For anybody looking for new toys to play with we have recently added some very nice Powell switch rods and Hardy reels to our lineup. Put the two together and you have a match made in steelhead heaven.

Cool underwater shot of a steelhead heading home.

Hooked up on the upper Chagrin. Not many fish up near Gates Mills yet but there are a few.

Paul Bunyan and babe the blue ox heading home after a slow day of swinging on the lower Chagrin.

Guide John with a sweet fish from Tuesday. This pic is a good example on the proper way to hold a fish for a photo so it doesn't get dropped. One hand around the base of the tail and the other supporting the fish under the belly by the pectoral fins.

Conneaut Creek now has a flow gauge on the USGS water data web site. I do not know what flows to look for yet as it just went online but it will be a great resource.

River Reports:

Chagrin River: Chagrin is getting low but has color in the holes and fish are scattered throughout the system fairly well with the majority in the mid to lower reaches.

Grand River: The flow on the Grand has dropped quicker than expected or hoped for but fished pretty well today(11-10-11) for some anglers. Expect fishing to improve for fly anglers on Thurs. Fri. and thru the weekend as visibility improves. Fish are spreading out thru the river system so don't be afraid to start looking further upstream.

Conneaut Creek: The Conneaut has a nice steelhead green color to it with good flow that should hold thru Friday with any luck and inot Saturday. The fishing has improved with this last round of precipitation but is still not great. Fish are spread out from mouth to well above rt 90 so do some exploring.

Overview: Fishing over the next few days and thru the weekend should be the best we have seen all year but don't expect any record days. Overall it still remains on the slow side for this time of year but it is improving. Our best advice is if you are not on any fish keep moving until you find some. They are scattered and not really concentrated in any one are so being mobile is your best bet.

Hot flies: Psycho Prince, hot spot bugger, white buggers, oregon cheese sucker spawn, black stone flies, prince nymphs, orange sucker spawn. Good Luck

River report:

Chagrin: Great flow and color that should provide good fishing thru Thursday. Found a few fish yesterday on both the lower and middle river.

Grand: Blown out but should be perfect for anglers who can make it out on the weekend.

Conneaut: Was high and off color yesterday. Today flow and color will be good and tomorrow should be just about perfect and make for good fishing thru the weekend. Look out for those brown trout on the East side streams.

Elk: Plenty of fish but getting low and clear.

We had a dream job the other day. Three anglers all fishing 2 handed rods, all swinging flies, sweet.

A really blurry picture of a really good caster and angler.

Here a patient angler waits for a grab on the dangle. Was the patience rewarded?

Hey here we go.

A nice chromer swung up on a purple string leech.

Hooked up and chasing one downstream that whacked a white hackle flash streamer.

Another fresh hen that couldn't resist. Steelhead will aggressively chase down a protein snack this time of year.

Another one comes to the net that hammered a swung fly. You don't catch a bunch fishing this way but the takes are electrifying.

Oh by the way, large aggressive steelhead are what you are after when swinging.

River report:
Rivers are once again on the low and clear side except for the Grand which is low but has decent color. The fishing has not been spectacular anywhere that i know of but is improving over the last few weeks. The best action has been on the Grand and on the Conneaut. With more rain in the forecast look for more fish to make their way into the system and improve angling success. The one bright spot has been the major increase in large brown trout being caught by anglers on Elk creek and some Eastern Ohio tribs as well. These fish were stocked two years ago by PA into Elk creek and are all ready returning in good numbers and averaging 25-26 inches.

Angling Tip: With fishing the way it is right now, which is on the slow side anglers can increase there chances by targeting streams with the best conditions for catching fish. Also cover water, if your not catching fish in one area or section keep moving until you find some and when you do find them pay attention to the type of water they are holding in and look for similar areas for repeated success. Good Luck

An enthusiastic angler gets some personalized one on one instruction on switch rods from Jeff Liskay. Jeff may be the nicest guy on the planet and loves sharing what he knows about fishing spey and switch rods for steelhead on the great lakes tributaries with anyone who wants to learn. We were lucky to get him into the shop for the day this time of year when he would much rather be fishing. Thanks for your time Jeff.

Fly fishing guru Jerry Darkes shows some great steelhead patterns to interested fly tyers. Jerry and Jeff put on a great seminar on Saturday at the shop and Jerry took time to show some great new patterns and share some tricks off the trade when it comes to tying flies that catch fish.

The smile tells it all. My wife Megan and i got out to do a little fishing together for the first time in a long time. It was great to see her back on the water and nice to see that she still knows how to handle a fly rod. She was a little rusty at first but picked it up again pretty quickly.

I am proud to say that she out fished both myself and Pete on this day when fish were hard to come by. It wasn't for lack of fish but the low clear conditions made them tough.

I did manage a couple fish throughout the course of the day which was plenty. The real joy was spending time with Megan again on the water which seems harder and harder to come by. If i learned one thing on this day it was that we will be doing this a lot more often.

Say hi to Evan from Oregon who was in town and decided to try some great lakes steelheading with Chagrin River Outfitters. Even had a great day of fish catching, was thoroughly impressed with the quality of our fishery and the beauty of our rivers. Evan thanks for the pic, glad you got home safe and hope to see you again your next time thru.

River reports:
Chagrin is on the low and clear side but fishing ok for the conditions. Grand and Conneaut are in good shape, both have good visibility and flow right now though a little tannin stain is present. Elk is getting low and clear as well but as always large numbers of fish present. If i was fishing the next couple of days, and i am, i would look at the Grand or Connie as they have the best conditions. Good luck.

Steelheading the Great Lakes:10-3:30 at Chagrin River Outfitters Sat Oct. 30th. Jeff Liskay and Jerry Darkes examine new steelhead, trout, and salmon, fishing opportunities close to home. They will also be tying hot tube fly patterns and answering all your steelhead questions.

Steelheading the Great Lakes seminar this Sat. Oct 30th at Chagrin River Outfitters from 10-3:30 with Jeff Liskay and Jerry Darkes. Jeff and Jerry will take you on a fly fishing tour of the Great Lakes from Superior to Ontario and uncover some truly fabulous fishing opportunities close to home. Also be on hand as they discuss spey and switch rods best suited for the Great Lakes tributaries, tie great new tube fly patterns, and answer any of your steelheading questions. See you on Saturday.
Chuck and Dan pose with a pair of trophy steelhead caught this past week with Chagrin River Outfitters. This is a picture they will cherish for a long time. Nice job on a double, it doesn't get any better than that.


Luke and Chuck pose with Lukes first ever Lake Erie Steelhead. It took a few hookups to bring this first one to the net but all in all a pretty good job for this new steelhead addict. Good job Luke.

Luke is getting the hang of it now. Another one landed and holds still for the camera before being released back to the river. A great day on the river with some old friends and some new. Looking forward to doing it again real soon.

River reports: Updated 10-28-10
Thur. Oct 28th after the rain river update.
The rain has come and gone and the rivers are in great shape for the end of the week and the weekend. All the rivers will fish for the weekend with the Grand and Conneaut looking to be in prime condition. The Chagrin should fish well over the next few days and have spoken with a few anglers this AM having success on the lower and middle Chagrin, and the lower Grand. Leaves will be a problem in some areas but hang in there and you should be rewarded with a silver bullet hook up. Good Luck. Stop in for some great new fly patterns