We got out after work for a couple hours today and managed to entice a few fish into smashing swung streamers. The key this evening as with most days fishing seamed to have on the proper fly given the conditions. We can't stress enough how important it is to match the flies your are fishing to the conditions you are fishing. Many anglers seem to stick with the same flies no matter where or when they are fishing and as a result miss out on good opportunities to catch more fish. For instance this evening as the light faded dark flies, black and purple brought 8 strikes in about 45 minutes when a color such as white would probably have been ignored. Dark colors in darker water or low light fish much better than brighter ones when fishing a streamer. Egg patterns are a little different and brighter colors work best in stained water while more natural colors and smaller sizes work better in clearer water.

On to the fishing and river reports: One west sider told me on the phone today they are experiencing a fish drought so far this year, while on the east side tribs things have been very good with fresh fish entering the rivers on a daily basis. In fact it has been so good a group of fisherman in the shop from Michigan this morning where complaining as they had only landed 8 fish in two hours, talk about a tough crowd.

Chagrin: 340 cfs Three feet of vis and a good flow have this east side stream fishing very well.

Grand: 970 cfs Still high with low vis. maybe a foot but improving daily and should be in good shape by mid-week. Tribs becoming to low and clear.

Conneaut: Prime conditions on the this east side stream right now with 2 feet of vis and a nice green tint.

Rocky: 345 cfs and good vis but reports are fishing is fair at best.

Vermilion: 89 cfs with plenty of vis and fished ok the last time it was fishable.