This one is from last year but should serve as a reminder that Pink or a Pink/white combo is good in cold water...

Smaller that average East side Steel that fell for a white Bugger...

Cool shot of steelhead tail...

Now we are Steelheading...

Steelhead are the colors of Christmas...

I like the Holiday spirit.....

What it's all about...A happy group of anglers enjoying a great day on the water...

This will be the last post before the Holiday and we wanted to take the opportunity to thank all of our loyal customers that frequent the shop and thank everyone that follows the blog and makes our jobs down here at the shop so enjoyable...we are extremely lucky to have such a great fishery and even luckier to have great people that pursue these fish. So have a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and whatever else it is we celebrate this time of year and enjoy your friends, family and loved ones...and maybe get out for a little fishing. If you do want to get out fishing should be good tomorrow (Thurs.) and probably blow out for the weekend with the rain coming which is ok...while the rivers are clearing and fresh fish are pushing upstream we can all take care of our family obligations and get after those steelhead again early next week when it should once again be prime time on steelhead alley...Look for the Rocky, Vermilion, and Chagrin to clear first followed by the rivers further East a few days after due to the fact that they have a lot more snow out there then we do here...Remember water temps are cold so fish low and slow and cover the water well as the strike window decreases with water temp and fish will not move as far to take a fly...Once again Have a Happy and safe Holiday season and we will see you on the river...Dan, Justin, and Peter

Don' t forget to stop in the shop for great deals on Wading Jackets, hats, gloves, fleece tops and bottoms, layering pieces, waders, wading boots and more...440 247 7110

New Studded rubber wading boots from Chota $94.00 and $149.00

Bauer Rogue and Superlite reels....the perfect weapon for Lake Erie Steel.

We have some great new books at the shop....stop in and check em out

One from this evening on the Chagrin caught on the swing...

Stop on in to the shop and get some great holiday deals...

The upper Chagrin this evening had about 3 feet of vis...looking good thru the weekend...

The Chagrin this evening was in good shape and should fish well through the weekend...remember that the cold temps will have some slush on the water in the am so don't get on the water to early...around 11am to noon is when have been getting on the water...Elk is prime and fishing well and the cold temps have most of the anglers staying home but the fishing has been hot...The Conneaut is still up and off color but should be good for the weekend...the Grand tribs are fishing now and are holding decent numbers of fish also...it looks like everything will be in good shape for the weekend except for the Grand so get out there and have at em...
Remember to support your local fly shops and tight lines...Dan, Justin, and Peter
440 247 7110

Trout/Bass fly fishing rod/reel outfits $160.00

Mill Creek Yesterday had alot of water, ice and leaves...Fishing OK today...

We got out on the Upper Chagrin this morning, landed one and hooked another swinging big black and orange streamers...water had about a foot of greenish/brown visibility and was 39 degrees as of 11 am. Other reports coming in are Grand tribs will fish tomorrow as well as elk creek and a few smaller OH tribs. Reports also include the fish being caught this morning are pretty fresh which hopefully means we got a decent push of fish in our tribs.

Don't forget to stop in the shop to stock up on holiday goodies and get some great deals on wading jackets, waders, wading boots, fleece gloves, fishing vests, casting shirts and more.

Pacific Fly Wading Jacket was $99.00 Now $79.00
Tis' the season For a new wading Jacket

Upper Chagrin with some ice coming down...

Chagrin Looking up from Chagrin River Park...

Chagrin River Downstream of Chagrin River Park...

Things are a little messy on our local tribs at the moment with rain falling and shelf ice breaking loose and making its way downstream....it looks like things should be OK in a couple of days on the Rocky, Chagrin, and Vermilion but as you head further East snow becomes an issue... with over a foot in places around the Conneaut and rain it may not be until the weekend until those river fish again...In the Meantime don't forget about all the great deals we have going on at the shop right now so stop on in...Tight lines...Dan, Justin, and Peter
440 247 7110

Pac-fly fleece under wader pants and tops $24.95 now $19.99

Wind proof fingerless gloves $24.95 now $17.95

Pac Fly Wading Jacket $99.00 now $79.00 at shop

Fresh steelhead that ate our micro-stone...

Another good fish that fell for a green copper softy...

Rivers are dropping and have good visibility but also have a little shelf ice and slush moving down them...hopefully with the warm up this weekend and early next week this should not be an issue after tomorrow afternoon. All the rivers should fish by Saturday except for the Grand which will be a few days out still and should fish by Tuesday. Remember that with cold overnight lows there is no need to be on the rivers early in the morning...sleep in and fish 10-4 for best results.

If it's to cold to go fishing stop in the shop to see some of the great deals we have going on right now.

Battling a chromer on the upper Chagrin...

I don't want any complaints about cold weather...These two were troopers

9 yr old Cole with his first Lake Erie Trib Steelhead...

Great Job on Saturday Jason and good luck the rest of the season, your on your way...

The rivers were in great shape in Ohio the past 6 days and the fishing was pretty good...More warm rain is falling today that blew out our rivers for the time being but things should be in great shape again by the weekend and fishing should be even better as more fish continue to push into our rivers...

Hot flies for us have been nymph patterns from the shop including Micro stones, feather nymphs, caddis larva, grand river specials, and copper softies...

See you on the river...Dan, Pete, and Justin

The Lake around trout run...good surf and a little murky

The Conneaut right now is big and brown but will fish well by Monday...

The rains came and brought the rivers up just in time to provide prime conditions on many local rivers for the weekend...The Grand and Conneaut will not fish tomorrow however the Chagrin, Elk, and smaller Ohio tribs will be in great shape and should provide some of the best fishing we have seen all year...Remember that the water this weekend will be higher and a little of color, just like we like it. That means it is time to get back to a little more weight, bigger nymph patterns and bigger brighter egg patterns. Judging by the forecast we should be in great shape for fishing around here for at least the next week and as mentioned earlier it should be the best fishing we have experienced all year. We will be out on the rivers all weekend to provide you with more up to date info current conditions and which rivers are hot.

Until then remember to support your local fly shops and tight lines...Dan, Peter, and Justin

If the forecast holds true, calling for up to an inch of rain, this weekend and next week should provide the best Steelhead action of the year...As of this Morning the lower and mid Chagrin are Fishing very well with good numbers of fresh fish pushing up...Also elk Creek has been getting a good run yesterday and today...I would have to believe that all the other rivers in between have fresh fish moving into them as well...After the rains CRO will be on the scene to let you know when the rivers will fish...

One of my nymph boxes....

Small Buck from Chagrin Sunday Morning...

Upper Chagrin colored up Buck from Sunday...

Grand River Special gets em again....

The rains came down and the rivers are coming up, we will be out tomorrow to get a first hand look at our local tribs with pics and a fishing forecast for what to expect in the coming week and weekend. For now everything is blown, Elk Creek and a few small Ohio tribs will fish tomorrow while the bigger stuff is still a few days out. As always check back for the must up to date river conditions and most accurate fishing conditions on the web...

The next few weeks should provide excellent fishing and we are currently booking December guide trips so if you are looking to get out give us a ring...Remember to support your local fly shops. Till then tight lines...Dan, Peter, and Justin

New shop hours:
Monday: 10-6
Tue-Thurs: 10-8
Fri: 10-6
Sat: 8-6
Sun: Gone Fishing

Soft Hackle Caddis Larva...this fly is good for two reasons..there are plenty of Caddis in our rivers and the Steelhead like to eat them...also the soft hackle collar provides plenty of movement in medium to slow flows that can entice strikes...

A Soft hackle copper john...good for med-faster deeper water where you need to get down but slow enough where the wiggle of the collar can be perceived by the fish to help entice strikes...

Large Golden or black stones are very good in fast water and deep buckets were you have to get down fast to the fish or flies go over there head...this fly is more for effect as it gets in the zone quickly in those fast deep spots that are hard to fish with lighter flies and is large enough for fish to see and react to...

CDC Micro Stone...Good year round in most water types...excels in late winter early spring as Tiny black stones become more active in our tribs and fish begin to key on them...

This tiny epoxy minnow is great in clear water for fresh fish...you will notice if you pay attention when fly fishing that fresher fish come more often on baitfish patterns and fish that have been in the rivers longer will start to key in on nymphs and eggs...

Had to throw in some kind of fish pic...

The outlook for the extended Holiday weekend is just fair....there are enough fish present to get into a few if you are on the water early...i am anticipating large crowds on most rivers and their presence will have the fish on gaurd and tight lipped by mid-day...again all rivers are low and clear...look for feeding fish in fast deeper pockets and around any logs or timber with decent flow...in clear water steelhead gravitate towards these structures for cover...hot flies have been orange, Oregon cheese and cream egg patterns along with caddis larva, black birds nest, Grand river specials (shop fly) black micro stones and yellow psycho princes...

New store hours to better serve our customers...we will be staying open later for those of you who need supplies the night before and opening earlier on Saturdays...

Mon 10-6, Tue-Thur-10-8 Friday 10am-6pm Saturday 8am-6pm Sundays Gone Fishing...

We are still booking trips for December which is always an excellent month to be on the water....

May all your drifts be drag free and remember to support your local fly shops...Dan, Justin, and Peter...

Chagrin River Outfitters 440 247 7110