Yesterday I stood in line at the Disneyland Steelhead ride.
At least thats what it felt like.
I had heard the Erieau stories. They all were consistant enough to finally develope the ring of truth ....but some things just have to be seen to be believed.
Well,...as the song goes I am a believer.
LOL
This tale is not for the faint of heart.
It is rife with death of beautiful fish...and to be honest...I found it very difficult to stomach...even though we were within our legal limit and none of the fish harvested went to waste.
When in Rome....
I have some in brine as I type this and there is a giant fish fry event on the books for this evening with the main entree to be the caustic yet yummy Hot and Sour Steelhead.
The little fish should have their revenge early am tomorrow right after my coffee...
:o/
The story goes like this..
My father in law gave me a call the other day to invite me out on his boat which would be the last kick at the cat at Erieau.
He qualified this invite with the unfortunate news that things ...as far the Steelhead were concerned were "dead" according to all the connections.
Gerry, Mike and I had all been trying to get out on a fishing trip together this summer but the weather had conspired against us so much that I had just about given up hope.
Regardless of the doom and gloom prediction I eagerly accepted.
I hadn't been fishing for months and I needed a getaway something fierce.
We hit the water at day break and by 11:00 all we had to show for our efforts were 3 walleye and right around 30 Sheephead....
I was trying to stay positive.
The radio chatter was low and the boats were scattered which is a good indicater that we were doing about as good as anybody.
During one of the brief radio exchanges some dude suggests running the leads off the cannonball back only 10 ft in order to give the spoons more action.
This is pretty far removed from anything that I had ever heard about fishing these fish open water but at this point we thought we'd try anything.
After making the switch within 5 minutes we started hitting fish.
From noon until about 1:30 we hooked well over 30 Steelhead all of which were ballistic screamers.
Double and triple headers consistantly.
I have never in my life seen anything like it!!!!!
I had more fun yesterday than I have had in a long time and it really opened my eyes to just what a ridiculous fishery that Erie is these days.
I thought my head was going to explode and my face is tired from smiling.
I can believe the stories now.
Wow.
Now get me to the river.
9 comments:
Great recount and shots, it needed more blood though.
It would be great to see the reaction of people on forums like GBO or FFN, though regular members on each are likely too busy checking out their reflection in the shine of their boyfriends' penis.
Best regards,
JDA
LOL
It was pretty brutal.
I have never seen anything like it.
It was a feeding frenzy on top of a feeding frenzy.
Boats everywhere....everyone of them with double and triple headers going on.
And this madness lasts from early June all the way through Sept most years and has been going on for years...
There must be so many friggin fish in that lake that it is just retarded.
My meathunting inlaws were right in their glory.....
and I was happy for them.
I need to buy a boat.
Good on ya there Gene!
I have not been out on Erie in that regard for a couple years now but I know first hand just how ridiculous it can be. Once you find the baitfish it is 'game on'.
One good rule of thumb out there is if you are catching Sheepshead you are trolling too slow - those steelies will hit lures up to 5 mph.
The harvest out there is truly outrageous but I supose the numbers of fish in the Lake can justify it - for now anyways.
I don't know what you thought of the fillets but I find them to be marbelled with fat and really not that tasty. Not bad from the smoker though!!!
later dude
Harv
Nice recap Gene. Next time you go, you will have to hang the catch from the meathooks at the cleaning station.(:o) Let me guess, ~11 miles out?... ;-)
Unfortunately after you drag them in from that distance, you may as well put them in the box, especially the 'eyes. Harv is right on .... it is good smoking meat.
Make sure you get a big boat. That lake changes in a snap of a finger.
I typically find most Steelhead to be a little strong but this really wasn't that bad.
I used the Hot and Sour recipe off of Bob Izumis website and everyone seemed to enjoy it.
My Brother in Law did a bunch on the BBQ with a teriyaki glaze that was nice as well.
Nothing beats early spring salmon for the table but this was close.
We were going to hang all the fish for the obligatory photo op but there was a line up...
:o/
Poor Steelhead....what a freakshow....what a stocking program.
I am having a really hard time making myself feel too bad about it.
We were between 11 and 14 miles out at any given time.
A long way to run if there is a good bump on the water.
I was surprised to see as many wee tin boats out as I did.
Guys are crazy.
Nice hat you turd.
That hat is the shit!
Government Issue in fact!
G.I Gene the Steelhead machine.
<><
Just got back home. Nice recap.
If you ever comment about my visor being gay again I will kill you with it. That hat you are wearing says "put it in my back door!"
Good on you guys for getting out there. Don't feel bad about harvesting those fish. Christ the US only put about 1 ka-zillion in each year. What's 15 less.
You are right...you do need a boat you POS! ;0)
Your visor drips gay...
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