Dalley in Alley

Spent a day in Steelhead Alley region with Mike Schultz yesterday. He was scouting as prime guiding season started today and invited me to tag along. I've heard legends of Steelhead Alley, so I wanted to go see it myself. If you're not familiar the region runs along the south shore of Lake Erie. We were to be working the eastern end (we started out about 2 miles from the PA border).

Despite being only a few hours away, this region is completely different from anyplace I've fished in Michigan. The geological structure is all shale, including the riverbed. It makes for a very different program. Plus, the scenery was pretty amazing, especially considering that at one point we were in a canyon in downtown Ashtabula, OH!

We fished on the Conneaut and Ashtabula rivers and covered a LOT of ground so Mike could check out some spots. These rivers are all spate, meaning that unlike Michigan they're not spring-fed. The water in these rivers is primarily from run-off. What's interesting is that every season's ice formation and melt-off can drastically change the nature of the river. Guides have to quickly assess what's changed to find the best spots to bring client.

Mike got a couple on the board pretty quickly -- both out of the identical spot! Took me a while to get going as I was adjusting to a whole new progam. But around lunchtime I had my first fish on. After a spunky fight, I got sawed off on a shale ledge. Boo! In the afternoon, we switched rivers to see more ground. Late in the day I hooked a fired-up skipper and fought him for a bit. Unfortunately he got unhooked just about the time we reached for the net.

A very cool and unique experience. I'm glad I went. If you're considering it, I would definitely talk to Mike He's been guiding and fishing down there for a number of years and given the complexities of private land access taking your first trip with a guide is a solid recommendation.

-Sean-