Steelhead Report

This past week seemed to fly by with the recent time change, but that didn't mean we didn't make time to fish here at Cortland Line. The tug of steelhead have all of us here acting a little quirky - random hook-sets, people yelling "Fish on!", and imitations of past fights with fish are all common place this time of year.

Joe landed this awesome steelhead below on a size 10 stonefly from a major tributary of Lake Ontario last weekend. He said that he was lucky to land the fish because of the water he was fishing in, and mentioned calling it a "salmon" sized fish when he first hooked it. Well, at 36.5'' I'd say he was right - nice fish, Joe.

I haven't landed a fish as big as Joe's this year, but the steelies have been kind to me. I've been getting a lot of fish on various egg patterns and only a few on nymphs. There isn't anything better than the head shakes a steelhead throws at you, and that is what keeps me coming back for more every time. The steelhead pictured below was a fish I was sight fishing to. She was sitting right behind two spawning King Salmon, and sucked in my egg pattern as it floated by.

 

All of my fish this fall have come on our new Diamondback Swinger 11'6'' Switch Rod. This rod casts excellent, responds well, and makes fighting fish a breeze. Look for them in your local Cortland Pro Shop, the Cortland Factory Store, or contact us at info@cortlandline.com for more information.

Tight lines,

Artie