Elk and 20 Mile report for 10/25 to 10/28

[CharlieL]

This was my first Steelhead Fishing trip and it was by far one of the best fishing trips of the year.  I owe it to all the Big Steelhead and a great group of guys.

We left from Allen's house at 7:30am and drove north to Erie.  After checking in that afternoon we headed right for the Elk River for some fishing.  I lost two fish that day and landed none.  I played one for 5 mins and then it broke me off and the second was a weak hook set and off in sec.  The water was tea stained from leaves and rain from a few days prior.  We all fished till dark but it was great to get a feel for the game right off the bat.

On Monday we headed back to the Elk and were on the water before sunrise.  As everyone scattered upstream to find good water to fish, I started to move up stream and found Fred who was fishing a little run that was holding about 12 big fish.  He was kind enough to let me jump in and fish with him. We fished that hole for the morning and we both got some fish.  All were big 25 plus inch fish and one Jack about 15".  The water was clear and perfect for site casting.  I caught all my fish on Eggs and small black stone fly's.  We all fished till about 6:00pm or so and headed back to room to clean up and find some warm food and cold beer and talk about fishing.

On Tuesday we headed to 20 mile run.  I went upstream and saw Roy.  We found some nice pocket water that a lot of fish were moving through all day.  We fished it for 4 or 5 hours and landed about 25 each and lost just as many.  This water was much clearer then at Elk and this kind of site casting was like taking candy from a baby.  We headed downstream to see how everyone else was doing.  We walked all the way down to the Lake and ended up catching another 5 or 6 fish while meeting up with everyone else in our group.

On Wednesday it was raining and I was planning to fish the morning and drive back around noon, but with the rain I just got on the road after breakfast.  I heard that it was a good call because the water was blown out that day.

The Lake Erie tributaries are a great place to fish.  I only paid about $130 on room and food for 3 days of fishing not including gas.