# Elk Creek



## MadMax1 (Aug 27, 2012)

How productive is it this time of year - i've never fished it in mid December? I was thinking of taking a buddy out there this Sunday for the experience. With it being Sunday I would figure most those PA guys are staying in and watching the Steelers game. 


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## mdogs444 (Aug 29, 2012)

It can be productive in cold weather. There will still be plenty of people out there, mostly between Rt 5 and the lake.


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## flylogicsteelhead (Oct 4, 2006)

Plenty of fish to be had now.


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## rickerd (Jul 16, 2008)

My best fish number days anywhere are on Elk in December and even January until it ices up. One day my 2 buddies and I were fishing on Jan. 7th about 8 years ago. Air was 55 deg F and water rose to 38 from close to freezing a few days earlier. We wore ourselves out using streamers and by 1pm we were sunbathing on a gravel bar just thanking God for the beautiful day and memories to get us through the winter. That was the first day I perfected my upstream swing with streamers and had fish chasing an emerald shiner fly from a few feet away. I was quick stripping it back to myself along a seem and fish were darting out from behind rocks to attack it. Even a water temperature change of a degree or two will change those fish to active. When they become active though, resist the urge to fish the pools. The active fish end up on the move near or in faster moving water.


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## MadMax1 (Aug 27, 2012)

Thanks for the info guys! Is there less of a crowd there now than there is in mid October? I would assume there is but I could be wrong... I would still prefer fishing after less fish inRocky River if it meant not having to be shoulder to shoulder with other fishermen. Especially after a 2 Hour drive. 


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## lowhole4trowt (Feb 1, 2014)

MadMax1 said:


> Thanks for the info guys! Is there less of a crowd there now than there is in mid October? I would assume there is but I could be wrong... I would still prefer fishing after less fish inRocky River if it meant not having to be shoulder to shoulder with other fishermen. Especially after a 2 Hour drive.
> 
> 
> Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire


Once hunting season opens the stream sees WAY less pressure from PA guys. We had a ridiculous day around this time last year in a pretty big snowstorm and only saw Ohio plates at the several accesses we hit. Wear orange when accessing the stream or walking through woods to get there. Good to great days are to be had from East to West, the latter of which will only get better from here on out. Green water doesn't disappoint.


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## pafisher (Mar 10, 2013)

There is no hunting on Sunday in Penna. and the season will be winding down by then.
For your info the Fish numbers are WAY DOWN on the Penna. tribs the last few years and they could be few and far between so be ready to move a lot to locate fish.You will have lots of company as the angler numbers are way up from several years ago.Frankly if you know the Ohio trbs it may be a better choice than any Penna. trib.


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## KTkiff (Jul 30, 2004)

It depends on your expectations. Numbers are way down this year there and up in Ohio. I have fished Elk quite a bit but haven't really done better than the Chagrin in my back yard. Since its cold out you won't see as many guys but it's all relative. A crowded day on our rivers is a light day there.


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## kapposgd (Apr 10, 2012)

pafisher said:


> For your info the Fish numbers are WAY DOWN on the Penna


This just isn't true. There were more fish in pa this fall than there's been in three years


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## kapposgd (Apr 10, 2012)

I just realized - you're probably trying to get people away from pa


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## master of steel (Oct 12, 2008)

I've fishing the Alley for 17 years and I have to agree that numbers in Pennsylvania are down. I suspect that last winter is the main culprit as all of the streams were locked in ice for months and when it melted the ice floes more than likely killed a lot of fish. 

As for Ohio, I was off last week and one river had a strong push of fish and most of them were large.


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## kapposgd (Apr 10, 2012)

You think ice flows killed fish? ...


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## master of steel (Oct 12, 2008)

kapposgd said:


> You think ice flows killed fish? ...


Most of Pennsylvania's streams are very shallow and think about all of that ice grinding along the bottom. Any fish that couldn't seek shelter most likely died. But that's a theory.


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## lowhole4trowt (Feb 1, 2014)

I can believe many that were in the system (if there were many) fell to an icey grinder last year. How much it affeted the future could be tough to say. After seeing the wreckage of last winter and 10 foot high piles of car sized flows remaining well into the spring who knows.


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## ztkaz (Sep 25, 2013)

I've murdered the fish on elk this year.


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## lowhole4trowt (Feb 1, 2014)

You're the man. Did you stop at ECSS for your ribbon?


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## creekcrawler (Oct 5, 2004)

Always seemed to me that the Pa. guys don't like to walk/hike/wade as far as we do
in Ohio. It was always crowded near access areas, but seem like you could always 
find open water with a little effort.


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## ztkaz (Sep 25, 2013)

creekcrawler said:


> Always seemed to me that the Pa. guys don't like to walk/hike/wade as far as we do
> in Ohio. It was always crowded near access areas, but seem like you could always
> find open water with a little effort.



Noticed this also. I walked over a mile all three trips and escaped the crowds.


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## MadMax1 (Aug 27, 2012)

ztkaz said:


> Noticed this also. I walked over a mile all three trips and escaped the crowds.


If you don't mind sharing, where are some of the access points that have that much public shoreline? Thanks



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## davef (Aug 7, 2007)

If your talking Pa. the fishusa web site home pages have a section titled maps and they have a lot of the areas marked that have open access. I'm not sure if they still have them but the bait shop located near Trout Run used to carry maps that were marked also.


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## salmon king (Aug 20, 2008)

lowhole4trowt said:


> You're the man. Did you stop at ECSS for your ribbon?


Erie county salmon snaggers...??? Lol


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## pafisher (Mar 10, 2013)

kapposgd said:


> I just realized - you're probably trying to get people away from pa


No I'm not trying to steer people away from Pa.,just telling it the way it is today.


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## lowhole4trowt (Feb 1, 2014)

salmon king said:


> Erie county salmon snaggers...??? Lol


Haha hey sure! I was thinking Styrofoam Slingers...


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## flylogicsteelhead (Oct 4, 2006)

salmon king said:


> Erie county salmon snaggers...??? Lol



This is freakin hilarious!!!


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## kapposgd (Apr 10, 2012)

Its so true though. I have a buddy who spends two months in pa every fall - he just calls all fly fishermen there flysnaggers BC most of them just sit there 10 feet away from fish lining the %#@$ outta them. I thought Ohio fly fisherman were bad enough, but they can't hold a candle to the pa redd rippers


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## MadMax1 (Aug 27, 2012)

kapposgd said:


> Its so true though. I have a buddy who spends two months in pa every fall - he just calls all fly fishermen there flysnaggers BC most of them just sit there 10 feet away from fish lining the %#@$ outta them. I thought Ohio fly fisherman were bad enough, but they can't hold a candle to the pa redd rippers



Yeah but they put up a much better fight when ya get em in the side or the tail you know


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## salmon king (Aug 20, 2008)

flylogicsteelhead said:


> This is freakin hilarious!!!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Ohub Campfire


Yes I guess I outdid my bad self on that one lol


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## ztkaz (Sep 25, 2013)

kapposgd said:


> Its so true though. I have a buddy who spends two months in pa every fall - he just calls all fly fishermen there flysnaggers BC most of them just sit there 10 feet away from fish lining the %#@$ outta them. I thought Ohio fly fisherman were bad enough, but they can't hold a candle to the pa redd rippers



I like it when they scream it's in the mouth while the fish comes in sideways. But in reality those creeks are tiny and packed with fish. I don't use my fly rod, I float fish to reduced snagged fish. Everyone fly fishes out there. It's kinda odd cause they keep every fish too and fly guys are usually pretty good about releasing fish.


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## steelheadjones (Oct 28, 2014)

A few things mentioned on this string are less than accurate. "PA guys hike less." Lol. Damn right they do. We don't have public water stretches as long as you do in Ohio, so we can't. And most stretches are just as busy by the parking lot as they are at the furthest ends these days. "Ice jams don't kill fish?" Of course they do. The ice came off AFTER the smolts were stocked this year and the result was a meat grinder of dead smolts. We found them up in the woods at times from ice related high water. "More fish this year than the last three years?" No, not at all. What actually happened this year on the PA tribs is we had to big early runs and the whole thing shot it's load all at once. So the illusion of more fish was created. Now we have miniscule trickles of fish coming in. Last year we had roughly the same overall numbers but steady runs through the latter part of the fall. Anyone who thinks numbers aren't down obviously was not here 7-8 years ago and the years preceding. All runs in Lake Erie are a shadow of those days and everyone who fished then knows this is true. I am a year round guide here and Colorado, have a VERY good reputation as a straight shooter, and have guided here for 16 years. My two cents.


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## kapposgd (Apr 10, 2012)

I would agree with you on the big run early in the year - I think I ran into you at elk with jay and Jim?


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## Willyfield (Apr 1, 2007)

_Anyone who thinks numbers aren't down obviously was not here 7-8 years ago and the years preceding. All runs in Lake Erie are a shadow of those days and everyone who fished then knows this is true_

I have been writing about this and everyone just tells me I don't know how to fish! The salmon runs of the 70's and 80's along with the London steelhead fishery we once had were spectacular to say the least, but I like casting hardware for them in the lake. Fishing in a crowded stream with 20 other guys isn't my idea of an enjoyable afternoon.


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## pafisher (Mar 10, 2013)

steelheadjones said:


> A few things mentioned on this string are less than accurate. "PA guys hike less." Lol. Damn right they do. We don't have public water stretches as long as you do in Ohio, so we can't. And most stretches are just as busy by the parking lot as they are at the furthest ends these days. "Ice jams don't kill fish?" Of course they do. The ice came off AFTER the smolts were stocked this year and the result was a meat grinder of dead smolts. We found them up in the woods at times from ice related high water. "More fish this year than the last three years?" No, not at all. What actually happened this year on the PA tribs is we had to big early runs and the whole thing shot it's load all at once. So the illusion of more fish was created. Now we have miniscule trickles of fish coming in. Last year we had roughly the same overall numbers but steady runs through the latter part of the fall. Anyone who thinks numbers aren't down obviously was not here 7-8 years ago and the years preceding. All runs in Lake Erie are a shadow of those days and everyone who fished then knows this is true. I am a year round guide here and Colorado, have a VERY good reputation as a straight shooter, and have guided here for 16 years. My two cents.


This is the way it REALLY is,I was there 10 yrs ago and that was some of the best times of my life.


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