After 6 days of cancelled trips I was headed back down to the Alley for week on the water. Sunday was a scouting mission that started on the Vermilion and ended with the Elk Creek. I put a ton of miles on truck as well as my boots but it was worth the effort!
Paine Falls on a Grand River TributaryMonday was the first day of our annual spring trip. Eirik Vitso and I hosted the group made up of four regulars and two newbies to the steelhead game. Despite the tough conditions the guys made it work. Monday found us on one of the smaller unstocked tribs with 18-24″ of viz. Large clown eggs as well as giant crystal meth eggs in size 6 made the bobber go down.
The proof…
Tommy with his first fish of the day… A 31″ drop back hen that put on a show! 
George with the first steelhead of his careerTuesday morning I was back on the same river with Gene and Tony. The viz decrease to 6-8″ Not what I expected!!! After 30 mins I made the call to move. We headed over to the Conneaut and found much better conditions. Tony took full advantage popping 2 fish right off the bat. One found the net while the other did what steelhead do.
Tony, a well traveled angler scoring a pretty henThe rest of the day we managed to land a skipper and shake hands with a few others.
Tony with his second fish of the day
Wednesday it was back on the water with a couple regulars Tommy and Mac. Tommy owns the Firing Line in Westland, Michigan. If your in need of a gun, ammo or accessories the Firing Line has you covered. Tommy and his team are TOP NOTCH!!!
It’s like a Fly Shop for the guns!
Tommy getting the day started with a little BOB DOWN!
Tommy with a nice colored up buck Gene lost due to a Pere Marquette Clay Banks Salmon Hook set in the same run on Tuesday. How could you forget the double striped buck!!! Plus he had my fly in his mouth from the previous day.
Mac with a drop back hen out of the Snake Pit!Thursday it was back to the smaller tributary due to massive rains in PA the night before. The headwaters of the Connie were pounded with over an inch of rain. The morning was slow but Peter and Bill put in their time and were rewarded with fish to the net.
Bill with his first steelhead on fly 
Lake Erie Love
Peter with a drop back buck from the dark waterFriday I had the pleasure of guiding Belinda and Rick. Rick lives in Alaska so the pressure was on to find some real fish to play with. The water was low and clear. Soon after walking in to a choice run we were rewarded with 3 hook ups that managed to come unbuttoned. While working our way down we slipped into a nice hole that usually holds a good number of fresh and drop backs this time of year. The fish below found the net.
Belinda’s first SteelheadLater in the day we slipped into some dark water below a redd and found another player
Rick and Belinda with another solid buck 
Lower River Buck Sorry to all the clients we were forced to cancel this spring. It was a bummer losing 10 plus days on the alley due to massive amounts of rain. We would rather take the loss than fish you in unfavorable conditions. Thank you for understanding.
Despite the shortened season and CrAzY conditions we managed to keep the skunk off everyday this spring. I look forward to fishing with everyone on our home waters this summer as well as the Alley this fall.
Fall steelhead dates will start mid October 2011 and run through the first week in December. If your interested in a date or one of our hosted trips feel free to give us a shout at 734-546-7723 or email me at mike@schultzoutfitters.com
For more up to date Steelhead Alley info visit Steelhead Alley Outfitters
BoB DoWn,
Schultzy
Related Posts:
- Memorial Day & More Warm Water Danglin
- High Water + Hard Work = BIG FISH!!!
- The Big Bass Bite is ON!!!!!
