Firelands Fly Fishers

I won a great raffle prize to fish Sunny Brook Trout Club http://sunnybrooktroutclub.com/ at this year's Firelands Fly Fishers picnic.

So, Alex my son and I met up at Denny's for breakfast, it seemed like the right way to start today's father/son fishing adventure. Today is a special day for our family because it's Alex's grandfather's Birthday who passed away earlier this year and today we celebrate his life. After breakfast we drove an hour to Sunny Brook and met up with Joe Sloboda and a few other Firelands Fly Fishers members.

It's tough to get a day's fishing in with Alex because of  his job, his MBA studies and his family responsibilities. I hadn't fished with him in a long...... time and it was no surprise to me, he still has it. I think by the end of the day his numbers were better than mine.

We start fishing a pool 50 yards or so above the Rt 2 bridge. And from there the plan was to work our way back towards  the club house. In a few casts Alex is landing his first Rainbow of the day.

We took a break for lunch in the club house which I must admit the food was outstanding. Afterwards we started fishing the mile or so of  water behind club house. Cold Creek is a spring creek that winds through the clubs property which is littered with beautiful Oaks and Willow trees everywhere along its banks of which Alex marked by back casting a few flies into them. It is like a picture in a book, breath-taking beauty with well manicured grasses on its banks.

Throughout the creek it appeared we were catching more Brook Trout than Rainbows. The Brooks seemed to be a little more aggressive than the Rainbows or the Rainbows were smarter over all.  I did see a couple of  3-4 lb Brooks though and had one of them on for a brief second or two. I would've loved to taken a picture of one of those big ones, but all I can do is only imagine the colors.

Towards  the end of the day I pulled this huge 12 lb Rainbow, what a pleasant surprise. Without a doubt the biggest rainbow I've ever seen or caught in my life. I can't think of a better way to end the day other than to have watched Alex catch it.

 Keep Fishing!

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.

Several Client Photos from 2011-2012

Guide Trips

The following link 2011-2012 some client photos
will show you to a slideshow at  www;steelheadguide.com  of several clients who wanted their pictures shown on my site.

Tarpon on the Fly

Location: Boca Chica Channel

I spent the first week in June in Key West with George and Linda on their Sea Catamaran. If you can't  read George's 'T' shirt, it says;

Sell Your Stuff
Keep The Dog
Live On A Boat

so that is what they did. I can't thank them enough for their generosity and hospitality and I'm looking forward too the next time.

George has fly fished since I've know him. He has been a long time friend and steelheader from Ohio that I've known forever. We fished Giant Tarpon everyday in the Boca Chica Channel and managed to hook one to three tarpon daily, accept for one day, we were skunked.

Left is a worked over tarpon fly returned to George from a five footer. The 80 lb shock tip is no longer round, it's oval and looked like you worked it over with a hammer. The saltwater tempered hook is straighten and twisted.

Below is a look from the beach of Boca Chica over the flat and the Boca Chica channel beyond. The shadow in the middle is a hooked-up tarpon George battled for 30 or more minutes.

Lake Metroparks Fishing Guide Permit

Guide licensing has been on the Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders (OCBS) agenda for sometime now. This initiative driven by the OCBS Officers and Board has been discussed with ODNR officials and has gone no where. Our goals are to have licensing of all river guides as other Great Lakes states are already doing and enforcing it. Licensing cost would be a modest for Ohio resident guides, but non-resident guide licensing cost would be in line with surrounding Great Lakes states costs.

For example; OH guides pay 10 times the cost of an OH license for a PA guides license. While a non-resident PA guide pay $40 annually and does not pay a guide's fee. Lots of revenue not being harvested here by our ODNR.

OCBS cares about steelheaders and has concern for their health and well being and commends those river guides that think enough about their clients to have liability insurance, basic life support training, first aid training and reports their income and pay taxes. We are hopeful our ODNR will get on the wagon soon and see the value of this initiative.

To our supprise implemented January 1, 2011 Lake Metroparks requires guides to obtain a permit to guide in all Lake Metroparks properties. The information below was taken from their web site.

While we are on the topic of guide permits, Lorain County Metroparks also requires guides to have a permit. Information can be found on their web site as well. Their permit is nothing much more than a piece of paper with minimal requirements.

We are hopefully the ball keeps rolling and Cleveland, Lorain and Astribula Metroparks will follow Lake Metroparks example and implement similar requirements as well.

Lake Metroparks Fishing Guide Permit

Fishing Guides

Park rule 9.1 states: No person shall sell or offer for sale any article, thing, privilege or service within any park grounds or park lands unless he has applied for and been issued written permission from the Director.

All fishing guides must register and obtain a permit from the park district prior to conducting business or operating on Lake Metroparks property.

· Permits will be issued to coincide with the calendar year.

· The permit holder shall maintain $1,000,000.00 worth of general liability coverage and name the Lake Metroparks Board of Park Commissioners as an additional insured and produce a copy at time of application.

· All permit applications shall include proof of current certification in basic cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and First Aid.

All fishing guides shall comply with all rules and regulations of the park district, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, as well as all applicable state and local laws.

It is the responsibility of the fishing guide to know where the park district boundary lines are located to avoid trespassing on adjacent property.

Guides may obtain a permit by calling the Ranger Department at 440-358-7290.

New Lodging for Clients

Welcome to Kingsbury Glen!

Book a Steelhead Guided trip with The Steelhead Guide and get into this beautiful retreat at a very reasonable price.

If you’re looking for quality steelhead lodging, look no further than Kingsbury Glen. We are located in the heart of “Steelhead Alley” with quick access to the Conneaut and other local streams. Enjoy the comforts of home with quick access to the best flows of the day. We also offer our guests exclusive access to over a mile of our private river frontage on the “wild and scenic” Conneaut Creek. You can also take in some of the many famous covered bridges in the area and our local wineries and restaurants. Regardless of when you visit you will enjoy your stay at Kingsbury Glen.

Visual Tour

Features:

- Furnished 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath
- Fully furnished kitchen
- 3 Queen beds upstairs
- Finished basement suite with 2 twin beds and a full bathroom
- Wood burning fireplace
- Air conditioning
- Washer and dryer
- Linen and towels provided

Amenities:

- 1 mile prime riverfront on Conneaut
- Satellite dish
- High speed Internet access
- DVD
- Charcoal grill
- Covered patio
- Outdoor fire pit
- Ping Pong table
- 55 acres
- Easy access to Interstate 90

Hood River, Oregon July 18, 2010

On family business I travel to Portland, Oregon and drove up the Columbia Gorge to spend a few days with my brother’s family who lives in Hood River. Some of my relatives traveled far to visit with me and I met two new generations of cousins for the first time. One year old Deven is the little man, my 3rd generation cousin, I think he was telling me he wants to give wind surfing a try.

Hood River known as the wind surfing capital of the world as well as being known for growing luscious apples, pears, cherries, peaches and other fruits, and for their views of the majestic snowcapped peaks of Mt. Hood and Mt Adam. Hood River has become the destination of choice for wind surfers from around the world. The winds from the Columbia River Gorge, best during the middle of the day, create ideal conditions for riding the waves.

To enjoy the view of "boardheads" at play, drive to the Columbia Gorge Sailpark or follow Second Street to the waterfront. You may even see this unique one of a kind 1959 Cadillac in the parking lot.

The small city has transformed to tourism quite well with its many speciality shops and food choices. I’m told the business streets are closed to traffic on Thursdays and Fridays for tourists to walk about freely, party, eat, shop and enjoy this one of a kind get away.

You can see a huge sand bar in the river that is very unique to the Columbia River. I wanted to learn more about it and was able to find this site which has the city's and river’s history documented. click here.

The tributaries of the Columbia River are choked with steelhead and salmon right now and I have no time on this trip to get after them. While walking about the city I did stop at the Gorge Fly Shop a very complete and informative business to help the fly fisherman. I was told the Columbia is having record runs of steelhead and salmon this year. This really got me pumped up and only made me start thinking when I could come back for an Oregon fly fishing adventure.

Until then; I'll be fishing my spey rods in the tributaries of the the Great Lakes, practicing longer range casts and of course tie some West Coast pretty spey flies - just in case they don't like our Great Lakes patterns. Catching fish will be the bonus, living the experience will be a life time memory.