# steelhead angler fib or truth?



## salmon king (Aug 20, 2008)

Ok I was at some baitshop in Painsville yesterday to see if my flourocarbon was still there(it wasn't!).I was talking to the guy working the shop and he said he was a guide on the Grand and that he caught 700 steelhead last year and that it was a down year and that he got get this 1700 a couple years before that.OK heres wher you guys come in is he a fake telling me a bunch of bs or is there any way a human can catch that much steel? In my opinion hes trying to make him self look good and it aint working!!!!!!!


----------



## archman (Apr 30, 2004)

It depends how often he fishes. If he doesn't work and can fish every day, it's possible. I'm sure it's a slight exaggeration, and who really keeps track of that many fish. But when I used to fish a couple times a week for 7 or 8 hours a trip, and sometimes at night, I would get up around 300 for a season. Guys that fish during the week have an advantage, too.


----------



## Golden1 (Jun 27, 2009)

Ok do the math---season for river fishing--Oct.-May approx 270 days--less 10 % say non fishable--1700 fish divided by 243 days---almost 7 fish a day---or take year round and count in lake fishing---365 less 10 % bad weather 330 days --1700 fish --little more than 5 fish a day,,, my opinion must be darn good at hooking steel,,,,LOL


----------



## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

The more I thought about it and considered what Craig said, i think it is possible, but the guy would have to put a lot of days in....PA or OH...

However 4 or 5 50 fish days would get you 250 fish or so.....you would have to have 34 50 fish days to get to 1700 fish. Nowhere close to half way there...


----------



## RockyRiverRay (Jan 14, 2009)

I know who your talking about and that guy is one of theose blablabblablab guys he told me he nailed a 50lb king in NY last year... so i would imagine thats fabricated.. think about it, he works the shop pretty much everyday if its the guy im thinkin bout (the younger guy) maybe he lands at least 7 a night in his dreams hahah

[email protected]


----------



## flylogicsteelhead (Oct 4, 2006)

Does he fish in PA at all, I have had 50 fish landed days in PA. Only had one day in Ohio where I hooked 50 or so landed maybe 25. After about 3-400 fish you can't really keep count anyways so to pin point 1700 is pretty specific. Especially landed fish, hooked fish would then be around 3400 with a 50% land ratio, which I consider good.


----------



## ErieOutfitters (Apr 20, 2008)

I would say its a good possibility its truth. 4or 5 50 plus fish days and hes half way there......Craig


----------



## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

ErieOutfitters said:


> I would say its a good possibility its truth. 4or 5 50 plus fish days and hes half way there......Craig


How do you figure 4 or 5 50+ fish days half way to 1700?


----------



## ErieOutfitters (Apr 20, 2008)

All Im saying is its not a crazy thought that it can be done......Craig


----------



## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Possible? Maybe....but I think its a lot more unlikely than seriously possible the more I think about it.

I put together some numbers to put things into perspective...

365 days a year...the angler would have to average 5 fish per day, every day to reach 1700 fish. Realistically however, we all know that the steel are in the creeks for approximately 7 months of the year in any respectable numbers...which drops the days of significant steelhead fishing on any Erie trib to about 210 fishable days. Thus the average would now be more like 8 per day. 

Now, I have had 50 fish days and I know several, very good steelhead fisherman, who have had 50+ fish days as well. But lets be realistic here....how many 50+ fish days would you say the best steelhead fisherman you know has had in his best year of steelheading? 10 maybe 12?.....OK thats 600 fish....1100 to go....with 1100 fish to go and 200 days left to fish, you would still have to average 5.5 fish per day and thats if you fished EVERY single day. And who seriously fishes every single day anyway? The best steelheaders I know, fish 4 maybe 5 days a week which drop the odds even more. All these stats are not even considering fishing conditions, especially on the Grand River...how many days does the Grand actually fish out of 210? My guess would be 50% or slightly higher. Now THAT changes everything!! LOL 

So, possible?? Yes, but so is jumping out in front of a roaring locomotive and surviving the impact.

No offense Craig, just my


----------



## Steel Cranium (Aug 22, 2005)

ShutUpNFish said:


> 365 days a year...the angler would have to average 5 fish per day, every day to reach 1700 fish. Realistically however, we all know that the steel are in the creeks for approximately 7 months of the year in any respectable numbers...which drops the days of significant steelhead fishing on any Erie trib to 210 fishable days. Thus the average would now be more like 8 per day.
> 
> All these stats are not even considering fishing conditions, especially on the Grand River...how many days does the Grand actually fish out of 210? My guess would be 50% or slightly higher. Now THAT changes everything!! LOL
> 
> So, possible?? Yes, but so is jumping out in front of a roaring locomotive and surviving the impact.


You have to subtract a month or two due to ice. It has been quite a few years (year of a big el nino) where we had an open river all winter. 50% fishable is probably pretty accurate, even though some of the fishable conditions include very low and clear conditions.

50 fish day includes 8 hours of hooking/fighting/unhooking/releasing a fish every 10 minutes - no food/moving/pee breaks. That's a lot of activity to repeat enough times to achieve a total count over 1,000. The "50" type number is normally seen in PA in the fall (spawning fish) or Ohio in the spring (spawning fish).

My best daily number is well below 50 and all highest have been from the lakefront throwing spoons (not sight fishing). I won't hammer visible/spawning fish so the 50-count for me is a dream.


----------



## K gonefishin (May 4, 2004)

ErieOutfitters said:


> All Im saying is its not a crazy thought that it can be done......Craig



If there was no ice and perfect conditions throughout the season and Craig Lewis didn't run the shop...maybe HE could pull those numbers...but only a few true steelie ninja's could and they probably wouldn't spend to much time with any ladies either


----------



## M.Magis (Apr 5, 2004)

Okay, I don't now* crap *about steelhead , but if he's a guide isn't is possible (or likely) that he's also including his clients fish?


----------



## Golden1 (Jun 27, 2009)

The most likely answer to this is that is he one big B.S.er,,,,,1700 anything besides bluegill is a feat in itself let alone steelhead....so looks like he just likes to tell whoppers and maybe once in awhile catch a whopper... good fishing to all


----------



## bigcatjoe (Sep 6, 2006)

not unreasonable at all


----------



## ryosapien (Jul 5, 2008)

yeah man if you are catching that many fish per year you might want to reevaluate your priorities


----------



## MuskieJim (Apr 11, 2007)

Bruce and some of his goombas down there at Grand River are incredibly knowlegeable steelheaders. They were catching fish in the 60's and 70's when no one really knew how to. I personally have seen Dave land over 75 fish in a day, I had my first 50 fish day right next to him. 1700 out of the question? Not really. 

Fishing Outings Per Week: 2
Weeks in Season 30 (60 fishing trips)
Fish per Outing: 28.33

Fishing Outings Per Week: 3
Weeks in Season 30 (90 fishing trips)
Fish per Outing: 18.88

Fishing Outings Per Week: 4
Weeks in Season 30 (120 fishing trips)
Fish per Outing: 14.16

It is possible to catch 75+ fish in a day when they are slamming. Also, I cut down the season to ensure that we account for bad weather, frozen river, etc... The group of pinners who are all pretty tight (wont mention any names BlueFox and Rainbug, hahaha) probably catch somewhere in this vacinity of fish every year. I'm sure they didnt want to chime in for fear of doubt. But none-the-less, 1700 is not unbelieveable, I'm sure someone's caught 2000 in a season. Now, as ryosapien said, you may have some priority issues if you're fishing 5 days a week for 30 weeks straight!


----------



## steelie4u (Mar 18, 2009)

I think its possible if you are a guide and fish almost everyday when fishable, if you include PA it is very possible, if you ever fish PA tribs at prime conditions there are more fish than you can count, they are running into you in the river, ive had a few 50 plus days already in PA but none like that in Ohio, but it is possible if you fish alot and very possible if you count the clients catches also


----------



## joewallguy (Jan 18, 2008)

I think it is very possiable.

I did not count but last year I was layed off from Dec. 20 threw March 15.

Thats about 90 days. I fished 80 of those easy.1700/80=bout 21 fish a day.

Now I did not hit 20 every day but alot of those days were 50+ fish days and alot between 20 and 50 fish on a outting. In Ohio I start in Sep. end in April. So ALOT of fishing in between.

I ice fished for steel for 2 weeks straight and the worst day was 9 fish, wont even say what best was. and I fish other places when it's locked up.
So yeah you can fish everyday if you know the waters and have the gas money.
Alos have a skam addiction now? 

Seriously not saying this to toot a horn but I know several anglers who broke 1700 last year I would say.


----------



## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

RockyRiverRay said:


> I know who your talking about and that guy is one of theose blablabblablab guys he told me he nailed a 50lb king in NY last year... so i would imagine thats fabricated.. think about it, he works the shop pretty much everyday if its the guy im thinkin bout (the younger guy) maybe he lands at least 7 a night in his dreams hahah
> 
> [email protected]


I'm gonna throw caution to the wind and say its the old guy. he is ONE HUGE BSer.


----------



## Firefighter-Dadfishin (Jun 14, 2008)

I am glad i stop in i definatly got some new tips on the steelies  i tried for the steelies on tuesday this week and ended up with 4 22 in was the biggest all were smalliersorry no pic stupid phone pics urrrggghhh should throw the phone in river


----------



## 1roofmusky (May 20, 2008)

Most guides also include the catches of their clients in their season totals. I know thats the way it works in the musky world.


----------



## GRADY228 (Jun 25, 2005)

I use to think that Craig at Erie Outfitters was a BIG BSer when I first started Steelheading. But when I seen one of his friends with a pin catch 10 fish in the same area that I was fishing at the V it made me a believer. The guy still still could be bsing you but maybe not.


----------



## ShutUpNFish (Apr 17, 2007)

Couple things...

1. I know "steelheaders" who sometimes confuse hook-ups with landed fish









2. You can't BS a BSer!


----------



## Offshore Limits (Dec 23, 2007)

In the river season 1999-2000, I fished extremely hard, logged every trips landed fish and was well over that number...1700 would have been a bad year....


----------



## riverKing (Jan 26, 2007)

10% land 90%
so its really hard for the other 90% catching to to fathom that, but its totally possible, steel are one of the easiest fish to hook that we have, get good and finding and landing them and you could catch that many

and what is this crap about priorities, there is nothing more important than fishing, work third shift so you can fish during the day, drink lots of coffee, and only fish for the women when the rivers are blown or frozen. I thought thats how everyones priorities where ordered.


----------



## Skish (Nov 4, 2008)

Can some one tell me who he is so I can set up a trip?


----------



## ryosapien (Jul 5, 2008)

i fished 380 days last year caught 5000 fish. Here's a pic of the smallest one i caught. It was so great i forgot about everything else i now live in a van down by the river


----------



## captk (Mar 13, 2008)

Used to work on the rocky.got to work one morning the reg guys were fishin one guy says to me pick up your rod and give it a try sos i did he gave me a blue and silver little cleo first cast a three pounder, next cast another 3 third cast a 5# . put down the rod gave him back his cleo and said so whats the big deal? we all laughed about that for a few years Hello carl and don if your out there. Bill


----------



## salmon king (Aug 20, 2008)

RockyRiverRay said:


> I know who your talking about and that guy is one of theose blablabblablab guys he told me he nailed a 50lb king in NY last year... so i would imagine thats fabricated.. think about it, he works the shop pretty much everyday if its the guy im thinkin bout (the younger guy) maybe he lands at least 7 a night in his dreams hahah
> 
> [email protected]


Exactly spot on


----------



## salmon king (Aug 20, 2008)

I wonder if this is like the same as the theroy about a guy says hes had relations with 100 woman and you divide that by 5 or something.well I guess thats the same!!!!!


----------



## fishing pole (May 2, 2004)

I don't fish for steel as much as I use to. One thing for sure, I have fished next to several of you on this site. Later on that evening I have looked at the post by some of you and it said "you tore them up" while for the few hours I fished next to you it was "nada". Must of been those 15 minutes I walked around the bend. 

One more thing, If keeping score is what it's all abouit for you then more power to ya. My log is filled with who i went with, weather and what we ate, drank. Those are the memories I cherish. There are not many fish that get my memory going but fishing with some close buds, some of who are'nt around anymore, is what my fishing meories are made of.

2009
Fishing trips: ?
Fish caught: ?
Memories made: Infinite
Conversations I remember: Infinite


----------



## TIGGER (Jan 17, 2006)

The Eastlake CEI power plant.

High steelhead counts were a common thing back in the 70's and 80's when the conditions were right. 100 fish days were not uncommon at all. You could do that for weeks straight when the lake had locked up and you had an access point to the plant. I still think of those days when you were aloud to go all the way into the powerplant to fish. It was insane! The workers would come down and watch you fish. 

Ah yes the old days......... dropping your boat over the Eastlake fishing wall and catching steelhead until your arms hurt. I always thought I was going to see a polar bear walking in off the frozen solid lake.

A name from the past.......... Bob Ashley. I bet he had some of those 1700 fish years back then. 

I know you guys are talking of more recent days. Man that would be some catching!


----------



## Patricio (Feb 2, 2007)

fishing pole said:


> I don't fish for steel as much as I use to. One thing for sure, I have fished next to several of you on this site. Later on that evening I have looked at the post by some of you and it said "you tore them up" while for the few hours I fished next to you it was "nada". Must of been those 15 minutes I walked around the bend.
> 
> One more thing, If keeping score is what it's all abouit for you then more power to ya. My log is filled with who i went with, weather and what we ate, drank. Those are the memories I cherish. There are not many fish that get my memory going but fishing with some close buds, some of who are'nt around anymore, is what my fishing meories are made of.


are you implying fisherman are liars? this can't be!









you're a flyfisherman. you have a different mentality. thoreau once said,"few fisherman go fishing knowing it's not the fish they seek". 



> High steelhead counts were a common thing back in the 70's and 80's


they didnt stock steelhead back then.


----------



## steelheadBob (Jul 6, 2004)

Ive know guys who has pulled well over those numbers, and a couple of them are members here. Just have to get on the water more.....


----------



## fishing pole (May 2, 2004)

Patricio,

I only lie when I have too and thats often..LOL

Yes and yes!!!!!


----------

