Erie Chrome

A chrome hen steelhead that ate a mop fly

My eyes were bloodshot and without a hefty dose of caffeine, I don't think I could've pulled it off.

I had just gotten off work, and finished my college classes leading up to Thanksgiving break.

Fishing was the only thing on my mind, and that led me to deciding to pull off a last minute Erie steelhead trip.

After a 4 and a half hour drive, I pulled into the "Fisherman's Parking Area" along Elk Creek, just outside of the town of Girard.

My phone read 4 a.m. and I quickly crawled into the back of my Honda Pilot. With the right passenger seat folded down, I had just enough space to unroll my sleeping bag and lay comfortably. I dozed off instantly.

A car door slamming jerked me back into reality. What was an empty parking lot at 4 a.m. was now filled with a dozen or so other vehicles.

I climbed out of my trunk, put on all my layers along with my waders, and rigged my fly rod.

Some seemingly sound advice from other anglers had me starting my day fishing the hole under the Railroad Trestle. The water looked so good I figured a steelhead would just jump into my arms and fishing for them would be cake.

That was not the case. After 3 hours of drifting flies through every fishable run, nook, and cranny, I was without a bite. I hadn't even witnessed a single other angler hook up.

I headed back to the car to regroup and warm up. I theorized that maybe due to the slightly high water some fresh fish might be pushing up from the lake near the mouth of Elk Creek. I drove down and hiked into a far less pressured stretch of water.

Within a half an hour of fishing, my fly line shot off. "WOOSH!" The fish pictured above came up in a series of several acrobatic jumps. After about a 20 minute fight, I was able to slide my net under her.

All in all, my single day spent steelhead fishing in Erie was 100% worth it. For my first time fly fishing for these big lake run fish, I was pleased with my success.

I encourage anyone who has ever thought about doing this trip to do it!

Erie is a wonderful part of Pennsylvania and I will most definitely be back in the future.

Thanks for reading and tight lines!

- Nathan W.