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Great Lakes Steelhead

Great Lakes Steelhead

General Info: Skamania summer steelhead were once transplanted from our beloved Columbia River Gorge (home of Big Y Fly) to the Great Lakes. A fantastic seasonal fishery was created in just a few years. Steelhead now pour into the tributaries of Great Lakes tributaries every fall. From Michigan to New York, big runs of steelhead can be found close to major metropolitan areas. The most famous area is the area called "Steelhead Alley" in Ohio. It runs along the shoreline of Lake Erie to the inlet from Lake Ontario. Another very popular spot is along the Salmon River near Pulaski, NY.

While anglers on the Pacific coast tend to swing smaller flies for steelhead, Great Lakes steelheaders most often use a nymphing setup. Swinging a fly is still fairly popular in the Great Lakes, but nymphing is the name of the game. Many anglers also fish a trout streamer either under an indicator or with a tight line. The peak time to go is in October, but fish start showing up in September and can be found as late as ice conditions will allow. There is also a spring season where fish that "wintered over" in the rivers can be found heading back towards the lake.


Preferred Gear
Rods: 7-8 wt. rods. Many prefer a 9'6" or 10' rod, but 9' rods are still the most popular 
Reels: Large arbor, with solid drag system 
Lines: Weight forward, floating. Specialty nymphing lines for steelhead are a real plus

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  • Kaufmann Stone - Tungsten

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    Especially for fast water, when your fly needs to get down fast and deep. For steelhead and torpedo like trout everywhere. Be prepared with a stou...

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  • Kaufmann Stone Rubber Legs - Tungsten

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    All the bells and whistles on one stonefly nymph. Especially for fast water, when your fly needs to get down fast and deep. For steelhead and torp...

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  • Trout Beads: BeadHooks

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    There is an endless supply of hooks on the market designed for specific fisheries. The TroutBeads BeadHook™ is the only hook ever that was tested,...

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  • Trout Beads: BloodDotEggs

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    Trout Beads Blood Dot Eggs may be one of the most productive and realistic beads made. Trout Beads took their Mottled Beads and added a blood red ...

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  • Trout Beads: GlowBeadz

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    Troutbeads Glowbeadz are a relatively new item from Troutbeads and are quickly becoming the go-to item in the Steelheaders box. Glowbeadz will glo...

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  • Trout Beads: MottledBeads

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    Trout Beads Mottled Beads not only allow trout, steelhead or salmon fishermen to match the hatch, it also them a great fishing bead and jig bead s...

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  • Trout Beads: TB Peggz

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    TB Peggz double ended rubber pegs. Two uses per piece so you get 100 peg uses per 50 count package. Non abrasive so you don't scratch your leader ...

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  • Trout Beads: The Alaska Selection

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    This selection of Mottled Beads was specifically chosen to "match the hatch" of spawning trout, Sockeye, Coho, Chum, Chinook and Pink salmon. The ...

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  • Trout Beads: The Rocky Mountain Selection

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    We call this the "Rocky Mountain" selection which is great for ALL of the lower 48 tributaries to "match the hatch" of trout, suckers, Whitefish a...

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  • Trout Beads: The Steelhead Selection

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    The Steehead selection is a mixture of MottledBeads of the top selling colors in Steelhead markets from the West Coast to the Great Lakes. Packag...

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  • Trout Beads: TroutBeads

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    TroutBeads were created to mimic the different stages and colors of a fish egg from freshly laid to completely spawned or washed out. These are t...

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  • Twenty Incher Rubber Legs

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      The standard Twenty Incher is a renown pattern for catching both trout and steelhead. Its known as a great prospecting nymph pattern and a sto...

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  • Twenty Pound Stone

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