What's Up With Spring Steelhead?

Winter continues its grip on us here in NW PA, but that doesn't mean we aren't always looking ahead to what's next!  Before you know it our trips will be rolling along again on the Lake Erie tributaries in Pennsylvania.  We'll start these back up whenever the ice melts off a bit, and that's usually around late February or early March.  This is a fantastic time to target these fish because for the better part of a month they've been stuck, hunkering down underneath the ice waiting for the great thaw.  While that might not seem like a good thing, it means they haven't been fished!  Luckily steelhead have a short memory, and it's almost like fishing for a fresh run that hasn't been accustomed to anglers working them over daily.  

After a few weeks of that, our trips will shift gears and start heading over to Ohio for their spring steelhead run.  Many folks have been catching fish in the Buckeye State for the past several months, but things really get hot in mid-March and reach a fever pitch towards the end of the month and even early April.  On average, the Ohio fish are a tad bigger than the PA steelhead, and with larger waterways there is the chance to have the battle of a lifetime with a trophy fish!  If you've ever wanted to see a fish snap 2X tippet like it was nothing...this is the fishing for you!  The downside to the run is that its peak is comparatively short.  Once water temps start to heat up in April the steelhead will head back to the big water, thus ending our season in the Great Lakes. 

Our steelhead trips have become wildly popular over the last few years.  The opportunity to tangle with a 30-inch fish that's full of fight and power is not soon forgotten.  Once you set the hook and see those first few head-shakes followed by a 50-yard run downstream, where all we can do is hang on and hope the fish cooperates...you'll be hooked, too!

Disclaimer: Wildwood Outfitters cannot be held responsible for any new rod, reel, line, or other gear purchases that come from becoming addicted to steelheading after your trip!

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