Big Steelhead Making Me Wonder

I'm thinking Big Steelhead, are you?

The 2011-2012 Steelhead season is fast approaching and it is time to set goals for a big fish, such as Jason Brooks' Steelhead caught in 2010.

An Ohio state record Steelhead, weighing 21.3 pounds, was caught by Jason on June 25, 2010, while trolling off Avon Point in Sheffield, OH. Brooks’ record Steelhead is 38 inches long with a 22 inch girth.

That catch replaces the previous state record Steelhead that was caught from Lake Erie by Mike Shane in October of 1996 weighing 20.97 pounds and was 36-½ inches long. I believe it was caught off Conneaut.

Ken Harper is no stranger to local steelheaders and some of my clients. Sometimes, Ken helps me guide large groups when they request an additional guide.

He caught this Rocky River monster male in late spring of  last year and he believes it is comperable to the size of a big fish we landed in Conneaut years ago. And believe me, he has landed plenty of big Steelhead and remembers each of them by name. If it was as big as the Conneaut monster, then this fish had to of weighted at least 17 pounds.

I got his phone call just after he caught it. There was so much excitement in his voice that he wouldn't stop talking and you couldn't get a word in. He released the monster and just maybe, maybe it will return from the lake again this year as the new state and this time bite my fly.