Pike Season Is On!

Big Dan and I hit the Tusc. Sunday afternoon for some pike action.  The water warmed up nice around 3pm and we both got two nice fish to come out and play!  Here is a nice shot of Dan's fish during the fight.  Both fish hit small crank baits.  They also did "alligator rolls" at the bank and spit the crank baits back at us .  Moral of the story- bring a net and leave the ultralight tackle at home if you want to actually hold them for a photo.

The crick is still fishing well despite 5 inches of snow and lots of shelf ice.  The coloration on this bluegill is amazing for a freshwater fish.



Buckeye Brookies!

Wow, Big Dan and I got into a pod of these beautifully colored "Buckeye Brookies" Sunday in a tiny  tributary of Nimishillen Creek.  Too many to count, and too cold to photo them all.  They love mild swiss cubes drifted under a float.   



First Fish Of 2012

Got out Monday for a couple hours and landed this 16 inch rainbow on a  gray bunny strip.  It fought really hard considering it had a chunk of tail missing and the water is just above freezing.  



Urban Steelheading!

When searching for Ohio steelhead- forget everything you read about riffles, runs, water depth, temp.,etc.  They love to hole up behind apartment buildings, chunks of cement , and old railroad ties! 



Chagrin River Report!

Monday on the Chagrin started slow with lots of slush on the river. 21 degrees in the morning and full sun.  After the slush burned off in the afternoon a couple fish were caught and released.  Egg patterns and Euro larvae tipped jigs brought them up from the belly of the deep holes.  





Weekend Report!

Stayed local Saturday afternoon.  The bite was on during the warmest part of the day- 2-4 pm.  I caught several chubs and bluegill.  Let's welcome "Minnow Mike" to the blog.  Mike fishes all over NE Ohio and had a great day!  He was using minnows and brought a surprise rainbow to the bank. I tried to get him to throw it back, Mike said- " No way! I'm having beans and trout tonight!"  Nice fishing with you buddy, see on the creek!  

Spikekayak called and said Mike's bass was in fact a "Spotted Bass"- see Ohio DNR description.   Note, the dark spots along the lateral line of the fish.  Fantastic catch for this particular creek. Mike released this beauty.

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Clear Fork River Report!

The Clear Fork was running fast but had a nice green stain to it Sunday afternoon.  No flow meter on the Clear Fork but  the gage height was 1.6 ft.  Probably fishes a lot better around 1 ft.  Big Dan landed 2  browns on an ultra light rod.  Average size Clear Fork brown on red trout worm.  Great looking fish and a lot of fun on ultra light tackle!