Big fish make Dave smile....Dave smiled alot on Wed...

Followed by a chilly handed release...

One of several larger than average steel from Wed that Dave managed to bring to the net...

Followed by another gentle release...

This is always a very cool sight but catching can be very difficult...

From switch rods to nymph rods Chagrin River Outfitters has the best selection of Steelhead rods in Northeast Ohio...

For the best selection of Steelhead flies think Chagrin River Outfitters...over 250 Steelhead specific fish catchers for your piscatorial pleasure...

Justin with one from the Catt on Monday....

The swings the thing and the tug is the drug...another one from Monday that hammered a swung fly...

Customer/Client observations from this week: Customers in the shop and on the phone always seem very appreciative for the accuracy and details from our fishing reports and streams conditions...i never really thought about it much because it is just a service we are happy to provide to our customers to keep them up to date and offer them the best chance at angling success we can...the thing i realized is from talking to customers is that ours is the best, most reliable, up to date report out there, and it makes sense...we have guides on the water 7 days a week and through the course of the week talk to hundreds of anglers who have been on every river from Michigan (boo) to Ohio(yeah) to New York(crickets)....the point here is we are happy to provide you with what most deem the best reports page on steelhead alley, and now that we know you like it so much look for even more improvements in the near future.


The weekend outlook for the Ohio Tribs is what we would call fair/marginal... fishing success has been spotty with some anglers doing OK while most seem to be struggling to find any willing fish...if you are going fish early(first light to elevenish) and fish late (4 to dark) for best results. We have been having our best success fishing a single small fly on 3x fluorocarbon tippets in any area that should hold a fish and trying to fish as many of these areas as possible...Light pastel colored eggs, small (sz12-14) natural non flashy nymphs, and natural colored (Olive, tans, grays) streamers and buggers.

All the streams at this point are ultra low and clear with very little flow, walk softly, try not to get right on top of areas were you think fish may be and be careful when casting and pulling line off the water. The less commotion, noise, and disturbances you can make the better off your chances of hooking a few fish will be.

As always good luck and don't forget to stop into your locally owned fly shops...Dan, Justin, and Pete...

Chagrin River Outfitters
440 247 7110

Lets watch Matt in action....

Rigging up after getting a look at the river conditions...

Lets see, what shall we use this morning?

Good fly choice...Scooping the first of the day...

Followed by a high five....

The grip and grin...and repeat...no one does it better....

A few flies from the shop for our low clear water conditions...
movement, sparce, and not to much flash...

The more I steelhead fish and run the shop the more I realize that we as steelheaders like to complain about anything we can....be it weather, stream conditions the water is to high or to low, its to clear, to dirty, to sunny, not sunny, to many anglers, posted property, had to work, no fish, to many leaves, and the list goes on and on. I am not saying this is a bad thing, it is kind of a common thread we all have in common and can commiserate with together about.

Speaking of which the water is to low and clear and there does not seem to be any new fish pushing into the rivers right now, the middle of the week fished pretty well but as we got closer to the weekend things came to a halt. Some anglers had a little bit of success but overall it has been very tough the past 4 days. Bright sun had the fish a little spooky and anyone fishing mid day struggled to hook anything at all, early morning and evening anglers fared better and i expect this trend to continue for some time as it looks like there is no hope for rain in the near future. If you are going out fish early or late and look at the flies i posted in the pics as these are the types of offerings to be fishing right now for the best chance of success. Normally this is when i would post all the rivers and flows but i don't think it is necessary, just know that everything is low and clear and fishing has been tough, if you are getting into a couple of fish you are doing better than most. Again be on the water at first light and evening to increase your odds and stay away from mid-day. I can't recommend any one river over any others at the moment, the Grand has the most water which is always a plus, the others all have fish but not much flow, my advice would be go to spots you are familiar with and know how to best fish, use lighter (3x) fluorocarbon tippets, run only one fly and keep split shot as far away from fly as you can while stinn getting it in the zone.

Tight lines as always...The guys from the shop....

Perk Perkins discovers Ohio steelhead action with Chagrin River Outfitters...good angler that Perk

Justin Guided Doug to his best fish of the year, a 12.5# buck that went ballistic...Oh yeah Justins back...

Day glo green jackets are for clients that tend to wander away, we have lost to many over the years to take chances, if seen please return to Chagrin River Outfittters

Who doesn't like a double header?

The stars have aligned and all rivers will fish this weekend here in Northern Ohio's piece of Steelhead Alley. Look for fish in there usual fall haunts you would normally find them this time of year as they are beginning to distribute fairly well throughout the systems. With water temps around 48 degrees fish will be wherever they feel safe and secure, cover water, anything with a dark bottom, moving water, and enough depth to hold fish should warrant a few casts. Fish mornings and evenings(low Light conditions) for best results.

Chagrin: One of our favorites received a small dose of rain last night but will remain a little low and clear but has been fishing fairly well...

Grand River: The big river should fish well this weekend, good flow and good vis means happy fish.

Conneaut: This Eastern Ohio Trib started off hot then cooled and is now picking up steam again, will have good color and flow for the next couple of days and has received some fresh fish...

Elk Creek: what is there to report, a million fish and a fisherman for every fish, getting low and clear.

As always good luck be safe and don't forget to stop in the shop for all your steelhead needs...Dan, Justin, and Peter

Scott had a very good day yesterday with his CRO guide, Many fish brought to the net including 3 over 10#lbs with this one being the biggest that tipped the scales @ 13.8 lbs, great job again Scott.

Nate sent us this pic and said giant lake run Browns love Chagrin River Outfitters streamer patterns...Nice fish Nate....

Rivers are in good shape or just coming into good shape all over northern Ohio right now and should provide very good fishing over the next week. The combination of wind and rain has gotten rid of most of the leaves that plagued fisherman earlier in the week and has also brought a fresh run of fish into our rivers. Look for those fresh fish to be pushing upstream over the next couple of days and target areas that will impede their upstream migration as likely holding areas. Cover water until you find an area holding fish as they will likely be scattered around a bit. Hot shop flies have been high water worms, flamingo and chart otter eggs, great lakes sparrows, purple buggers, steelhead princes, copper softies and lite brite princes.

Chagrin River: 141 cfs and dropping, plenty of visibility on the chagrin and the lower sections of river have been fishing fairly well.

Grand River: 565 dropping and clearing, the big river should fish by Thursday/Friday for fly guys, sooner for bait and have fish up to Vrooman road area.

Conneaut Creek: This river was hot early season but fish have scattered out and become more dispersed making them harder to find...should be prime by mid-day Thursday.

Elk Creek: Decent flows but becoming quite clear, look for best fishing to be from sun up to around 11am.

As many of you already know, tis' the season for steelhead.



Brian was in town visiting some family, and decided to give these steelhead a try. He's the type of guy that's fished all over the country - and now wanted to give these Ohio steelhead a run for their money. As day broke we were walking upstream looking at water which had good flow, but was a tad bit on the clear side.

Regardless, small pale eggs and nymphs brought in bunch of fish throughout the morning. Here are some that fell victim that morning...


Nice fish that ate early in the day.


Holy smokes - a brown trout on a steelhead trip!?!?!?

After a fantastic morning we decided to do something a little different - we packed up shop, and headed to another stream to try our luck there in the afternoon. Despite having very tea stained water, and high sun, Brian was able to pull out a few more fish to end the day.


We ended the day on a high note with this beauty.

Overall fishing has been good considering the conditions. Recent rains have brought the water up but have also washed a lot of tanic acid in to the streams. This significantly changes the PH of the water, and adversely affects steelhead migration and behavior. The last push of water brought most of the leaves down and has cleared a decent amount from the river - however, look for these to remain an issue over the next couple weeks or until we have a significant amount of rain to flush them from the streams.

Good luck and tight lines.