HARPERSFIELD TOWNSHIP, Ohio (WJW) – A sure sign of spring is the return of fishermen to test their luck in Northeast Ohio lakes, rivers and streams.
Outdoorsmen and women in Ashtabula County believe the most scenic spot to catch fish in Ohio is a stretch of the Grand River, near the newly renovated dam at the historic Harpersfield Covered Bridge.
“It’s a beautiful place. The covered bridge is absolutely wonderful and I just love fishing. I’ve fished ever since I was a kid with my dad,” said Nathan Tager.
The Chardon High School senior helped lead the Hilltoppers to two straight state championships in football, but on Thursday he and his friends were testing their skills against a school of rainbow trout, known as steelhead during their spawning run on the Grand.
“I’ve even felt the fish on my legs. There’s a whole bunch of fish, so I’ve just got to find the right bait and hope that one of them likes it,” he said.
Today was Nathan’s first attempt at fly fishing and he says he made the trip to Harpersfield after being reeled in by one whopper of a fish tale spun by his uncle.
“He was here to take pictures. He’s a photographer and people were catching fish left and right and so I thought, why not try it myself?” he said.
Longtime fishermen tell us the conditions for catching steelhead on the river are great this time of year because the fish are trying to fight their way up and over the remodeled dam to lay their eggs.
Richard Zimmer, of Geneva, told FOX 8, “They’re not hitting because they’re hungry, they’re hitting because they want to lay their eggs and they want to make sure that wherever they’re going to lay their eggs, it’s going to be safe.”
Zimmer caught his first fish on the Harpersfield stretch of the river when he was nine years old, and he says the movements of steelhead depend on the season.
“The water hits below 60 degrees, the fish are chasing you. Above 60 degrees, you have to get in the holes to chase the fish,” said Zimmer.
One lesson that Nathan Tager and his friends learned on a cool day in March, you may be able to see and feel the steelhead all around you, but catching one in a rain swollen river is a real test of skill and endurance.
“We always say ‘you’ll hook into one eventually.’ Hopefully that happens to me,” he said.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife is reminding steelhead anglers that there is a two-fish limit on the Grand River.
The spawning run of the steelhead is expected to last for a couple of more weeks.
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