2006 Fall Steelhead Report and News
Fall buck Lake Erie tributary steelhead brought to the net and later released (John Nagy Photo).
As of 9-19-06 the water temperatures along the Lake Erie shoreline were 67 degrees off Toledo, 69 degrees off Cleveland and a cool 66 degrees off Erie. An early cool down from a hot/dry August, resulting in cooler than normal lakeshore temperatures, have resulted in some surprisingly early runs of steelhead in many of the Lake Erie tributaries this September.
A large number of the fish are immature "jacks" but some nice fish are also being caught. This should continue as long as consistent fall rains and run-off occur. Last year was the flip side of this with 68 degree lakeshore temperatures not occuring off Erie until early October due to record high water temperatures in Lake Erie during the summer of 2005.
As of October 26 the Lake Erie water temperature off Erie, Pennsylvania was 52 degrees F. October has seen an impressive amount of rain and even snow for much of the month leaving the big tributaries like Cattaraugus Creek in New York and the Grand River in Ohio high, off-color and unfishable. Many of the smaller tributaries have been fishing well though. Cold temperatures have also been the norm including windy conditions at times binging an early leaf fall to many of the tributary streams.
As of November 16 the Lake Erie water temperature off Erie, Pennsylvania was 49 degrees F. November so far has been a very wet month with excellent run-off and numbers of steelhead in the tributaries. The bigger tribs continue to be high and unfishable but the small to mid-size tributaries have good flow and are fishing well.
As of December 6, 2006 the Lake Erie water temperature off Erie, Pennsylvania was 46 degrees F. Old man winter made an early appearance to the Lake Erie region the first week of December with an impressive cold front that brought cold rains, driving wind, sub-freezing temperatures and lake effect snow. The steelhead fishing after the storm continued to be very good (although stream temperatures plummeted into the 30's) on the smaller and medium size tributaries with mostly darker fish being caught. The Grand River finally came down to fishable levels prior to the storm but quickly blew out again with the storm run-off. The Cattaraugus Creek in New York has continued to be unfishable this fall.
Around the Lake Erie region there are several items of note to the steelheader.
In New York the big news is the new artificial only/all tackle/catch and release areas on the Lake Erie tributaries of 18 Mile Creek and Chautauqua Creek (coming into effect on October 1, 2006). The artificial only requirement refers to both flies and lures. On Chautauqua Creek the area is 1.3 miles upstream from South Gale Street bridge to the upper water works dam which is used by Westfield for water intake. On 18 Mile Creek (Erie County, New York) the area is in the 18 Mile Creek County Park (a total of 1.6 miles excluding the south branch). Both these areas are located in relatively hard to access/remote areas. For more detailed information refer to the 2006-2008 New York State freshwater fishing regulation book (page 22) and the New York DEC website found at:
www.DEC.STATE.NY.US
According to Jim Markum of the New York DEC the impetus for these new regulation areas was positive feedback (more than 70%) obtained from anglers in 2003, 2004 and 2005 New York DEC Lake Erie tributary creel survey's as well as emails, letters and public meetings. In related news a parking lot is being built on Chautauqua Creek at Chestnut Street that will help to access the new artificial only/all tackle/catch and release area.
On October 1, 2006 the minimum creel size will be increased from 9 to 12 inches in New York's Lake Erie waters and tributaries for salmon, steelhead and lake trout with a daily limit of 3 (any combination) all year.
In Pennsylvania members of the Pennsylvania Steelhead Association on August 19, 2006 installed graveled paths to the "stop sign hole" and Manchester hole which are both located on the lower part of Walnut Creek. Both paths should provide safer access to these areas especially during the winter months of ice and snow.
Steelheaders should be aware of higher than normal levels of E coli bacteria in the Pennsylvania Lake Erie tributaries particularly Walnut and Elk Creeks. These findings were a result of testing in late August by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection which was responding to high E coli levels found on some of the beaches of Presque Isle State Park (located on along the Lake Erie shoreline at Erie, Pennsylvania) which had resulted in multiple beach closings over the last 2 years.
E coli bacteria comes from human and animal waste and can result in severe digestive system problems if ingested. The Pennsylvania DEP stressed that these contaminants were especially prevelant during run-off periods on the tributaries. The bottom line is steelheaders should (as a precaution) not use their mouths to tie hooks on fishing line, cut fishing line/knots or crimp/remove split shot that has been exposed to tributary water or lake water. Instead use your fingers, nippers and pliers for those tasks.
On September 28, 2006 the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission announced that four property acquisitions will provide 8,800 feet of stream frontage for public fishing access on Elk Creek (2 properties) and Walnut and Twenty Mile Creeks (both 1 property) in Erie County, Pennsylvania. Each of the acquisitions utilize money from the Lake Erie Access Improvement Program (which is funded by the sale of Lake Erie fishing permits) and funds from Mckean, Girard, Mill Creek and Northeast Townships which took title to the properties. Earlier in the year the PF&BC helped Fairview Township purchase 3.5 acres of land near the mouth of Trout Run off Avonia Road which will provide more than 400 feet of Lake Erie shoreline fishing access.
The PF&BC is also developing a process and program materials for acquiring future streamside fishing easements on Pennsylvania's Lake Erie tributaries as part of the Lake Erie Access Improvement Program. Easements will allow landowners to maintain title to their properties, while providing permanent public fishing corridors for anglers.
More information can be obtained by going to the PF&BC site at:
http://www.fish.state.pa.us/newsreleases/2006/erie_prop_access.htm
In a negative note for Pennsylvania public fishing access, the Spring Ridge Club is leasing (for one year) a half mile section of lower Twenty Mile Creek from property owner Mary Dohler. This privately owned section was posted in the past few years as a result of bad behavior by steelhead fisherman.
The Spring Ridge Club is presently being sued by the state of Pennsylvania for preventing public access on the Little Juniata River (a world class trout fishery in central Pennsylvania which is classified as a navigatable water by the state) where it also operates private water for it's members. The PF&BC did approach Mary Dohler for public access to her property prior to her commitment to the Spring Ridge Club (using funds from the Lake Erie Access Improvement Fund) but was turned down.
The Spring Ridge Club is also leasing a section on Elk Creek (upstream of I-90) and two sections on Conneaut Creek in Ohio (1.5 miles upstream of Creek Rd. covered bridge and downstream of Furnace Road just west of the Pennsylvania border).pa form page so
In Ohio a grass roots organization is asking steelheaders to sign a Water Access Rights Contact Data Base that will support their efforts to guarantee future public access to Ohio waterways. The data base sign up and information on their fight can be found at: http://www.flyandfloatfishing.com/stream_access.htm
The Cleveland Metroparks spearheaded an effort (along with the Emerald Necklace of Trout Unlimited, Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders, Firelands Fly Fishers, Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District and the United State Geological Survey) to obtain funding to upgrade the USGS Rocky River flow gage (which records water flow and stage data) to the internet. The new gage will allow for real-time data transmission to the internet of not only flow and stage data but also water temperature readings. The gage went online July 26, 2006 and can be found at:
http://waterdata.usgs.gov/oh/nwis/uv?04201500
Of a related note, the USGS water flow gage on the Grand River is still not totally operational (only water stage data is being reported) due to bridge construction. As of November 3, 2006 Route 84 bridge construction has been completed with the old bridge scheduled to be dismantled in the spring/summer of 2007. As soon as water conditions allow (high water is preventing this) the gage will be reset and become operational again.
Last Fall, the Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders River Committe visited numerous riverside landowners along the Vermillion River, Rocky River, Chagrin River, Grand River, Ashtabula River and Conneaut Creek in Ohio with the purpose of informing them of their organization and get feedback from them in regards to steelheaders on their property during the steelhead season. The goal was to hopefully "break the ice" with landowners so that steelheaders in the future would have more success when asking for permission to fish their properties. At no time did the OCBS interviewers ask for personal permission to fish on the properties. Overall the feedback was positive with anglers given permission to fish on private land as long as permission was obtained beforehand (but there were some areas posted to fishing). All the findings of the interviews can be found on the OCBS site under Board Projects at:
www.ohiosteelheaders.com
Ohio steelheaders are reminded that this past July 2006 a "500" year flood occurred in Northeast Ohio with the worst of the flooding in the Grand River watershed. The impact has changed the character of the river severely (pools, runs, riffles and pocket water areas have changed) with flooding impacts also evident on the nearby Chagrin and Ashtabula Rivers.
On October 26, 2006 the United State Dept. Of Agriculture banned interstate shipments of most live fish between Great Lakes states and also from Ontario and Quebec. The emergency edict was implemented to stop Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) a saltwater virus that found it's way into the Great Lakes. This surprise ruling could have a severe impact on Ohio's steelhead program which depends on receiving Little Manistee steelhead fingerlings and eggs from Michigan in exchange for catfish. Kevin Kayle, Aquatic Biology Supervisor with the Ohio Department of Wildlife at the Fairport Fisheries Station, says that they have already received their allotment of Little Manistee eggs and fingerlings for this year so the ruling will not impact the Ohio steelhead program immediately. He also stated they are scrambling right now to figure out how to maintain the program in future years.
Two senate bills in the Ohio state legislature (#351 by Senator Spada and #609 by Representative Jim McGregor) concerning the buyout of commercial netters in Ohio waters are currently being reviewed. Although the majority of fish commercially netted in Lake Erie are yellow and white perch accidental netting of walleye, smallmouth bass and steelhead occur. The economic impact on commercial netting revenues is meager compared to the 1.8 billion dollars of economic impact sport fishing has in Ohio. These bills if passed will have a positive impact both economically and in terms of the future of the Ohio steelhead fishery (and nearby fisheries in Lake Erie as well).
As of December 8 a compromise of senate bills #351 and #609 (due to pressure from the Ohio Fish Producer's Association) seeks a mandatory buyout for commercial license holders involved in poaching and other illegal activities and a voluntary buyout for other yellow perch fisherman on Lake Erie. This compromise could make its way through the Ohio legislature this month or be re-introduced early next year in the next legislature.
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