CLEVELAND, Ohio — The steelhead trout fishing experts have reported this fishing season has been tops for big steelhead trout, which makes them wonder if the next state record fish is just around the corner.
Jason “J.W.” Brooks of Tallmadge set the present mark of 21.3 pounds, 38 inches while trolling Stinger Spoons about 17 miles off Avon Lake in June 2010 with his Parma buddy, Joe Boewe.
“In recent years, 21- to 23-inch steelhead have become very common, but this year, the larger 25- to 26-inchers have been the average,” said Avon Lake guide Jeff Liskay. “I’d estimate this year that my clients and I have caught 100 trout over 28 inches, and quite a few 32-inch trout, which are monsters.”
The crowds of steelhead trout fishermen casting in the rivers have helped boost that total, says Liskay.
“It is unlikely a record trout will be caught in the rivers, because the prime trout fishing holes are being fished every single day on the popular Rocky River and on Conneaut Creek,” he said. “Monday through Sunday, the fishing pressure is tremendous.”
Lake Erie anglers focus on steelhead trout by trolling the deeper waters of the Central Basin of Lake Erie throughout the summer and early fall. As Lake Erie cools in late summer, steelhead trout begin to stage around the harbor mouths of Northeast Ohio and can be caught while trolling deep waters and while casting from shore.
River anglers can wade for big spawning steelhead trout in late fall, winter and spring, and that draws crowds hoping to make a splash. Both spinning tackle and fly fishing give anglers entertaining options on the rivers, and the amount of public waters that can be fished on foot sometimes surprises those coming from out-of-state, where trout waters are often posted.
Aquatic Biologist Mike Durkalec of the Cleveland Metroparks said the old Ohio record was a 20.97-pound, 36 1/2-inch trout caught from Conneaut Harbor by Mike Shane, New Middletown, Ohio on Oct. 2, 1996.
“A record-breaking trout, though, is more likely to be caught from the deeper waters of Lake Erie in summer and early fall, or around the harbors of the Northeast Ohio rivers and streams, actively feeding before they move up the spawning streams,” said Durkalec. “That is mostly because the trout stop feeding and focus on spawning as they move up the rivers, and start to losing weight.”
Unlike sliver and chinook salmon, which Ohio stocked long ago, steelhead don’t die after spawning and return to Lake Erie to get older, wiser — and bigger.
Ohio’s steelhead trout are hatchery fish which are released as yearlings in spring, and produce the vast majority of adult trout for anglers. But lake trout, pink salmon and steelhead trout can also stray into Lake Erie from around around the Great Lakes and be caught in Ohio waters.
Fin clippings is a good way for fisheries biologists to document Pennsylvania-stocked salmon and trout that have wandered into Ohio waters. That included the old steelhead trout record caught by Shane in Conneaut Harbor.
Slow-trolling spoons is a popular way to hook and land high-jump steelhead trout, while “buck,” or big male trout, seem to also have a sweet tooth for diving plugs.
Slushy rivers delay morning bite: The frigid overnight temperatures have steelhead trout fishermen facing difficult, slushy conditions in the mornings on the rivers and streams. This weekend the slush should go away by late morning, and the trout fishing should improve, especially on Sunday.
If overnight temps are 20 and below, expect a slushy day. If the overnight temperatures are above 20 degrees and the daytime temperatures are in the 40s range, the slush should burn off fairly early.
Casting from Lake Erie shore to slow down: Conditions are ripe to see shoreline ice very soon along the Lake Erie shoreline, shutting down the daytime steelhead trout fishing in eastern Ohio and the night fishing for walleye all along the Ohio shoreline.
Big plugs are the best bet for walleye. Steelhead trout are being caught on casting spoons and inline spinners.
Ponds and small lakes perilous right now: Many of the smaller bodies of water around the area now have thin ice, and it is not thick enough to safely support ice anglers. To catch a few recently stocked trout at the Cleveland Metroparks lakes and ponds, fish from platforms or areas where the shoreline drops off quickly, such as Wallace Lake in Berea.
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