# Chagrin info



## gulfvet (Apr 14, 2004)

I am thinking about making my first trip this Fall for steelhead on the Chagrin. When do they usually get started in the Fall? Late September? Mid-October? Do I need heavy gear? I have a 6, a 7, and an 8, so I just need to know which one I will need to handle a steelhead.


----------



## zimmerj (Oct 17, 2014)

I start looking for them after a big rain mid-to-late September. Not big numbers of chrome but some. From that point on as long as we get some rains that bring the river levels up you'll start to see more and more enter the rivers.

I use an 8 wt. Strong enough to handle chrome and with a 2X leader or stronger you can control the battle. I do on occasion use the 6wt if I want to bring two rods and set one up for swinging streamers and the other for nymphing.


----------



## gulfvet (Apr 14, 2004)

Doesn't all that rain make the wading dangerous? I guess I need to make a trip up there before Fall to get the feel of the river first. I've only been up there twice and both times I went to Pine Lake, not the river.

By the way, do you use floating or sinking line? My 7 wt has a sink tip on it right now.


----------



## gulfvet (Apr 14, 2004)

I plan to swing streamers, mostly Woolly Buggers. I think I will make my own leaders. 40# butt section tapered to 14# tippet and tying the fly on with a Rapala knot to allow it more action in the currents.'


----------



## zimmerj (Oct 17, 2014)

I wait until the water recedes after a big rain. I use a sinking leader when swinging streamers, so your sink tip should be fine.


----------



## kapposgd (Apr 10, 2012)

Are you dead set on the chagrin? You can hook them in the chagrin in September, but for somebody starting out you'll have much much much better odds in your favor the further east you head for the PA strain which run in the fall

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk


----------



## gulfvet (Apr 14, 2004)

I'm not looking to pay for another license. Especially since I would need a non-resident at almost $53 and a Lake Erie which costs another $16. I was really looking to stay around the Chagrin because I am thinking about becoming a member at Pine Lake.


----------



## bustedrod (May 13, 2015)

my friend you can wade the river by the ball fields with a spinning rod and a bobber , with jig and maggy or spawn sack and a couple split shots. from ball field towards mouth of river gets too deep to wade , the other way is wadeble for a long way. try the deep water in the ripples, minnows work, crank baits,twister tails... its a fish and it likes to eat hahahahah


----------



## gulfvet (Apr 14, 2004)

bustedrod said:


> my friend you can wade the river by the ball fields with a spinning rod and a bobber , with jig and maggy or spawn sack and a couple split shots. from ball field towards mouth of river gets too deep to wade , the other way is wadeble for a long way. try the deep water in the ripples, minnows work, crank baits,twister tails... its a fish and it likes to eat hahahahah
> View attachment 369399


I plan to go with my fly gear. I have an 8 wt with floating line and a 7 wt with a sink tip. I'm trying to add to my lifetime number of species.caught. I know steelhead are basically rainbow trout, but I have heard enough about the differences after they become steelhead that I consider them something else. I also hope to make trips to Maine for sea-run brookies and to Washington state for sea-run cutthroat.


----------



## gulfvet (Apr 14, 2004)

bustedrod said:


> my friend you can wade the river by the ball fields with a spinning rod and a bobber , with jig and maggy or spawn sack and a couple split shots. from ball field towards mouth of river gets too deep to wade , the other way is wadeble for a long way. try the deep water in the ripples, minnows work, crank baits,twister tails... its a fish and it likes to eat hahahahah
> View attachment 369399


By the way, where is the ball field you were referring to? Is that down by Lake Erie?


----------



## bustedrod (May 13, 2015)

the soccer field is right at rt 283 crosses the chagrin, there is a big soccer ball on a pole there, zig zag your way back to the soccer field and you can park by the river, go over the little hill and you can see the ripples up stream. you can wade from there , not towards the bridge its private past there. also the grand at helen hazen park is a good place but!!!! the grand is bigger and carries alot more run off so you need to down load the river apps so you can check the flow rates. ashtabula has steelies, start at the hospital where the road crosses the river. you can park there and walk up stream. p s fish under bridge with minnies and bobber conny is fishable on ohio side drop down the hill by the b p and down to river , but dont leave anything for the locals to steal out of you vehicle there...lol rocky river is a fav of steel also ,the emerald necklace park on the rocky is a good spot to start wading....sorry so long but its hard to detail 40 yrs of fishin in a post...you need the flow rate app for the rivers so you know when there wadable...late sept the fish start showing up and will be there well into april...good luck the pic of chagrin is the soccer field my mouse pointer is parking spot






daniels park is another on the shagggy


----------



## gulfvet (Apr 14, 2004)

I was going to target the Chagrin at the first dam upstream of Lake Erie. I forgot the name, but it's at a public park, so access shouldn't be a problem.


----------



## bustedrod (May 13, 2015)

daniels park dam is gone now, but you can wade lots of river , theres parking there ..in the old days we used to snag salmon there, i remember this old guy had his van set up there selling big weighted treble hooks to snag salmon, what people didnt know was he threw a burned out box spring mattress in the spot below the dam and people would get hung up and break off their stuff, then buy more from him hahha and at night he drug that old box spring up and salvage all the stuff and sell it again hahahahah


----------



## tnt1958 (Sep 20, 2014)

HAHA!! I remember going there in the early 70's. I still have some of my old treble hooks too.


----------



## steelheadBob (Jul 6, 2004)

gulfvet said:


> I am thinking about making my first trip this Fall for steelhead on the Chagrin. When do they usually get started in the Fall? Late September? Mid-October? Do I need heavy gear? I have a 6, a 7, and an 8, so I just need to know which one I will need to handle a steelhead.


Ive always used a 9 foot 8wt or a 11 foot 7wt switch... always did good in late fall with white muddler minnow and white buggers beadheads on the chag. Really any type of minnow patterns ive also done really good on


----------

