# First chromer of the season !



## steelhead sniper 860

Deleted...


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## Mike_13

Great news! Any hints to which river you were at. Thinkin of hitting the Lowe chagrin or fair port break wall this coming weekend. 


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## ztkaz

I've been trying at night at a mouth of a river in my kayak trolling spoons and husks with no luck yet. But now I have hope


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## Tom G

I never tried shrimp. You use raw i take it ?? Is that what you caught your fish on ??


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## steelhead sniper 860

Deleted...


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## ztkaz

steelhead sniper 860 said:


> Mike, No hints on Location but I did call fairport harbor bait shop a day or 2 ago and asked the guys if they had any reports of steelies being caught off the breakwall and he said Yes there has been some caught this past week.
> Tom, No I didnt catch this fish on shrimp, However I do use shrimp with a lot of success throughout the season. I generally buy the bags of the smallest size salad shrimp I can find from walmart, usually its around $5 for around 100-150 pieces of shrimp, when using it I break the shrimp in half and flake the meat a bit to give it some texture.
> To answer the question though, I caught the steelhead on a gold black and silver storm hot-n-tot crankbait 3/8 oz.. last couple seasons early Ive done well chucking hardware while water is still fairly warm. Yet for some reason every fall I always go back to My winter/ spring tactics & what I'm most comfortable with in the Drift Float fishing. Although I know its more effective in the winter/ spring time. (Part of its probably just me being stubborn, and loving the anticipation of seeing my float sink under the surface.)



Good info, yeah I'm trying to get my first steelhead in hardware some how I haven't. I caught plenty just not with lures,spoons.


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## lowhole4trowt

steelhead sniper 860 said:


> Although I know its more effective in the winter/ spring time. (Part of its probably just me being stubborn, and loving the anticipation of seeing my float sink under the surface.)


Lol. Same thing happened last month chucking glow spoons, RRs, and Tsticks off a pier in MI at night...knew there wasn't much likelihood of a float rig dropping out there but had to toss one out at 1 am just to be sure. Float, indicator, bobber, whatever..it's addicting when it goes thoop! (especially in the dark).


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## Tom G

Steelhead
thanks for the good info reply


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## kayak1979

Looks like you just made my day and now it's going to be difficult to focus on anything else!!!!!!!!!


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## dlancy

I feel like I have been waiting months for this post! Great info sniper. I am the same way with drifting. I still haven't landed one yet on hardware, so I always go back to what I know best. Watching that float sink is addicting! 


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## ztkaz

Was it in the lake or harbors? Or in a river?


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## steelhead sniper 860

Deleted...


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## ztkaz

steelhead sniper 860 said:


> It was in a creek, that stays 48 degrees all year.



Mhmm...... :|


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## kayak1979

What County were you in? =)


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## ztkaz

kayak1979 said:


> What County were you in? =)



We'll it can't be west I'm thinking a grand feeder.


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## Popspastime

Did somebody say conny river.. oops..


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## lowhole4trowt

Haha...you guys aren't the best darts players are ya? No bull's eyes yet. Pretty soon you'll have those 2 fish nailed down.


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## ztkaz

Popspastime said:


> Did somebody say conny river.. oops..



I was gonna say conny or grand


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## kayak1979

Being that Sniper is in Florence Township, it seems like it would more likely be West


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## ztkaz

kayak1979 said:


> Seeing as Sniper is in Florence Township, it seems like it would more likely be West



Cold creek is the only option which is mostly private and steelhead shouldn't be that far west yet


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## kayak1979

I was thinking Arcola Creek if East


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## lowhole4trowt

Clearly he was back bouncing 3-ways with pencil lead near Devil's.


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## tehsavage

I know where he was ! ; X

Good job man hopefully I'll get into one this weekend. When ya think the parking garage will fill in sniper? Itching to hit that hole


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## kayak1979

This thread name should be switched to "Name that creek" --- Congrats on the fish and I look forward to posting videos of catching steelhead with obvious recognizable terrain around me and hope others will be catching them too. =)


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## steelhead sniper 860

Deleted...


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## ztkaz

steelhead sniper 860 said:


> someone on the thread hit a bullseye, the place is no secret



I know by the comment on the parking garage


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## steelhead sniper 860

Deleted...


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## lowhole4trowt

ztkaz said:


> I know by the comment on the parking garage


Wait...there's no parking garage in the niagara gorge???


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## ztkaz

steelhead sniper 860 said:


> The parking garage is a hole on the vermilion and that wasnt it, I probably wont be trying that particular spot until mid october, kind of depends on the weather more then a date I guess



We'll there's 2 parking garages then lol.


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## mdogs444

All this talk over a single steelhead found in a cold stream early in the season? Geesh! lol


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## Shortdrift

48 degrees all year is a dead giveaway. Send your $100 bill for location and directions.


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## fishinnick

Wow, some really wild guesses here, and some people still don't know lol...



steelhead sniper 860 said:


> It was in a creek, that stays 48 degrees all year.


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## creekcrawler

Lol! You sure it was a steelie and not a runaway rainbow trout?

Just 'cause you got trout out of a _cold creek_ doesn't mean they're running the rivers yet.

Kind of a misleading report in my opinion, you don't want to send people out on wild goose chases..


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## creekcrawler

After re-reading your post, if you had on waders and a vest, you were trespassing.

Just sayin' . . .


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## steelhead sniper 860

Deleted...


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## creekcrawler

All good here man, good to hear a report.

Just don't want to see somebody making the long haul out to Arcola or elsewhere thinking
it might be good. 
And sorry to insinuate you where trespassing, but for a while, they were keeping people out of Margaritaville.


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## SelfTaught

Ah, gotta love that fresh smell of steelhead fever in air once again.


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## kayak1979

SelfTaught said:


> Ah, gotta love that fresh smell of steelhead fever in air once again.


With the cold front moving in and the rain that it's bringing, I have a feeling it's about to get good soon!


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## ztkaz

kayak1979 said:


> With the cold front moving in and the rain that it's bringing, I have a feeling it's about to get good soon!



We have a month or more before it gets good. The rivers are still low and warm we need a lot of rain to bring large amounts of fish in.


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## kayak1979

Two of my favorite fishing reports to keep an eye on. Looks as though there are reports.

http://www.clevelandmetroparks.com/Main/Fishing-Report-Blog.aspx#.VBC6BvldWSo

http://lakemetroparks.com/fishingreport.shtml


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## lowhole4trowt

Food for thought...our rivers primarily rely on runoff from urban areas for their water. Consistent cold temps at night coupled with a storm during this cold spell can lower our temps in the rivers to a desirable number rather quickly. Couple that with a lake that takes much longer to cool down and there could be some real chances in the near future.

Personally I'd look out I 90 starting at Chagrin due to the potential for more strays in those rivers early on. Also rivers that clear faster will tend to drop in temp faster as well. Less particles (silt, mud, poo poo) in the water keep it from absorbing as much energy from the sun and thus temp drops or stays lower. Extended forecast looks decent looking forward to hearing some reports of early pods nosing in.


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## ztkaz

lowhole4trowt said:


> Food for thought...our rivers primarily rely on runoff from urban areas for their water. Consistent cold temps at night coupled with a storm during this cold spell can lower our temps in the rivers to a desirable number rather quickly. Couple that with a lake that takes much longer to cool down and there could be some real chances in the near future.
> 
> 
> 
> Personally I'd look out I 90 starting at Chagrin due to the potential for more strays in those rivers early on. Also rivers that clear faster will tend to drop in temp faster as well. Less particles (silt, mud, poo poo) in the water keep it from absorbing as much energy from the sun and thus temp drops or stays lower. Extended forecast looks decent looking forward to hearing some reports of early pods nosing in.



The lake is still warm we need cold rain to cool down the lake to bring fish close to shore then a few more good rains to get them running. I know it can happen quick.


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## Shortdrift

The lake isn't all that warm now, especially compared to past years. A good sustained South wind after this cold rainy spell will provide a decent wake up call to the steelhead.


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## lowhole4trowt

ztkaz said:


> The lake is still warm we need cold rain to cool down the lake to bring fish close to shore then a few more good rains to get them running. I know it can happen quick.


I'm cool with a warmer lake. Cold rain won't cool down the lake that takes time and temps but it will cool the rivers flowing out into said warm lake  . They get a sniff of a 50-60 degree river plume blasting into a 70-75 degree lake and it could do the trick.


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## laynhardwood

Catching them on hardware is more of getting past personal doubts. The thinking trout only eat small offerings is not at all true. They are coming out of Lake Erie where they have been gorging on baitfish all summer long so I have found if you want to catch the biggest fish in the hole that a crankbait is almost always the best bet when the water is 35deg or warmer spoons work spinners work power grubs also deadly but a kvd 1.0 is off the hook







this is my personal best toad caught on a 1.0 water was just under 36deg hit like a freight train but I normally catch 50+ every season on just this crankbait let alone the other hardware items I mentioned


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## dlancy

That fish is a tank!


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## ztkaz

That's a stud right there.


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## Osmerus

Ya nice fish, gettin the itch big time now. The 7 day forecast per noaa looks great. Lows in 50s and high 40s plus day time highs in the 60s is def gona drop river temps. The lower lake temps this year will also help out big tone . Keepin the fingers crossed for a cool rainy september and october.


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## kayak1979

I'm out in Fairport harbor now in kayak just about to launch


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## ldrjay

I should stop down to meet ya.


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## kayak1979

I just got back its muddy and rough


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## laynhardwood

As the baitfish numbers in the river dwindle and the water is mid-upper 40's is when it starts to get good there will be fish in the river make no mistake but it won't get good until that river water temp is 40's


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## kayak1979

A bunch of construction at the bridge is causing a lot of mud this year I believe.


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## mdogs444

kayak1979 said:


> I just got back its muddy and rough


From the rain we got last night and river gauge blowouts, I knew it'd be a mud-bath.


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## ztkaz

kayak1979 said:


> I just got back its muddy and rough



That didn't last long! I might take mine out today somewhere.


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## creekcrawler

^^^^

What Mdogs said.
After last night, everything is gonna be pretty muddy.
I wouldn't bother putting in any of the rivers right now.


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## creekcrawler

Awww, didn't notice steelhead sniper deleted all his stuff.

This _is _ the steelhead forum, one must have thicker skin. . . .


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## kayak1979

I'm still out here fishing from pier. Saw one surface a few minutes ago. Casting spoons.


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## ztkaz

kayak1979 said:


> I'm still out here fishing from pier. Saw one surface a few minutes ago. Casting spoons.



Anyone else out there?


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## dlancy

Just read an article posted on the Cle Metroparks fishing blog about the prediction of a late run this year because of the cooler summer temps of Erie. Pretty interesting, but we will find out. 

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/...uld-delay-steelhead-runs/stories/201409070150



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## kayak1979

There were two others after steelhead. Both using jig and maggot. Said the fish trap the bait fish against the wall. That is where I saw one surface. I also saw a golden eagle for the first time in my life. It was huge.


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## SelfTaught

kayak1979 said:


> I just got back its muddy and rough


Nice lookin rig ya got there


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## kayak1979

Thanks self taught. Jay it was good to meet you out there today as well. Hopefully everyone will be sharing reports soon about fish no matter where they are or if keeping the place a secret. All the best to a new season.

Also... a lesson learned today...watch for gulls when casting spoons


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## ldrjay

Nice to meet you too. Those golden eagles were still there tonight. One almost got a gull. Saw one roller. No hits.


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## lowhole4trowt

kayak1979 said:


> A bunch of construction at the bridge is causing a lot of mud this year I believe.


Are they doing construction at Grand River Landing bridge or are you talking about further upstream?? My hopes are GRL is where you are talking.


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## kayak1979

The 535 bridge construction all summer and making it really muddy


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## lowhole4trowt

Gotcha thanks, haven't seen it since feb or march but I was just hoping it wasn't something that would send a mud slick down the first few miles of wade-able water out there...will check it out if I make it up there hopefully next weekend.


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## dgodek

Lake Metroparks' fishing report is saying a couple of steelies were caught this week at the mouth of the Grand River. Read it here: http://www.lakemetroparks.com/fishingreport.shtml


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## whjr15

kayak1979 said:


> The 535 bridge construction all summer and making it really muddy



I'm an Ironworker, and just finished up working on it a few weeks ago. At this stage in construction, all work taking place is above the river, leaving it undisturbed (at least until the new half is open to traffic, and the demolition of the other half begins... But I haven't been there since, so there's a possibility that's already the case!)


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## PatrickS

kayak1979 said:


> There were two others after steelhead. Both using jig and maggot. Said the fish trap the bait fish against the wall. That is where I saw one surface. I also saw a golden eagle for the first time in my life. It was huge.



Are you sure those were Golden Eagles you were seeing on not immature (1-3yrs old) Bald Eagles? It's not unheard of to have a Golden Eagle sighting in Ohio, but far from common, and that area around the Grand River has quite a few Bald Eagles. The Baldies do not get their trademark white head and tail til year 3 or 4 I believe...

On a fishing note, I just bought my 1st kayak a month ago and have yet to take it out for a fishing trip. Looking forward to hitting the lower stretches of the Rocky, Chagrin and Grand over the next month or two for some chrome. It is nice to finally not be shore/shallow water bound!


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## kayak1979

This was indeed a golden eagle. I have seen bald eagles on Ladue many times and this bird made a bald eagle look like a midget. I also confirmed it with another fisherman there who was in the military and had only previously seen them in Scotland. It actually started to attack a sea gull that I dropped with my fishing line.

Enjoy your kayak...it's an incredible addiction combined with fishing!


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## kayak1979

Although it might have seemed bigger since it flew directly at me and was 3 feet above my head! lol


Some info on golden eagles in lake Erie

http://www.ohiobirds.org/news.php?News_ID=117


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## PatrickS

kayak1979 said:


> Although it might have seemed bigger since it flew directly at me and was 3 feet above my head! lol


There are a few ways (beak coloration, plumage) to tell a Golden Eagle from an immature Bald Eagle, but size really isn't one of them. In reality, the two types of eagles are very similar in size (almost exactly the same wingspan and weight). And yes, they do tend to look even bigger when flying 3 feet above your head! Lol

Either way, it's always exciting to see raptors and other nature while we enjoy our favorite pastime, and I am envious that you obviously had such great observations of these awesome creatures while you were out fishing. Thank you for the reports and good luck with the steelies!

-Patrick


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## iggyfly

Well looks like I won't get my first chromer of the season on the swing. Blew up my new switch rod... fml


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## ztkaz

iggyfly said:


> Well looks like I won't get my first chromer of the season on the swing. Blew up my new switch rod... fml



I'm not taking my fly rod out for a few weeks, jigs and spawn sacks! I'll be out tomorrow on the rocky tomorrow with all the others with the itch haha! But how did you blow it out?


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## ldrjay

It was golden eagles. They migrate. I was out there several times. Bald eagles are big but there were huge. I wont let my 2 year old run when they are around big. Watch several chase gulls and ducks


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## ztkaz

ldrjay said:


> It was golden eagles. They migrate. I was out there several times. Bald eagles are big but there were huge. I wont let my 2 year old run when they are around big. Watch several chase gulls and ducks



I see bald eagles anytime I go to the west branch of rocky river. Cool sight I've never seen a golden though.


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## iggyfly

Practicing new skagit casts, anchor didnt set right, went with the forward stroke anyways, 1.5 alan jackson spey hook smacks the rod. About 10 casts later I shot my rod tip out a good 20 ft. Scott should have it fixed within 4 weeks.. for only 50$. Being optimistic that I'll hook into some chrome sooner. Going to pick up some versileaders tomorrow so I can swing ny 10' 7wt single hander.


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## Rasper

iggyfly said:


> Practicing new skagit casts, anchor didnt set right, went with the forward stroke anyways, 1.5 alan jackson spey hook smacks the rod. About 10 casts later I shot my rod tip out a good 20 ft. Scott should have it fixed within 4 weeks.. for only 50$. Being optimistic that I'll hook into some chrome sooner. Going to pick up some versileaders tomorrow so I can swing ny 10' 7wt single hander.


Sorry to hear that... I'll be using my switch rod this week for sure. Let me know what color/style fly you are using if you get bit. I'll be using bright red/black zonkers or just black.


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## mdogs444

Try using the side-snake roll when skagit casting, you will no longer have an issue with the anchor pulling out of the water.


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## PatrickS

ldrjay said:


> It was golden eagles. They migrate. I was out there several times. Bald eagles are big but there were huge. I wont let my 2 year old run when they are around big. Watch several chase gulls and ducks


Golden Eagles are not larger than Bald Eagles. If you are making the determination that these were Golden Eagles based on size alone, I would say these were most likely Bald Eagles. Obviously Bald Eagles are much much much more common in the area, and many people mistake the sub-adult Bald's for Golden Eagles. But hey, this is a fishing forum, not a birding forum, so I will shut up now! ;-)


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## kayak1979

I have a decent Nikon DSLR camera with a zoom lens. Next time I'm there I'll try to get some close up photographs and post them.


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## ldrjay

They were not bald eagles. No white heads. There were two different sizes that day. They also were not shy like the balds are. Numerous times they flew within feet of me. Unless we have two adult bald eagles that do not have white heads.


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## Indybio72

This appears to have turned into a bird watching thread !$


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## tehsavage

It's the steelhead forum! The katalina wine mixer! Everyone's gotta be right !


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## ldrjay

tehsavage said:


> It's the steelhead forum! The katalina wine mixer! Everyone's gotta be right !


Hahaha thats good stuff


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## PatrickS

ldrjay said:


> They were not bald eagles. No white heads. There were two different sizes that day. They also were not shy like the balds are. Numerous times they flew within feet of me. Unless we have two adult bald eagles that do not have white heads.



Alright, I PROMISE this is my last birding post on this thread! But I do have a bit of knowledge when it comes to eagles and raptors, so I thought I would post a couple of facts. Again, I was not there to see whether these were golden or bald eagles, and in my heart I wish they were goldens (as they are a relatively uncommon and newsworthy sight in this area). But I have to say based on what I have read in this thread, these were very very likely bald eagles (less than 4 years of age).


Bald Eagles do not get their trademark white heads & tails until around year 4. Before that time, they truly do look quite similar to Golden Eagles.

Eagles and other raptors are full grown by the time they "fledge" or fly for the first time. So the fact that these were very large eagles does not preclude them from being very young eagles.

Like other raptors, the female eagle is generally larger than the male (this is true for both bald and golden eagles, and explains why you saw eagles of 2 different sizes).

Bald eagles are essentially the same size as golden eagles. I have seen several comments that what was seen must have been golden eagles, due to their large size. Not true...

Bald eagles are "fishing eagles" (though their diet varies greatly) and are found near water. Golden eagles are often found far from water - mostly in plains and mountain regions. Obviously during migration, golden eagles may be sighted in areas out of their normal habitat...

The fact that these eagles also showed less timidness around humans would be additional evidence that these were most likely young (first year?) birds. Once again, that goes right along with the theory that these are "immature" (less than 4 years old) bald eagles that were sighted.

And once again, I apologize for my off topic birding responses here, when this is supposed to be a fishing (steelhead!) thread. I hope to get the kayak out to the Rocky River later this week and see if there are any early chrome runners. I will post my results either way, to hopefully make up for all this eagle blabber these past couple days. ;-)


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## mdogs444

Ok....but how about Velociraptors? I see those all the time around Fairport.


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## Indybio72

mdogs444 said:


> Ok....but how about Velociraptors? I see those all the time around Fairport.


I'm pretty sure those are t-rex. Shall we debate haha


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## ballast

I've seen a video of a golden take down a whitetail deer...also saw a bald eagle yesterday at nimi maybe 30yards away. Fishing wasn't great, but the bird watching was


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## kayak1979

I'm going to be going out either tomorrow or Wednesday to Fairport. I'll bring my camera along if I see the "eagle"...Hopefully I update this thread with a photograph of a steelhead!


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## salmon king

mdogs444 said:


> Ok....but how about Velociraptors? I see those all the time around Fairport.


Or the terradactils at Fairport also known as blue herons Lmao


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## ztkaz

Just to help everyone out but the metroparks will be closing parts of the parkway over the next 3 weeks. I went down to fish rockcliff and etc. and the road is closed all the way from old Lorain to the top of the hill by the marina, but there's also no fish in the river so who cares


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## ldrjay

My last on the birds. There were balds there to that day. Not bald eagles. They have not been back since. I see so many balds i dont blink an eye when I see them. These were not bald eagles. There were colors on them not found on balds. It was a group of eagles that had its offspring with them. The balds avoided them as well. 


Now just going to say this..... they are here the fish that is.


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## ztkaz

ldrjay said:


> My last on the birds. There were balds there to that day. Not bald eagles. They have not been back since. I see so many balds i dont blink an eye when I see them. These were not bald eagles. There were colors on them not found on balds. It was a group of eagles that had its offspring with them. The balds avoided them as well.
> 
> 
> Now just going to say this..... they are here the fish that is.



I was being sarcastic, I did pretty we'll somewhere today.


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## fishinnick

ztkaz said:


> Just to help everyone out but the metroparks will be closing parts of the parkway over the next 3 weeks. I went down to fish rockcliff and etc. and the road is closed all the way from old Lorain to the top of the hill by the marina, but there's also no fish in the river so who cares


Yep. That whole stretch will be closed this season due to golden eagle and velociraptor nests in the area. Gonna have to fish elsewhere


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## ztkaz

fishinnick said:


> Yep. That whole stretch will be closed this season due to golden eagle and velociraptor nests in the area. Gonna have to fish elsewhere



I was being serious the valley parkway is getting re-paved and is closed. You can still get to spots you just have to walk alot


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## Indybio72

Man, I am pumped for steelhead, only thing I dont look forward to is the people. It was a nice summer fly fishing creeks for carp and being the only one there. I seem to run into grumpy fishermen all the time... yes yes I know you can hike away from the crowds, but Im getting my masters and have very small windows i'll be able to fish. Will have to go to easily accessible spots, close to home (aka cuyahoga 82 dam). Time to dust off the centerpin.


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## Jvthoma

creekcrawler said:


> All good here man, good to hear a report.
> 
> Just don't want to see somebody making the long haul out to Arcola or elsewhere thinking
> it might be good.
> And sorry to insinuate you where trespassing, but for a while, they were keeping people out of Margaritaville.


They have changed ownership a few times due to kitchen fires... I have been fishing there the past three years and have had conversations with waiters and waitresses. I have heard the owners of cleats in Marblehead are buying it now. And i agree the fish was most likely a trout. I caught a 23 inch rainbow by the falls in June... The trout can get pretty big in there and it would be easy to mistake it for a steelhead. The fact that we had that full week of 85+ degree weather makes it very hard to believe that a steelie would brave the shallow waters of the western end of the lake.


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## kayak1979

These are some of the photographs I was able to get from today while steelhead fishing Fairport Harbor. I'm not a bird expert and I don't have the most powerful zoom on my Nikon D3200 so I did blow up to where it still may possibly be identifiable.


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## Indybio72

WITHOUT A DOUBT AN IMMATURE BALD EAGLE. Golden eagles do not have white markings like that (immature Goldens do have a white wing bar, but not the broad white markings like this specimen.) Also as someone mentioned before a golden eagle is not a fisher like this. They prefer open fields. Thanks for the photos, now this debate is over and we can go back to talking about steelhead haha.


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## ztkaz

Very cool pictures,is that a shad or white bass he is holding?

FYI golden eagles do have white patches/ spots


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## fishinnick

ztkaz said:


> I was being serious the valley parkway is getting re-paved and is closed. You can still get to spots you just have to walk alot


I stand corrected. I do remember seeing the metroparks post about it on Facebook the other day...

Didn't the road get messed up from the flooding/ice jams in the spring?


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## ztkaz

fishinnick said:


> I stand corrected. I do remember seeing the metroparks post about it on Facebook the other day...
> 
> 
> 
> Didn't the road get messed up from the flooding/ice jams in the spring?


No, the roads just needed a few patches but they closed the whole damn parkway! With no warning too, I went right past the signs as other fisherman did but you could only park in a few spots and had to deal with complain works even though they were barley do anything. I passed a ranger and he didn't stop me. I feel like they wanted to cut down traffic.


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## ldrjay

Definitely not the ones I saw. Well played.


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## Indybio72

ztkaz said:


> Very cool pictures,is that a shad or white bass he is holding?
> 
> FYI golden eagles do have white patches/ spots


As I said in my post only immature golden eagles have white on them, but they have a white wing bar and white tail bar. This bird has a lot of diffused white markings on the entire wing (aka bald eagle). Adult goldens do not have white on them like that. They have some lighter brown primary feathers which makes them look patchy, but they are not the obvious white feathers like in the posted pictures. I saw plenty in Alaska to know what they look like and the differences.


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## PatrickS

ldrjay said:


> Definitely not the ones I saw. Well played.


Ldrjay, you mentioned the birds you saw were a group that had their offspring with them. There are no golden eagle nesting sites in this area, so that statement alone precludes the birds that you saw from being goldens. Although the very occasional golden eagle might be spotted in areas of Ohio during migration periods, it is unheard of to have a group of them or "family" migrating together. It would also be extremely uncommon to finds them hanging around Lake Erie, as they prefer dry plains and mountain regions.

We can all agree that the pictures posted were of immature bald eagles, and I am most certain that what you saw were the same. Especially after all the comments earlier in the thread that they must have been golden eagles because they were so much larger than the resident bald eagles (both species are the same size).


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## dlancy

Over this bird talk.........


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## creekcrawler

The wife saw an osprey at Whiskey Island last week. . . . .


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## y-town

Cool pics! Lets go fishing!


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## bighomied

CAught my first of the year today


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## ztkaz

bighomied said:


> CAught my first of the year today
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Ohub Campfire



Caught mine Monday they are here it just more like hunting than fishing


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## Rasper

No pics? I don't believe you guys


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## ztkaz

Rasper said:


> No pics? I don't believe you guys



I've hooked up 5 times and landed 3 in the past 3 days, minus the few skippers I caught they don't count. All on pink eggs and one on a Woolley bugger with mag. I don't take my phone on the water anymore & I fish by myself so no picture were taken


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## ldrjay

Done with the birds. I know what I saw. I see balds so much they have no appeal anymore. The ones I saw were there that day and gone. People down by akron have seen some as well. These were not balds. As said migrate. 




Bring the fish tales!


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## Rasper

ztkaz said:


> I've hooked up 5 times and landed 3 in the past 3 days, minus the few skippers I caught they don't count. All on pink eggs and one on a Woolley bugger with mag. I don't take my phone on the water anymore & I fish by myself so no picture were taken


Where at? Not exactly of course just what river?


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## Rasper

I read your past posts. The rocky huh? I hit the rocky 2 days but not for very long. But no one else pulled any out that I talked too.


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## racetech

You guys are giving me the itch! Been wanting to get out so bad, damn back is screwed up, not sure how much im gonna get out this fall


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## ztkaz

Rasper said:


> I read your past posts. The rocky huh? I hit the rocky 2 days but not for very long. But no one else pulled any out that I talked too.



Where you at rockcliff?


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## ldrjay

Racetech! Whats wrong with your back


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## racetech

Dude. Bulging disc. Ungodly pain from the nerve its pinching. Im a wreck. I may get out on a weekend morning. I go to work and im shot by 2 during week

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## kayak1979

Hope you heal fast racetech. As for me I can't stop thinking about fishing. I even had a dream last night I caught a huge sockeye salmon from my kayak in my backyard which was somehow flooded??! lol


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## iggyfly

Fished fairport pier, saw one really nice one caught. None for me though.


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## ldrjay

Get it fixed bud. Ill be out next couple days.


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## Rasper

ztkaz said:


> Where you at rockcliff?


A bit down stream be the marina


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## ztkaz

Rasper said:


> A bit down stream be the marina



Mhmm I can only guess what spot that was haha. But just wondering cause I was out that day with a guy I knew and bumped into 1 other guy with a fly rod. Figure I would see if it was you.


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## kayak1979

PatrickS said:


> Ldrjay, you mentioned the birds you saw were a group that had their offspring with them. There are no golden eagle nesting sites in this area, so that statement alone precludes the birds that you saw from being goldens. Although the very occasional golden eagle might be spotted in areas of Ohio during migration periods, it is unheard of to have a group of them or "family" migrating together. It would also be extremely uncommon to finds them hanging around Lake Erie, as they prefer dry plains and mountain regions.
> 
> We can all agree that the pictures posted were of immature bald eagles, and I am most certain that what you saw were the same. Especially after all the comments earlier in the thread that they must have been golden eagles because they were so much larger than the resident bald eagles (both species are the same size).


I recall this thread about the Golden Eagle debate and just saw today Division of Wildlife released this photograph of a Golden. Wish they would mention what county.

https://www.facebook.com/ohiodivisi...8146859540804/874686932553456/?type=1&theater


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## BigDaddy300

They did....Vinton I think it said. That bird is huge!


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## ldrjay

kayak1979 said:


> I recall this thread about the Golden Eagle debate and just saw today Division of Wildlife released this photograph of a Golden. Wish they would mention what county.
> 
> https://www.facebook.com/ohiodivisi...8146859540804/874686932553456/?type=1&theater


It said Vincent county. Funny looks just like what I saw.... hmm nope that other guy was right I have no clue what im talking about or saw. These birds aren't ever in ohio. Lol eat crow sir eat dirty dirty crow. Hahaha that bud for the back up.


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## Angling

ztkaz said:


> Cold creek is the only option which is mostly private and steelhead shouldn't be that far west yet


There are ALWAYS trout in Cold Creek.......


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## Angling

48* all year caught my eye.... Ive been fishing there for 50 years.....


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## ztkaz

Angling said:


> There are ALWAYS trout in Cold Creek.......



I said steelhead not trout for a reason.


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## Angling

ztkaz said:


> I said steelhead not trout for a reason.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Ohub Campfire


Where do you think your "steelhead" are coming from?


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## creekcrawler

> Where do you think your "steelhead" are coming from?


Michigan. We trade them for channel cats.


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## Angling

creekcrawler said:


> Michigan. We trade them for channel cats.


Yep, then theyre raised in ohio before release....


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## PatrickS

ldrjay said:


> It said Vincent county. Funny looks just like what I saw.... hmm nope that other guy was right I have no clue what im talking about or saw. These birds aren't ever in ohio. Lol eat crow sir eat dirty dirty crow. Hahaha that bud for the back up.




Not sure if "that other guy" you refer to is me  but I don't recall anyone in the thread ever saying Golden Eagles aren't ever in Ohio. It was simply stated that the group of eagles spotted on the shores of Lake Erie at the Grand River (I think that's where you guys saw the Eagles?) were much more likely immature Bald Eagles than Golden Eagles. Although Golden's are occasionally sited in Ohio (I have seen 2 myself), I don't recall ever seeing a report of nesting or multiple Golden Eagles seen at any site in Ohio. That doesn't mean it can't happen - but it is extremely rare. Golden Eagles are also not generally found around large bodies of water like Bald Eagles. The area where that Golden Eagle was spotted in Vincent is certainly more conducive to Golden Eagles than Lake County.

But Hey, if you want me to eat crow, I will have to do just that! I prefer my crow with a bit of BBQ sauce. 

It's been so long since I attempted to post a message with an attached picture on here. I am going to try to attach a picture of a Bald Eagle on here as an example of how closely they can resemble Goldens.


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## ldrjay

Lol as long as its sweet baby rays. I see so many balds white and immature its ridiculous. I fish right under a nest in geauga county. Maybe im luckier than most and dont realise it. Funny thing was a couple weeks ago I was chatting with a guy whom I had never met who also btought up the goldens from the same time frame. They also wernt seen again after that couple day span. Eagles are still around chasing gulls.


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## atrenz

Gotta say, I love the fishery down there, especially in the fall... but as a Michigan boy, I gotta say we get the short end of the deal on the steel for cats trade! Haha!.... in all seriousness though, it's a great thing you guys have going down there! if conditions were better, id be driving down there instead of up to the manistee this weekend.... now I just need to get our fisheries guys to do something about our lackluster fall and winter fishery. We need some Londons up here! Or at least some skams in more rivers!


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## Angling

Every trout ive caught in cold creek was a steelhead......


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## KTkiff

Angling said:


> Every trout ive caught in cold creek was a steelhead......



I caught a brown once about 12 years ago.


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## creekcrawler

> Every trout ive caught in cold creek was a steelhead......


Seriously?
Every one was a 20"+ steelhead?
hmmmm.


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## Angling

creekcrawler said:


> Seriously?
> Every one was a 20"+ steelhead?
> hmmmm.


Didnt realise a steelhead needed to be 20", but they have probably all been.... Along with 30"+


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## Angling

KTkiff said:


> I caught a brown once about 12 years ago.


Ive seen brown there.....


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## mdogs444

Angling said:


> Didnt realise a steelhead needed to be 20", but they have probably all been.... Along with 30"+


Im not sure what you guys are referencing, but a steelhead is not a steelhead because of its size, but rather because of its migratory genetics. Steelhead, naturally, are Anadromous species who run to saltwater and back where rainbow trout are not. However, our hatchery steelhead are Potamodromous species because they leave for a different type of freshwater before a migratory run back up river to spawn. Rainbow trout that are not of steelhead genetics are resident fish that live and spawn in rivers as opposed to leaving the river for open water when not in migratory reproductive times.


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## creekcrawler

What I was getting at is every fish there isn't a steelhead.
I've got brown trout, smaller rainbows, even a few brookies.
Got trout there in mid-summer. Definitely not steelhead then.
Just because a rainbow is over 12 " long doesn't mean it was steelhead.
I'd say the majority of fish I've got there were stocker trout.

I just found it odd that _every_ fish you got there was a steelie.


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## mdogs444

creekcrawler said:


> What I was getting at is every fish there isn't a steelhead.
> I've got brown trout, smaller rainbows, even a few brookies.
> Got trout there in mid-summer. Definitely not steelhead then.
> Just because a rainbow is over 12 " long doesn't mean it was steelhead.
> I'd say the majority of fish I've got there were stocker trout.
> 
> I just found it odd that _every_ fish you got there was a steelie.


Chances of catching a steelhead mid summer still in the river are very slim, but not impossible. It does happen once in a blue moon, but you would know it - the color of the fish would be like nothing you'v ever seen due to the temperature and oxygen in the water for that long period of time.


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## Angling

A resident cold creek rainbow, that migrates back home after maturing in lake erie, would not be a steelhead?


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## mdogs444

Angling said:


> A resident cold creek rainbow, that migrates back home after maturing in lake erie, would not be a steelhead?


It would not be a resident fish if it was entering different waters for migration. That would make it Potamodromous, which would be a steelhead. A resident fish will live its life cycle in the waters in which it was born year long - therefore, not leaving Cold Creek.


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## Angling

What do you suppose the chances of catching a "resident rainbow" between the lake and Margaritaville would be?


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## W DeMarco

The probability rises if you use pop tarts for bait.


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## Angling

lo fn l.... Time to put the ipad down and wet a line.......


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## mdogs444

Not familiar with that area so I couldn't say. A resident fish does not migrate or leave its typical environment. Resident trout have adapted to the specific flows and oxygen levels in the water and live in flowing tailwaters. The typical water in Ohio is not cold enough year round to support resident trout, which is why we only have a few tailwaters with them - cold creek, mad river, etc - but all are stocked, not native, with some reproducing. You should be able to tell the difference between a resident rainbow and a steelhead based on the size, color, and shape.


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## Angling

My granddaughter loves feeding the trout, uh, steelhead, whatever the hell they are..... at the gate to the hatchery here in castalia. Didnt fish cold creek until i had fresh coho salmon eggs for spawn sacks. They came from the huron, the chinook came from the sandusky. At any rate, i vaguely remember there being a debate between coho & steelhead & that we caught both.... As far as i knew, any rainbow that made it to the lake was a steelhead, and any rainbow i caught in cold creek was back at the waterfall behind margaritaville returning from lake erie..... Walleyes should be in fremont soon.... What a madhouse!! Think ill head back to the huron or maybe vermillion.....walleyes can wait till the boat is back in.....


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## kayak1979

I love the turns and twists to this thread. It has the makings to be a series perhaps? ;-)


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## creekcrawler

> What do you suppose the chances of catching a "resident rainbow" between the lake and Margaritaville would be?


Chances are very high! That's what I was hinting at. I've seen them coming downstream,
above the falls. They get washed over and try to jump back up that fall. Once they're 
below the falls they're pretty much trapped (in the warmer months). Can't leave the creek because the bay is too warm.



> any rainbow i caught in cold creek was back at the waterfall behind margaritaville returning from lake erie


 That happens occasionally, but more often, it's fish from upstream trying to get back up. Was there last spring one day, and we saw literally dozens of fish trying to climb the falls. Neat as heck, but they were defintely smaller stocker trout from upstream.


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## Angling

Kewl... Have only fished there in winter, fall was salmon season. Built a noodle rod in 1983 just for the margaritaville stocker trout. Bought hooks, spawn sack netting, rod building materials from Netcraft in toledo. Caught 16 pounder there in mid december... Caught alot of coho on spinners in the huron in the fall. Caught a 30 lb. chinook in little pickerel creek once......


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## creekcrawler

> Caught a 30 lb. chinook in little pickerel creek once


Dam, that's sweeeeeeet! That's definitely not a resident, LOL!


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## Angling

When a stranger told me there were chinook in the sandusky river, i called him a liar. He lived next to the ballville dam in fremont. We were killing the coho at the huron river for years, i knew those were stocked. Ive been friends with that liar since he showed me how to catch a chinook in fremont. The one in little pickerel still makes me laugh tho... Its back was sticking out of the water, saw it just driving around on a beautiful fall day. My buddy was laughing as i jumped in the creek and tossed it to the shore with my bare hands. That was definitely not a "resident"! When they get the urge, they will go just about anywhere!


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## fishfray

Milton b trautman (author of Fishes of Ohio) said in his book that he oversaw the stocking of chinooks in little pickerel. I don't have the book by me know but if I did I would post the date.


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## mdogs444

Its not uncommon to see chinook, silvers, and even pink salmon in our waters from the Chagrin to the Sandusky. We get a lot of strays coming in from Lake Michigan. 

I personally saw a large 35-40 pound king in the Chagrin this fall just hanging out on a shallow gravel bed. Chances of him/her finding a mate were slim to none, but there is no point in messing with him/her. Let em be.


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## Angling

fishfray said:


> Milton b trautman (author of Fishes of Ohio) said in his book that he oversaw the stocking of chinooks in little pickerel. I don't have the book by me know but if I did I would post the date.


Book printed in 1981..... I dont doubt that they were released there. That AMAZES me though! I know there is a trout club upstream from where i caught the chinook. Little Pickerel is little more than a drainage ditch. I have a hard time imagining why anyone would stock it with anything, much less chinook. Go figure.....


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## fishfray

Now that I look at the book, it was actually coho that they stocked in little pickerel, 8500 of them in 1933. I was under the impression that little pickerel and a few other ditches in the area were spring fed and trout/salmon could survive in them. I'm just not sure if there is gravel for spawning. Salmon can spawn in the smallest ditches if they are cool enough and have the right gravel.


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## ChromeBone

My first Steelhead ever was in the Chagrin late summer, jigging for smallies. I live in Cbus and travel all around for work. Always got a few rods/rigs in the truck. It was a big ugly buck 25" all humped out Green/red/black funkiest trout you ever saw. One local guy looked at it and thought it was some kind of Salmon. Definitely was no salmon, but that fish is what hooked me to get an 8wt and start fly fishen for chrome when I get the chance.


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## KTkiff

What part of the Chagrin?


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## ChromeBone

Park south of the soccer fields, deepest hole in the area with several large boulders.


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## ironfish

mdogs444 said:


> Im not sure what you guys are referencing, but a steelhead is not a steelhead because of its size, but rather because of its migratory genetics. Steelhead, naturally, are Anadromous species who run to saltwater and back where rainbow trout are not. However, our hatchery steelhead are Potamodromous species because they leave for a different type of freshwater before a migratory run back up river to spawn. Rainbow trout that are not of steelhead genetics are resident fish that live and spawn in rivers as opposed to leaving the river for open water when not in migratory reproductive times.


Hey is this material gonna be on the test?lol


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## creekcrawler

> Hey is this material gonna be on the test?lol


This whole convoluted 9 page report will be on the quizz, LOL!!

Wow, after looking back at this post, I forgot the original poster got angry and pulled all his stuff, LOL!!

So far we've covered;
1.) A mystery creek where the first chromer was caught.
2.) Fishing with shrimp. Cooked or frozen?
3.) Eagle identification.
4.) Skagit casting.
5.) How to tell a trout from a steelhead.
6.) Stockings of salmon in the Sandusky area.
7.) The difference between Anadromous and Potamodromous species.
8.) Milton Trautman (one of my heroes).

More to come. . . . .


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## creekcrawler

Something new to discuss.

I got these guys from the Hatchery up Little Pickerel Creek.
150 gallon tank with a lobster tank chiller.
One day I got some feeders from the pet store as a treat for them.
Whatever disease the feeders had, killed them all in 24 hours .


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## Angling

That is just too cool creekcrawler, what a shame.  little pickerel, huh...


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## dlancy

That is so cool! I'm sure they were awesome to watch.


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## Kevin Rucker

I just got here. Did I miss anything? Seriously though this may have been the greatest and most varied post on the Internet...ever. Well played. 

Sent from the wings of an eagle


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