Shop is packed full of great spring and summer gear at great prices. Zip-off wading pants $40.00, Casting shirts from $49.00, and redington sunproof next to skin long sleeve baselayer shirts for only $20.00.

Now is the time to get into that new pair of simms waders. Bring in your old breathable waders and get $50.00 off any simms Gore-tex wader or $25.00 off the freestone wader @ Chagrin River Outfitters.

Maybe the last steelhead of the Spring for me.

Don't forget about the free reel offer with any Orvis Helios, Hydros, Superfine, or Orvis tls power matrix rod at Chagrin River Outfitters. Choose from Orvis Battenkill, Battenkill mid-arbor, or battenkill Large arbor. Offer good thru May 9th.

We have been getting many of calls from folks inquiring if the Orvis coupons can be used at Chagrin River Outfitters. Yes they can so stop on down.
We are loaded up for trout season with the best hatch matching patterns for PA and MI.

The reports are in and it looks like steelhead seaon in Northeast Ohio is fading away. There are a few fish still in the Rocky and Conneaut while the jury is still out on the Grand. The good news is the lake run smallmouth fishing in the conneaut and the grand should really kick off this week and for those of you who enjoy our neighboring states trout fishing it looks to be a banner year in both PA and MI. Hatches are a little ahead of schedule right now in PA and the dry fly fishing has been exceptional. Right now Hendricksons, green caddis, and Blue winged olives have been providing trout with plenty of reasons to look up and take a well presented dry fly off the surface.

In review i would have to say this past steelhead season was more challenging than years previous. Anglers struggled with low water conditions most of the year and if they did not adjust to the conditions had little success. Those that did make the adjustment had better luck but still not the fishing we are used to. I like to look at the positives of an experience and if this year taught us anything it should be that we are spoiled when it comes to steelhead fishing in Northeast Ohio. We are used to catching good numbers of big fish and think that is the way it will always be. This year we learned that even though we have a world class fishery at our doorstep there will be times when we all struggle to catch fish and it makes us appreciate each fish that much more. So to all of those who think they had a poor steelhead season because they didn't catch as many fish as normal remember catching is good but not everything. Enjoy the fishing experiance for what it is and more importantly were it is. We are certainly blessed with a great fishery and fish that we should not take for granted or advantage of. Oh yeah, can't wait till next fall. Dan and Pete

Seminar Thursday April 29th @ chagrin river outfitters....John Rochus explore Ohio's trout stream The clear fork of the mohican 6:30-7:30

Get Ready for some more of this.

Chagrin is currently at 411 cfs but a little dirty. Tomorrow should be perfect for flies.

Grand Yesterday morning was way up but dropping.

Conneaut is high but just like the Chagrin it's dropping like a rock and should be prime by Saturday.

If you are considering a new Orvis fly rod stop in the shop and find out how to get a free reel and flyline with it. Right now Chagrin River Outfitters is offering A free Orvis Battenkill mid or large Arbor fly reel and matchhing flyline with any Helios, Hydros, Power Matrix, or Superfine fly rod. Support your local fly shop and get a great deal in the process.

Well we finally got the rain so the question becomes how many fish did it bring into the rivers. Right now we are looking good as the rivers are up and water temps on the tribs yesterday was right around 51 degrees which is just fine. I think you will find the most fish on the Grand and Conneaut with the Chagrin being a possible sleeper. Today the smaller tribs to the Lake and to the Grand are fishing and fresh fish are being caught. Stay tuned as we will have another update tomorrow as well. For those looking to get out tomorrow on the East side the lower and middle Chagrin should be about perfect, that's were i will be anyway. The West side story should be the Rocky over the next few days. Good luck this week Dan and Pete

Lets start it out with some wild brown trout pics from PA this weekend...

We had some pretty good dry fly fishing to rising browns taking BWO's and Hendricksons

A prize in any river...16" wild PA brownie.

Some girls have all the luck..Jane was on fire Thursday.

Andy is a fly fisherman from Scotland who is stuck in Cleveland due to some volcano eruption, i don't know what he was talking about. He decided to do some fishing to pass the time.

We were "bolloxed" by a couple of steelhead and lake run smallies...though we did manage to land a few.

In the end he decided that steelheading is "Bloody Good Sport" i have to agree.

Reports have changed a little. It seems that some of the fish that were in the Rocky and Vermilion have moved out though anglers are still having fair success on these west side tribs. The East side tribs have plenty of fish in the lower stretches but not much water. As i mentioned before we are hoping for rain to come and if we get a good soaker look for what i believe will be some of the best fishing of the year. There are still plenty of fish at the river mouths waiting for the opportunity to move upstream and this weekends rain hopefully will give them that chance. For now mornings and evenings have been best, the bite usually shuts off about noon time and things begin to pick up again around 5. Good luck and tight lines Dan and Pete.

Chagrin River Outfitters is loaded up with the latest in great trout rods. Come on in and test cast the new redington classic trout or the new sage vantage, priced from $160-$225. Two of the best trout rods we have ever cast at an unbelievable price.

Bright fish from the lower Chagrin that loves the Chagrin River Outfitters steelhead prince.

Lamprey attached to steelhead that just made its way into the river.

Monster Buck from the Grand on Monday.

Fishing on the Grand has remained pretty solid in the lower stretches, while the lower Chagrin has been producing as well. The Conneaut has plenty of fish as well but the low clear water has them a little confused and spooky. For the west siders the Rocky has been loaded with fish and the Vermilion is having one of its best springs in recent years. The East side tribs are starting to see a few lake run smallmouth and are still waiting on another push of fresh steelhead. Hopefully that will happen early next week if we finally get some rain which they are calling for this weekend. If we do get the rain look for very good fishing on the East side thru the end of April and into May. I expect the best spring fishing of the year is still ahead of us if we get a good rain this weekend. Pray for rain and good luck....Dan and Pete

Dave did battle with this new arrival today on the Grand.

Another prize catch for Dave today was this 4# lake run smallmouth.

A feisty fresh fish that fell for a great lakes sparrow.

Ohio tribs beauty.
Netting a beast of a steelhead for a happy client.

Found these paired up on a small Chagrin Tributary.

Classic fumbleruski.

Pretty good reports have been coming into the shop from both guides and anglers though everyone is concerned about the lack of water. Fresh fish have been arriving but have not been spreading out like usual due to the low water making it difficult for them to move upstream, concentrating the majority of fish in the lower rivers. It looks like we have some thunderstorms due to roll in on Friday so lets keep our fingers crossed. Hot fly patterns have been black stones, egg sucking leeches in purple and black, nuc eggs, lite brite zonkers, great lakes sparrows, and brown buggers. Many anglers are asking how long will this steelhead season last and i personally think we have alot of fishing left if we get the water. The last run of fresh fish is always the first week of May on the Grand and Conneaut after many anglers have hung it up for the season. This last run of steelhead coincides with the larger runs of big lake Erie smallmouth up our streams, providing anglers with the opportunity to battle two of North East Ohio's premier game fish.

Its been smiles all around this week....

Swinging string leeches on the Grand with CPX switch rod...

Fresh chromers like it on the swing...

Had to break out the flask on a few occasions this week....

Fishing has been pretty darn good on a few area streams, others not so much. We are really in need of some rain to bring in the next push of fish that has to be chomping at the bit but it doesn't look like we are in store for much until later in the week. In the meantime some fresh fish have been trickling in and those all ready in the creeks have been keeping anglers busy. Smaller egg patterns, sparse streamers, and natural non flashy nymphs have been great, especially stone flies and caddis larva. Don't hesitate to stop in the shop if you need a little help with whats been working. In the meantime stick to mornings and evenings because once that sun is on the water the fish get fussy; also don't overlook the deeper faster water as fish seem to be holding in these areas. Good luck as always...Dan and Pete

"Swinging" Pete hooked up with a big sucker on the lower Grand earlier this week.

Local outdoor and sport columnist D'arcy Egan shared some time with us on the water yesterday and filmed a TV show for Outdoors Ohio with some of the crew from Chagrin River Outfitters. We floated the Grand River in Pursuit of steelhead with his Film crew and Guest host Joe Thomas and had a pretty decent day. In all we hooked about 12 fish in 4 hours bringing most to the net. Look for the show to air in about a month.

We decided to let Joe Thomas of the Cleveland Browns tag along as well. We were undecided weather we would let him join us due to the fact that he beat up our beloved Buckeyes defensive line so badly while playing with the Wisconsin Badgers in college(boo). In the end we decided since he is now with our hometown team and he is bigger and stronger than all of us put together the wise thing to do would be to take him out and show him a good time. In the end Joe was a class act and a great person to spend time with on the water. Though out the day it became obvious that this Wisconsin native has a true love, passion, and understanding of the outdoors. It also became very clear very fast that he is a good angler.

River Reports

As most of you all ready know our rivers are very low and clear; we need rain badly. It looks like it is on its way just in time to coincide with some lower air temps that will help lower our warmer than normal water temps for this time of year and should bring in another good run of fish as well. Right now our steelhead tribs do have good numbers of fish present but they have been hit pretty hard for a while now and are becoming wise to the usual fly offerings. For continued success in these conditions try going small and natural with egg and nymph offerings and look for fish in areas with very good holding water, gravel, and cover such as log jams. The best fishing seems to be on the Grand and Conneaut on the East side and the Vermillion river on the West side has been very good as well. Good luck as always and tight lines...Dan and Pete

Gauge malfunction has the Grand reading higher than it is. Grand is around 350 cfs as of this morning, Friday April 9th.

Harry sent us these pics from a recent family and friends outing.

Looks like everyone got in on the action and had some fun.

A hefty spring steelhead wrangled from the Chagrin. According to the e-mail that came with the pic the purple stone from the shop has been on fire.

Warm temps, bright sun, clear water and heavy angling pressure adds up to spooky steelhead. They are plenty of fish in the rivers right now but they are a little tight lipped. They seem to be doing there spring thing mostly at night and are resting in the holes and runs during the day and not doing much eating while they are there. Anglers have been having the best luck on streamer and egg patterns in the morning and stonefly and various nymph patterns in the evening. Right now all rivers are fishable and have good numbers of fish present. The Chagrin, Rocky, Vermillion, and Conneaut are all getting on the low and clear side. For best results consider going to one fly and downsizing fly and going to Fluorocarbon leaders and tippet. The Grand is at a very fishable level and fisherman are enjoying this window to fish what many consider Ohio's best steelhead river. Tight Lines....Dan and Pete