Wednesday, February 22, 2012

ADDING THE LAKE RUN BROWN

                            WE NEED ONE MORE.... 



As pictured above, this is the complimentary piece to a what could be even better trout fishery.  This picture is worth a million words and dollars.  The seafaring Brown Trout.  Or, the Lake Run Brown.  And the story behind how this was caught is another story in itself.
    

             Behind our little world of being lost in a stream is another door, Big business.  After all they say money talks.  And their right.  My good friend Adam Zakarowsky and his best friend Ray enjoy fly fishing in general like most of us do.  Probably more than usual.  So much they travel almost 6 hours to PA., and N.Y.- Those states including Michigain as well have something we don't.  And we have something they don't.  What they have is a pro-active division of natural resources who utilizes what they have, and don't.  If you ever have visited their websites, you would know exactly what I'm talking about.  It's all facts. They rake in astonishing revenue that hardley declines because of good management, awareness, and again their pro-active approach.  We benefit from it getting strays of their product.
                  PA Boat and Fish Commision stocks a sea run strain of Brown trout which I have mentioned already.  This is not the domestic strain of Browns you see in C.W.H.'s.  This is a similar fish that runs from September through early winter like the Chambers creek strain of Steelhead, or our former London strain.  It's a perfect  combination of Little Manistee spring run Steelhead to add. And it generates millions of Ohio dollars spent in another state. Litteralry, millions. As the  post began those two young men travel their because something has happened in lake erie.  Walleye numbers are dwindeling due to several reasons as we know.  Kids, and adults both are not saving their hard earned money anymore to purchase boats like they used to.  They are going to fly shops and buying waders, fly rods and terminal tackle.  Fly fishing is Ohio's fastest growing sport and the revenue from that alone is astonishing.  And why not add another peice to the puzzle.  Go with the numbers.  It's an easy read, and far cheaper than maintaining a boat.
              In 1996, PA's revenue from fishing was 1.34 billion dollars.  64% of that was stream fishing .(estimated).  An additional 690 million from contributed, related activity.
                Gas, sales tax, lodging, food consumption and of course tolls are a damn good reason to act on the issue and pursue.  I failed to mention jobs and total income taxed as well.  And this is exactly why we lag behind.  The lake is a gold mine, so why not utilize what we have and keep going with the trend.  It's working in other states,why not here as well.  That trip our good friends took to PA costed us loss of income and PA got the rewards.  Estimated trip spending was roughly 250 dollars without the hotel added.



  Our beloved Rocky River is a gem. I've talked with Aquatic Fish Biologets in the Cleveland Metroparks and the idea is one they definately want to act on. This is going to happen in the near future in their eyes .  And thank god we have a great management  team like them. To me, they solely are responsible for our beloved steelhead in this state with their pro-active approach. And their land purchasing is second to none like the park district itself. Cleveland Metroparks are the second largest urban area park district in the United States next to Seattle. And it shows. Everything they have touched like Oprah, has turned to gold.  And you should be thankful we have them. So if theirs any faith at all, I'd say we are in good hands with them. Most notably as you probably know, Mike Durkalec. Are trout stocking program has jumped from, ok returns of Coho to a legacey of runs from Steelhead. And you can thank Cleveland Metroparks for that,and other groups such as Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders.  Our Steelhead run has been written about in many books around the world including books from Kamchatkan Penninsula were these fish are native, to the west coast where the rivers of the Sandy, Olympic and the Skeena are famed for their Steelhead runs.
       To add to the theory of this, our once prolific walleye run has dwindled to a point that fisherman have caught notice around the Great Lakes. It's no coincidence our fishing license revenue has dropped to over 1.5million dollars.  And with the re-return of algea-bloom from our fertilized rivers in the western basin I expect this to get worse.  A 41% fish kill of walleye doesnt help as well.
      
          On the bright side of this, Lake Erie is a perfect suited lake for Browns to reside. They are like Bass and Northern Pike and like the not to deep waters . With hundreds of millions of baitfish, the Brown Trout would thrive. The Lake Erie return rates in PA are amazing year after year. These sea run monsters by the way can put a nice dent in your 7-8 wt. fly rod. As they can reach 30 plus lbs. and regulary reach steelhead size without question.  It would be one way to add a little spice and attract even more anglers to the area and keep that Ohio money here.                                                                       



Thanks for everybody's advice, and professional input.                                                                     

Monday, February 13, 2012

GETTING READY FOR EARLY SPRING FLIES

                                                                                                            
   
 
          Now that winter is more than half way through and finally started;And if your a little behind the eight ball in the fly department their is something you can really get into .  And it could pay off.  The idea is to find out what lives in your stream.  I cant tell you how many times I've picked up a stick or moved a rock with my wading boot and 5 seconds later their happens to be a swirl in the water 15-20 feet later.  Yes, I love to tie fluorescent pink woolly buggers.Or steelie blue stone's.  But in low water and small delicate streams(especially limestone) nothing beats natural tone's.  Eye appeal is everything to trout .  They are without a doubt creatures of habit.  They know their surroundings and the life cycle that has grown with them from day one as key for survival. 
          For a steelhead fry(before smolt) microinvertebrates are a staple in their lives from day one.  Being  the size of a fry,their really isn't many options in their world at this growing stage of their life. Zooplankton being another,but i doubt your tying that . 
          From their to smolt which happens after year 2 and around 6-10 inches(courtesy of steelhead life cycle) this still is the norm,with minnows and smaller fish as well now in the mix.  So now,u have 2 years of natural surroundings instilled in their atmosphere and diet.  To me, this is where the creature of habit comes from.  If that's all u know, that's all u have. 
        Going to the river or stream if u really want to get  into it and taking a seine net and simply turning over rocks and sticks you could find out a lot.  Take a jar, or Tupperware container with u because what u find might convince you of what I'm talking about.  From that point u can take pictures of your findings with your phone, log onto the Internet and quickly identify these 1/2 "to sometimes 4"inch microinvertebrates.  Another option would be to type the name of your stream, and add "microinvertebrate biology findings of the EPA" into the Internet.  You will really be surprised when you see what u find dwelling in the stream habitat.  
          Around the rocky river main branch unfortunately the water isn't to pristine.But surprisingly not that bad either.We in fact do have a mayfly hatch as a specimen is pictured along with a golden stonefly.  The stonefly is very intolerant to pollution,but we do have a few.






          However, are most abundant being the helgrammite, caddis, scud and the snipe fly.  As pictured below.
Matching colors spot on is ridiculous and nearly impossible.  Size being number 1, and material being a close second.
       Remember,most of these microinvertebrates are in the riffles, or faster pocket water.  And with sun these bugs will hatch more often. And how these eggs get their to hatch into larva is even more interesting.  And that would be  where the wet dry fly comes in.

     The wet dry fly is an adult fly ,female who flies into the stream , and lays her eggs. Its no accident that these eggs got their,and why a serious and observant fly tier does tie a wet dry fly at all.  And adding a visual  egg sack at the end of the flies tail might add a fish or two.  As these females due just that.   If you have ever seen a fly trapped in the surface film, chances are they dropping eggs at the stream bottom,and have been dislodged in that very film that exists on the stream surface. Thus, the rise of a fish.
      Keep in mind that these hatches are far more occurring in water temps of cooler temperatures.  Which is why spring is ideal for throwing flies. Do not discount autumn or early winter as well.  Yes chucking eggs will catch you more fish without a doubt.  But when eggs are over used and a take it or leave it option,flies can and have out fished the best egg presentations.  Their is a reason thousands of books have been written on hatches from all over the world.  And hatch stream charts are regularly used.
       So keep in mind the next time your bored or really feeling that itch when fishing is on the down side,that their is more you can do than sit around and day dream. Or watch ill re-runs of  cleveland sports tragedies..U might be suprised.
        

Thursday, February 9, 2012


ARE THEY SPAWNING YET?
HOW MUCH REPRODUCTION DO WE REALLY  HAVE?



     I think by now most of us can agree that our steelhead are in a transitional period.  If the water is breaking 36 degrees on a warm day, I and many have witnessed these fish in pocket water or in the riffles.  To go through the motions of a spawn, timing is everything as we know.  Photo periods or light in a day being to me the number one factor.  I have personally witnessed and have read studies of  steelhead staging in the riffles beginning the process, but not going through the motions.  Another characteristic would be fish darting back and fourth from the head of a pool,to the riffle, and back to the pool.  Reasoning for the back and fourth of this is said to be because of the temperatures.Which I would agree with.  Or "testing the waters" i guess would be more appropriate.
    Warm weather is good.  But their is a biological clock in these fish like any other animal.  If its warm for 2 days, u don't pull out your summer gear and pack up winter sweaters and hoodies. These fish no just as well.  which is why we had a pro-longed spawn last year(2011).The fish were able to come in as late as June, spawn and be done with the process as early as 12 hrs. (courtesy  of nick amato publications)They have no 7 day weather planner as well.  The power of light in a day goes as far back as the Mayans.  The time don't lie and is always accurate.  And to add to that,it has been recorded that 84% of the fish will go back to the pre-existing spawning redds.
 The sad part is most of us know that already,but you still hear it.Why? 
It makes you wonder why so many people here are so negative......

  1. THEIR ALREADY HEADING BACK THE OTHER WAY.
  2. MOST OF THESE FISH ALREADY SPAWNED!   really.
  3. ITS GOING TO BE JUST LIKE LAST YEAR.
The truth be told,although i don't want to agree is only 2%-4% of the rocky river steelhead actually survive the hatch and make it to be fry. I think that number can vary from year to year.Our biggest problem being silt.  If  the rains held off and would not blowout the river I truly think we would have a far greater hatch/survival rate.  The silt inbeds the  eggs,washes them away or  it just plainly gets to warm to quick.Incubation of these eggs needs to be at least 45-55 degrees for the right path.  Which would explain the fry survival we had last year. On the other hand, the west branch of the rocky river where i grew up fishing has had fry survival.  Not that I have electro-shocked the water,but catching steelhead 10-25 inches in July is definitely not normal.  Or maybe it is. About 15 miles south of Olmstead Falls lies Medina county.  The headwaters of the west branch of the rocky are  mostly cold.Really cold. And filter into this stream.  For the first 12 or so miles of this stream we call the west branch , its a whole different entity,and very clean. But we will save that story for another chapter.  At any rate,I don't agree with ODNR. I truly believe from people I have talked with and have read that their number can vary from weather scenarios year to year.  On the other hand,the chagrin river has a higher rate and with the demise of the dam,i would be think mortality rates would be a lot less.
          The fish that due spawn in early February likely around the 32-35 degree mark are the chambers creek strain of fish. They come in our rivers through mid fall and yes,some due spawn in late October as their are different classes of  every strain.  Another strain we due get would be the skamania strain which due come in late august,and spawn late September through early October like the brown trout.  If you have ever caught one of these,you would know it as these fish seem to be way more athletic in their fighting and leaping agility.  Also,their bodies tend to be almost char/salmon looking being bulky and a smaller face and mouth.  So if you are hearing the RUMORS of a spawn being almost over,keep in mind this is a little manistee strain fish.  They run from late November ,and spawn in warmer temperatures of 36-60 degrees.  And the great lake giants begin late december through february.  And if you really are unsure, u can contact http://www.schmidtoutfiters.com/   they know their stuff,and their fish.