cruise in pods at varying depths. If I am lazy fishing I will cast out a float and emeral shiner. Set the float about 5' away from the bait. When I want to cover water, I use a Cleo spoon, whip it out, count down to 5 and start cranking. After I fan cast at the 5 count, I go to a 6 count and fan cast. And so on and so forth until I either get a fish to hit, or my arms fall off.


----------



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

KSUFLASH said:


> I have found that at the mouth's of the rivers, when the fish are in lake erie, they don't always relate to bottom as much as they do when they are actually in the rivers. It seems they cruise in pods at varying depths. If I am lazy fishing I will cast out a float and emeral shiner. Set the float about 5' away from the bait. When I want to cover water, I use a Cleo spoon, whip it out, count down to 5 and start cranking. After I fan cast at the 5 count, I go to a 6 count and fan cast. And so on and so forth until I either get a fish to hit, or my arms fall off.


Thanks for the advice , I think I will start with pretty much what you said. How do you think they would react to glow in the dark spawn imitations in deeper water after sundown ?


----------



## steelheadBob (Jul 6, 2004)

yonderfishin said:


> Thanks for the advice , I think I will start with pretty much what you said. How do you think they would react to glow in the dark spawn imitations in deeper water after sundown ?


I never used what your asking, but i always have had great luck fishing in the fall at night with the glow tear drop ice fishing jigs tipped with maggots!!!!!!!


----------



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

steelheadBob said:


> I never used what your asking, but i always have had great luck fishing in the fall at night with the glow tear drop ice fishing jigs tipped with maggots!!!!!!!


They dont straighten the hooks out on those teardrops ?


----------



## steelheadBob (Jul 6, 2004)

I have never lost one due to bent hook, just dont horse them in.... Try to find, but a little costly, the ones made with gamakatsu hooks.


----------



## Lima Eyecatcher (Aug 13, 2008)

Yonder

I feel your pain with the drive. Living in Lima sucks when its Steel time. I was lucky enough to make it about once a week last year. Listen to Steelheadbob and KSU they know their steel. Give me a shout sometime and we could share the ride. My fishing partner and I just bought kayaks to go after them in the river mouths early this year that way we can cover more area. You may want to check out cold creek near sandusky. I have never fished it but hear of a few from time to time.


----------



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Im looking into cold creek , but for it to be this far west yet still getting enough steelhead to make it worth mentioning is hard to understand. I must be missing something , and it would probably help for me to go and actually see the place but why cold creek when some other streams or rivers in the area are said to be all but a waste of time ? Is it the stocked rainbows in the river migrating and returning ? I though they were a different strain and different from the ones that migrate to the lake and back ? Maybe I am overthinking it


----------



## CoolWater (Apr 11, 2004)

I've fished Cold Creek for a long time, prior to the state even making the switch to the Manistee strain. Cold Creek is unique in many ways - that is why there are fish in it year round. First off it is fed by an underground spring so the water temp is 48 degress year round. This clear cold spring water makes it ideal trout waters. The ODNR owns the property where the spring starts and run the water over tumblers giving it tons of dissolved O2. Now you have extra happy trout waters! So the ODNR raises a bunch of the Steelhead there - both the Manistee and New London... even the Golden variation... and yes they release some right into the creek. You also have several private trout clubs on the creek between the ODNR site and the mouth of the creek. They have escapees that make it into the "public" stretch at the trout camp. So between the ODNR and the trout clubs you have a fair amount of fish. Add to that the seasonal lake run fish that come in - and it's a nice small water fishery. It is hit and miss like anything... you can go and not see anything caught and it just looks like gin clear dead water... or you can really catch some fantastic fish. I've caught everything from Northerns, SM Bass, Brown Trout, Brook Trout, and all colors of Rainbows and Steel... worth a trip to see for yourself. During the main steelhead season I only fish it weekdays... weekends can get crowded and it just isn't all that big. Hope that helped.


----------



## creekcrawler (Oct 5, 2004)

> until I either get a fish to hit, or my arms fall off.


Heh, been there...


----------



## KSUFLASH (Apr 14, 2004)

I have fished Sunnybrook Trout Club last year, and I believe that is one of the trout clubs on the Cold Water Creek. Man that was a blast!! 

Below is a link to a Youtube video I had put together last year of the trip.

[nomedia="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-LlXTxRRl4"]YouTube- Fly and Float Fishing visits the Sunnybrook Trout Club[/nomedia]


----------

