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Butch Barnhart of New Jersey (Guided by John Nagy) with a spring run Little Manistee steelhead caught on Conneaut Creek near Conneaut, Ohio. Butch was fly fishing with tandem flies that day (egg patterns and bead-head nymphs) with floating indicators, concentrating on pre-spawn steelies in the deeper runs and pools.
The Ohio Spring Little Manistee run is picking up pretty good right now with fresh steelies showing up in the Rocky River, Grand River, Chagrin River and Conneaut Creek. Depending on how cold and wet of a spring we have this fabulous spring steelhead fishing can continue till the end of April. Though the numbers of these wild steelhead (which are primarily a late winter, spring run fish) are smaller than the Pa steelhead runs, they make up for this in their bigger size and impressive fighting ability. These fish are actually a wild strain steelhead that are obtained by the Ohio DOW every year (approximately 400,000 fingerlings) from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. Spawning steelhead in the Little Manistee River in Michigan (which have reproduced solely in the wild) are used as an egg source for this stocking program by the Michigan DNR. Four major Lake Erie tributaries in Ohio (Rocky River, Chagrin River, Grand River and Conneaut Creek) are stocked with Little Manistee strain steelhead every year. For the first time in recent years the Vermillion River, west of Cleveland, will be stocked with 75,000 Little Manistee smolts this spring. This river has been know for years to get “stray” runs of steelhead.
Please respect the rights of private landowners and clean up all litter and obey all posted areas. Also report any illegal activity on the tributaries by contacting the local conservation officer. In Ohio call 1-800-POACHER to report any violations.
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