The Great Lakes and the Rivers that feed them are the core of my early fishing memories. As a child I spent countless hours chasing Carp and Channel Cats on the mud flats in the backyard of my childhood home on Lake Erie. My grandfather and father spent hours teaching me to read water rig my own setup and adapt my approach to different water and species. It was there that I became a fisherman.I don’t get home to Erie much these days so when I got the invite from Whippa and Jeremy to chase Steelhead on the Lake Ontario tribs I was in.Arriving at the river with a fresh foot of snow under grey skies felt like a homecoming of sorts and I scrammbled to catch up as Jeremy and Kranefly were already making way down the trail. I paused upon first glimpse of the river. It was running high and stained, the lingering scent of rotting King Salmon filled the cool air. I waded in taking the whole scene in as I made my first few drifts.Both Jeremy and Kranes had hooked up in the first 10 minutes on water, and I watched in awe as hot steel burned through the greasy slick and through my mind. Reading and running whitewater professionally for over ten years has taught me the value of local knowledge and being in tune with the nuances that can make or break a run. I wouldn’t run the same “line” through a rapid at differnent water levels and the same tactics apply to drifting a fly through a steelhead run. So when Kranes and Jeremy made some suggestions on the subtlties of this particular drift I listened carefully and within a few casts I was into the biggest brown of my life. Game on! We spent the day fishing the edges of the high flows and found fresh steelies tucked in tight to the creases. It was obvious that Kranes an Jeremy have paid there dues on these waters as they both hooked and landed some nice steel. I also learned why Kranes is refered to as the “silent assasin” after watching him land a fish that most anglers would have easily lost. Nice work Kranes! On a grassy knoll we met up with “Shaq” and his posse throwing Spey to the thick flows. It was good meeting folks you feel you already know a bit from there involvement with Flies And Fins. I got one small steelhead for the day, later referred to as “micro chrome” and we hiked out as the November daylight faded fast.Whippa, Jeremy and I awoke the next morning at 4am and set out for some smaller tribs down the road. I felt better prepared having actually slept and picked their brains on the ride out. The first creek we fished had run off hard recently and the fish were few and far between in the upper runs. We dropped down and focused on the slower water toward the lake and saw countless steelhead rolling and chasing bait right at our feet. The drifts were super slow and the tactics completely different this time around. But we adapted accordingly and drifted our weightless rigs through the run. Just when we were ready to pull the plug Jeremy and Whip suggested trying a streamer dead drifted. So I tied on a softhackle style eggsucking leach that I had tied for the trip. I made one cast and was into steel. I thanked them both as a beautiful fresh steelie was brought to hand.We regrouped and drove on to another spot…The conditions were stacked against us with the big Rivers being too high and the smaller creeks being too low. “Sometimes its a gamble” they said so we rolled the dice and drove along.The next creek produced a pink cheeked beauty for Whip that at first seemed cooperative. That’s when the steelhead laughed and the Houdini act had begun as the fish took the battle down stream into the skinny water. Instinct and experience played the fish well as all three of us savored Whip’s moment in the rare rays of November sun.Desicion time again. We rolled the dice and moved on.The next river we came to was my kind of water, cold, clear and fast, with some decent whitewater. We fished a few runs downriver before Jeremy and I headed up as Dave headed down. We picked through fast pocket water and slides with plunge pools and came to large gravel bottomed pool. Jeremy fished the top of seam as I worked the tailout. I was ticking bottom on every drift and knew if the fish were there I was putting an easy meal in their face. I repositioned myself on a rock in heavy current below a big gravelly gut in the bedrock. Made a cast and watched as my indicator dove. “Fish on!” No sooner had I said those words and Jeremy was shouting the same! Snake eyes! Double steel!I held on as my fish tore through the water and sky making repeated runs. Jeremy and I had to be carefull not to tangle up as both fish ripped the pool apart. As we played our fish out Dave had crossed the river and came over just as we were landing them. Two fresh steelies were photographed and released as the setting sun fell. Truly a moment I will never forget.The next day it was back to the big water. We fished a spot we’d done well in days before, and it wasn’t long before I was into a good steelie that smoked me good. There were many hookups this day but few fish landed as the Steelhead used the big water as leverage toward their exit stratagy. Jeremy hooked one that might as well have been a ten foot Mako Shark as it ripped into the standing waves and bid fairwell. We met up with Moonie “aka Mooncaster” and watched him dial in a few nice steelies drifting a “Tungsten Omlette” through the tailouts. Athough the steelhead eluded me that day the big fish hooked and lost fuels my quest for steel and my inevitable return to the Great Lakes.
Book
- Alaska
- Guide & Fisherman
- Guiding: Choosing Your Guide And Choosing Your Customer
- Guiding: Do It Yourself With A Guide
- Guiding: Evolution Of A Guide
- Guiding: Freshwater, More Than Meets The Eye
- Guiding: Friends For Life
- Guiding: Know Where You Are
- Guiding: More Than Just A Fisherman
- Guiding: Mystery Of The Fisherman
- Guiding: Payment
- Guiding: Saltwater, A Different World
- Rough Fish
- Fly Fishing For Rough Fish: Why Do It?
- Introduced Rough Fish: The Carps & Other Invasive Species
- Methodology: Gear & Tactics For Pursuing Roughfish On A Fly
- More Roughfish: Bullheads, Whitefish, Goldeye, Burbot & Drum
- Rough Fish Environments: Where To Look For Rough Fish?
- Rough Fish Species: The Suckers
- Rough fish: A Lifetime Of Learning
- Rough Fish: Fishing For Dinosaurs (Gars & Bowfin)
- Rough Fish: What Are They?
- The Hook: Some Common Rough Fish Fly Patterns
- Spey
- Spey: Applications, Where Can You Do It?
- Spey: Atlantic Salmon, A Significant Fish
- Spey: Defined And Demystified
- Spey: Gear, The Nuts And Bolts
- Spey: Lines, They Are That Important
- Spey: Steelhead, New Traditions & A Modern Movement
- Spey: The Energy
- Spey: The Flies
- Spey: The Swing
- Spey: Two Critical Casts
- Striped Bass
- Striped Bass: Fishing Rocky Shorelines
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Beaches
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Flats
- Striped Bass: Fishing The Reefs
- Striped Bass: Fishing Tidal Rivers
- Striped Bass: Flatwing Swing
- Striped Bass: Fly Line Options & Choices
- Striped Bass: Gear, The Nuts & Bolts
- Striped Bass: Migration Patterns
- Striped Bass: What They Eat
- The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: A Natural Drug
- Fly Fishing: A Validation Of Freedom
- Fly Fishing: Don’t Fight The Current
- Fly Fishing: It Is What It Is
- Fly Fishing: Socialization For Asocial Individuals
- Fly Fishing: The Allure Of The Fish
- Fly Fishing: The Art Of Escape
- Fly Fishing: The Simplicity Of It All
- Fly Fishing: Time Flies
- Fly Fishing: Times You Remember & Try To Forget
Great read and video!! these awesome vids help keep me feeling like I’m on the water between trips.
good read/video boz- Glad you were able to play with some hot steel. Red cheeks and silver sides will fill your dreams for the next couple weeks.
Glad you made it down Boz. It was a blast! Some of those fish were in immaculate condition, I swear they were riding the swells into the creek as we stood there. We made the rounds and you got to see some of the “micro” tribs. I’m sure the skins game at Pebble Beach won’t soon be forgotten, you guys never even let me use my mulligan. Nice read.
Outrages video and I bet highly demanding to put up. Great fish and looks like a great time. Obviously not your first rodeo.
Congrats on those Steel.
great video (I’ve liked the mix tying and fishing) and fish!!!!
My next hollidays will be in U.S.A 😉 These steelheads and big browns WOW!!!
Boz, good to see that you guys got into the chrome….the video is sweet!
Austin
One of the finest write-ups I’ve read about a Stealhead trip. Boz, I liked how you connected with your Dad and Grand Dad’s teaching and how you’ve been building from there. On the video, you all worked so well together; the hooking, landing, filming jelled. You mus have had a good film director!. Editing in the tying segments really made it more enjoyable for me because for me the tying is the appetizer.
Congrats on a great trip and fine read/vid!
marsh
Nice chrome face Kranes! Fun day
Great read. I felt like I was there.
Boz,
You guys are the real deal. It was great meeting up on the knoll. I still owe the “assassin” a drink for pulling one up right under our nose. The fly tying and Jerry all on one video with those incredible fish is too much to bear. I gotta go lay down.
Legend
Oh yeah, the Jets beat the Pats today.
Thanks again Whip for showing me tons of water and putting me in some nice drifts. Double crome, the skins game, eating Fatsos food and tying flies, fishing with you Jeremey, Kranes, and Mooncaster. Too much fun. And fresh crome!!! Those fish were amazing! Thanks bro!
I hope you are planning a trip to Maine come summer, so I can return the favor. You still need to fish the Gorge you know…and I think there’s a channel cat in there with your name on it.!
Great trip.
Now that I find myself constantly thinking about chasing steel…you’ll be seeing me again……… Soon
Thanks for the great videos.
Thanks Marshall
It’s good to pay homage to the ones that got you on the water at an early age. I was fortunate to have been raised by folks who have the utmost respect for water and fisheries. My Grandfather was a Commercial fisherman on Erie before pollution destroyed that industry. Now days there aren’t many commercial fisherman on Erie, yet I feel like I’m carrying on that tradition in a new light by doing what I do here in Maine.
We did have a good crew out there for this production. Keep me posted on the southern fishing.
Boz,
It Sounds like you had a great trip! Good to have met you and your crew on Monday. We headed West and found fish in every ditch. Looking foward to hooking up in Maine in June.
great vid and read. Nice to meet you Boz and I know that won’t be your last steelhead. You’ll have to make a few more trips to NY so we can show you what else we have to offer. COngrats on the great fish.
Shaq
Boz great video man i wish it kept on going… I would have liked to be with all you guys looked like an amazing trip. I am finally on my way next week from Buenos Aires drivings South as far as Tierra del Fuego and fishing all thats in between little money lot of cigars,lot of wine homemade rods and unlimited flies will see how we do..
alex .. you woulda fit right in with us … you better be bringin’ a camera on your trip next week … i wanna see some of those argentine chrome browns and mean,hot rainbows .. wish i was goin’ with ya .. you better be coming back to the USA next season … boz will take us down the west branch of the penobscot … and then we’ll chase some albies around in rhode island …. ok bro … i know there’s a “channel cat” or two that you can find in tierra del fuego … … how long of a road trip are you making??? is ray down there with you??? … oh yah by the way, i talked ed the other day, he said he got a 20 lb striper the other day in rhode island … and was going steelheading on saturday … i gotta call him and see how he did …
Those fish have been filling my dreams lately…no doubt.
I was so amped up for that trip after watching the video of you guys tearing it up out there about two dozen times!
I’m sure well met up and chase fish somewhere soon.
A-town
Won’t be long and you’ll be on your way to steelie city.
Moon,
It was good meeting up with you this trip, and watching you dial into the tailouts everyone was ignoring…
I’m sure we’ll cross paths again soon.
Alex
You wish the video kept going…I wish the trip did! It’d be good to have you up here on the quest for steel!
Next summer you have to make a trip the the West branch with Jeremey, I’d love to show you my waters anytime. Take care way down south…send some Southern Hemisphere content our way if you find time.
Take care bro!
Shaq,
It was cool bumping into you guys the out there. Feels like I’ve fished with you before through your videos.
I’ll be back your way again soon I’m sure. What a great fishery, and I only saw a tiny sliver of it!
Living on the South shore of Lake Superior I often forget how
much area and how many states the Great Lakes covers. Here in Northern Michigan the water has been pretty low for much of the year. I’m relatively new to fly fishing for steelhead and you guys make it look awfully easy on those Ontario tributaries. Great video and story guys. What pattern is that you’re tying in the vid? Looks juicy!