The Lake Erie Shoreline and lower stretches of rivers are heating up quick.

Fishing Report 9/19/11:
First of all i am super excited to be giving a fishing report this early in the season. The last few years have been tough for us steelheaders with either no rain or way to much making for lousy conditions. This year things are looking up. Reports have been coming in the last few days of good steelheading action from Painseville(Grand River) to Erie(Elk creek) and anywhere in between with many fish being found in the surf and along the shoreline and fish making there way into our local tribs. Shorebound anglers have been doing well on big flashy baitfish patterns in the usual baitfish colors, pearl, olive, pearl/blue, and pearl/chartreuse. In the lower Grand a few fish are being taken by anglers swinging big leech, baitfish, and sculpin patterns on switch rods. Lower Elk got a nice push of fish on Sunday even though the water there is very low as they have not had the rain that we have. In fact the Conneaut is still very low as well with the Grand and Chagrin receiving the most rainfall thus far. If you are looking to fish the surf anywhere a creek or river enters the lake is a good bet. If you want to head to a river look to the lower stretches and check the flow gauges as the rain has not been evenly distributed and some creeks are good while others are very low. Good Luck Dan and Pete.

Shop Day Saturday October 8th: Learn from the best local pro's.

Programs and events:

Brett McCrae 8 am: Early season tactics and Lake Erie Browns. Learn early season guide secrets to putting more fish in the net this Fall and how to improve your chances for a trophy Lake Erie Brown Trout.

Jerry Darkes 9:30 am: Learn why a switch rod must be in your arsenal if you are serious about steelheading the Lake Erie tributaries. Reach more fish, extended drifts, effortless casting, better line management, fighting and landing fish are all made easier by these versatile fishing tools.

Jeff Liskay 10:45am: Switch rods for swinging streamers on Lake Erie tributaries. Learn the proper casts, rod and line combinations, sink tip essentials, and fly patterns to make swinging streamers your go to method for targeting steelhead.

Brett McCrae 1pm: Steelheading 101 seminar. Learn from a veteran steelhead guide secrets to make you a more successful angler this season. Topics covered will include choosing the right rod/reel/line combinations, locating fish throughout the changing seasons, what steelhead are eating and why, understanding river flows and conditions, rigging for success, choosing successful fly patterns, properly fighting and releasing fish.

Events:
Greg Senyo fly tying 10am-12 noon. Learn from Greg how to tie flies that trigger more strikes: nymphs, eggs, and minnow imitations for catching more fish this season.

Jeff Liskay and Jerry Darkes 12:15: Switch rod casting demonstration for better understanding how these rods work and why they are such a great tool for steelheaders.

Greg Senyo fly tying 2pm-3:30 pm: Greg explains how to tie and fish some his deadliest extended hook streamer patterns and why they hook more fish.

Learn to tie some of these so you can......

...catch more of these.

Prom dress posted in the fly tying blog.

Any newer fly tiers looking to learn new patterns and improve their tying skills we still have a few spots open for Greg Senyos afternoon fly tying session on Sat. Sept 10th here at the shop. Class is from 1:30-3:30 and will focus on nymphs, baitfish, and egg patterns, cost is $25 and includes materials. Students need their own tools and vise.

Saw a pic today of a 33inch chromer taken way upstream (gates mills) on the Chagrin this week. Also a few nice brown trout and steelhead being caught out east. I am not saying go fishing tomorrow but good times are coming our way.

Good Luck Dan and Pete.