Trout

Here in northwestern Pennsylvania it’s the time of year when you take advantage of whatever outdoor opportunities present themselves.  If something is in season and the weather decides to cooperate, you jump at the chance to get out of the house. When the often whimsical conditions finally paired an above-freezing day with nice flows in area waters, my friend Dave and I decided to spend the afternoon prospecting a wild trout stream.

The southern shore of Lake Erie that stretches across portions of Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York, known by many anglers as Steelhead Alley, provides an exceptional opportunity to fish for quality-sized steelhead.

With fall underway, the cold weather and high water means brown trout are in full swing with their migration back into the rivers.

Trout fishermen traditionally cast imitations of aquatic insects such as mayflies and caddis. But some of the best fall fly-fishing comes from imitating "terrestrial" insects.

I don’t know what your weather has been, but in much of the northeast part of the country the soon-to-be-departed summer was exceptionally wet and relatively cool.  Which is good news for trout anglers.  These conditions are easy on wild trout and also provide extra sport for stocked trout.

After catching a smattering of six- to eight-inch wild brown trout, the sixteen incher looked like a salmon when it came out from behind a submerged tree trunk and inhaled the nymph.  A second later the seven-foot fiberglass fly rod was bent in a deep bend, one that could be felt the whole way into the handle.

When it comes to trout fishing, particularly on smaller streams, one need not let a lack of fly casting skill keep him or her from enjoying the benefits of showing the fish flies.

A recent trip to the Grand River in Ontario confirmed what I should have taken as an article of faith — it's hopper time.

For fly anglers, as we enter the long dry conditions of late July and early August, fishing your favorite streams and rivers can become exceedingly difficult. This difficulty is due to the low water conditions and abundance of insects to satisfy hungry fish. Fly anglers need to be able to turn from their time trusted nymphs and streamers techniques and go with a more radical approach, flamboyant hopper patterns.

Today many anglers choose to release trout they catch, carefully twisting their fishing hooks free and watching as the quarry swims back into the stream with a flick of its tail-fin. That's a marvelous experience and leaves more trout available for all of us the next time we venture out. That's the approach I take almost all the time. But every now and then it's nice to eat a few of these delicious fish.