The run of silver is building in Northeast Ohio. This morning Jim and I headed east to the Grand River, Harpersfield Dam area. We hooked up with Andy, Jon, Juris and Jack and fished a stretch a few miles downstream. We arrived as the sun was coming up and the fishermen were coming out. The fishermen outnumbered the fish, but that didn't mean the fishing wasn't good. We fished a half-mile stretch for about 4.5 hours and landed more than 20 in our group. We hooked many more. As the photo shows, sometimes the fish were too much for us and we couldn't hide the disappointment of losing a slice of silver steel. I lost my best fish of the day. She wasn't particularly large, but she fought like a titan in the fast water (300 cfs and rising, 42 degrees). The fight lasted at least five minutes. Andy patiently waited for me to get the fish to the slow water so he could net it, but she never came in close enough. Just when the fight seemed over, she screamed off, breaking the line. This is why we love steelhead, they are more determined than any other fresh water fish to wear out the fishermen. And today, they wore me out.
The flow chart showed the river was rising slightly, which came as surprise. We kept expecting the river to clear, but it never did. We caught fish on eggs, nymphs and white minnow flies. Caught the most on the minnow fly. Fighting fish in the big water is a lot of fun.
A great day on the big river.
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