This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: The unusually mild winter continues for the area as it has in many areas. Little to no ice has left anglers with a wealth of other opportunities, from steelheading the tribs to shore fishing the lake, [...]

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Erie native Kevin Pora, 35, caught a citation steelhead among the 18 he hooked while fishing Sunday in Erie County. Pora’s trophy, weighed and measured at Poor Richards Bait and Tackle, weighed 12 pounds 1 ounce, was 31 inches long, and had a girth of 17 3/4 inches. It was the largest steelhead he’s caught [...]

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Kevin Shaffer, left, and Marc Hammond,12 caught three steelhead near Albion on Feb. 4.
fishing fun

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This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: As has much of the country, Erie has enjoyed an unusually mild winter so far. Temps over the few weeks had been cold enough at times to cover Presque Isle Bay and most of the tribs [...]

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Dave Morrison caught a 30 1/2-inch, 12-pound steelhead Dec. 11.
Beautiful Steelhead

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This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: With daily temperatures in the high 30s and low 40s, Erieites are enjoying a very mild winter so far. Of course, things can change quickly here on Pennsylvania’s North Coast. Eager anglers have been capitalizing on [...]

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Never let it be said the anglers of Erie County aren’t appreciative of landowners who open their property to fishing on or access to Pennsylvania’s Lake Erie tributaries. A handful of conservation groups annually raise funds through the year in order to purchase fruit baskets that are then hand-delivered the week before Christmas to landowners [...]

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This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: Blackened fish throughout the tribs. Area weather has been very mild for this time of year with only a few inches of snow so far. Fishing has been good at the Elk Creek Access this past weekend with very little [...]

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This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: Heavy rains Tuesday sent the Erie tribs into blowout mode with with conditions high and muddy. The week’s forecasts seem to indicate that these levels should subside and again creating good to excellent conditions. Anglers had been having fair [...]

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This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: Off-and-on rain Monday and an all-day soaker Tuesday brought the the Lake Erie tributary levels up to fast and muddy conditions There is  rain and possible snow in the forecast which may help to which may spawn additional [...]

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Sam Knox, 11, of Millcreek Township, caught his first-ever steelhead Nov. 13 on Walnut Creek. The fish measured 23½ inches and took a red beadhead nymph.

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Charles Allen, co-owner of Crowley’s with wife Ginger, caught a 28-inch steelhead from Elk Creek on a blood dot egg pattern.
28 inch Steelhead on Elk

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Walnut Creek Access Area made a Field & Stream blog — not for its fine steelhead fishing, or even its overcrowding, but as the centerpiece of an article on illegal snagging on the Erie-area tribs.  

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Thanks to Kirk Rudzinski at East End Angler for an important and long-awaited bit of steelhead fishing-related news: The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission threw open the new fish ladder and bypass on Four Mile Creek on Thursday at 6:30 p.m. Four Mile is the first creek anglers will hit when traveling east from Erie. [...]

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You could say the One Fly is about steelhead fishing and not be wrong. You could say it’s about a group of fishing friends getting together once a year for a steelhead-themed celebration, and you’d be right on. You could and should know that it’s a labor of love for its organizers, led by Jack [...]

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So Rob Kupniewski, of Erie, got into a steelhead Sunday morning at Dobbins Landing. “It was running pretty hard, and it went past the guy next to me and around the corner,” Kupniewski said. And right into the grip of what apparently was a very hungry peregrine falcon, perhaps one of those that were spotted [...]

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Edmund Cieslak counted a citation steelhead among his catch Oct. 5 at Sixteen Mile Creek. The biggest fish, which bit on a salmon egg, was 32 inches and weighed 14 pounds 4 ounces.

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Ed Lawrence, of Corry, has made himself at home on Erie’s eastside tributaries, much to the dismay of steelhead. He caught a 26-inch, 7 1/2-pound female Oct. 11 and two 6-pound, 24-inch males Oct. 19. His recipe: Flies and salmon eggs.

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Sign up to fish in the catch-and-release tournament associated with the Great Lakes Steelhead Expo Nov. 5 at Rainbow Gardens. Register in advance by Nov. 4 at Elk Creek Sports Store, Poor Richard’s Bait & Tackle, and Lake Erie Ultimate Angler, or from 6-8 a.m. Nov. 5 at Tim Hortons, 27745 W. 26th St. Entry [...]

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This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officers for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: The  rains from last week raised the trib levels and brought a significant number of steelhead in. However, as dry as conditions have been, it didn’t take long for water levels to drop back to near [...]

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There’s nothing wrong with the good ol’ fly rod or noodle rod for fall steelhead on the Lake Erie tributaries. But have you ever thought about using a switch rod? Lake Erie Ultimate Angler owner Steve Brugger recently demonstrated the use o…

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Sam Zacour, of Millcreek Township, brought a big buck steelhead to hand Oct. 6 on Elk Creek at Streuchen Flats. It went for an egg-colored blood dot.
Streuchen Flats Steelhead
Randy Zacour, of Pittsburgh, took a steelhead out of Elk Creel a day later.
…

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Tuesday’s fine weather saw anglers in pursuit of steelhead along all of northwestern Pennsylvania’s tributaries, including Walnut Creek:

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This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: The rain started off and on this past weekend and by Sunday afternoon the Erie lake shore was experiencing gale force winds up to 40 knots, 8 to 10 foot waves and plenty of rain. The [...]

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This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: A dry spell has left the area tribs very low and very clear in all areas with some areas less than ankle deep. As such there is very little flow, making drift fishing difficult. Steelhead angling [...]

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C.J. Kelly shows off his trophy steelhead from Twenty Mile Creek:

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This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: Significant rainfall over the past week has kept the tribs high and flowing with  muddy conditions at times. The days of steady rain this past weekend had the tribs high and flowing hard, but not blown out, with [...]

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This week’s Erie-area fishing report from Randy Leighton, deputy waterways conservation officer for the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission: September and early October often present a variety of  of opportunities for area anglers and this year is no exception. Earlier this week temperatures soared into the 80s, slowing the steelhead migration but at the same time allowing [...]

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This is not an optical illusion.

East End Angler owner Kirk Rudzinski landed this 15-pound steelhead while fishing on Lake Erie in 105 feet of water off North East Marina. It took a Nuclear Purple Stinger Spoon off the downrigger.
The steelhead was 29…

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