Egg sucking leech, 8wt and a Steelhead.

Do we even have Steelhead in Indiana? I was convinced that there was no way. At heart I'm just a desert rat that spend his whole life running around the banks of the artery of the west, I grew up knowing as the Colorado river. It run's cold and strong, year around and is the life blood of Las Vegas and the Mojave desert valley along it's path. More of what the traditional trout fisherman would think of as "trout water." Regardless I didn't believe the midwest held viable Steelhead and Salmon population.

Boy was I ever wrong, maybe I was misinformed or just outright ignorant. I soon learned that was completely wrong. In due time I stumbled upon The Great Lakes Steelhead runs of the St. Joseph river and Trail Creek of northern Indiana, A success story of selective population stocking and a good old fashion biology at that. I'm not going to get into the history of the stocking because that can be a whole other post, what I am going to focus on is the strong population that fills the northern midwest tribs and creeks of the area. These silver bullets, slashed with beautiful red and blue markings, a strong hydrodynamic body build for speed and power, start showing up and holding in the mouths of these rivers and creeks waiting to charge up stream in order to complete their breeding cycle.

Here is a link to an article from fly fisherman magazine titled 10 great lakes Steelhead Runs I think it best desribes the amazing opportunities the we are afforded here in the midwest to chase the beatuiful and superior fighting fish that run from the great lakes of the region. I also Included and article by Matt Straw on the 12 best Steelhead flies that would help a novice steelheader like my self make an easier selection on what to feed these hardcharging Steelhead.

What I did learn was the truth of how strong this member is of the salmon family, I learned of the Steelheaders of Northern Indiana, the guides and fishermen that devote their time chasing these truly amazing fish. I took some time to gather a couple articles for you to view and I hope you enjoy them, and maybe see you on the next #TheWeekendWade Don't forget to Like us on Instagram @The_Weekend_wade Follow us and Like us on Facebook The Weekend Wade

Comments

White Bass on the fly

Well this has been a busy week, Time to regroup and get that fishing stuff in order. I just had my birthday and that was a great time but now it's back to business. First order up is this great bass fishing we have here in the midwest (nah.. I'm not giving my spots up) The creeks should be packed here in about 6 weeks and I will be ready, no doubt about it. Don't know the big excitement over white bass? Catch one on a 3wt and then let me know, if that doesn't get your blood pumping you're dead. These fish slam various streamers and eat with vengeance. I was lucky enough to get a hold of some great info about a local spot that I had fished before but not for white bass, and oh lord I was missing out on some great early spring action on the fly! White bass fly fishing is as exciting as catching smallies with the opportunity to catch dozens of fish in a few hours. In late April I hit the creek every chance I had, after overtime and on my days off ripping lips o...

Golden Bones and Trash Fish

Carp!?!?! Those fish are trash! That is what I always hear, right after I tell them I fly fish for alot of carp. Their for some reason is a negative opinion about carp and also carp on the fly. I know where I grew up there was always carp and always this opinion of carp in my area. I was always told that carp are "trash fish, Bottom feeders" and they "eat bass eggs." Truth is carp have been here for years are extremely picky and eat a lot of different insects, and are now part of the river system. I hope to change people's opinion on fly fishing and carp in general. Mainly carp are considered bottom feeders and that they kill off or eat the eggs of "game fish" or "native fish" This opinion is not exactly true or correct. Some aspects of the opinion may be correct but are mostly a generalization. I'm not here to get in a debate about carp, that would take all day! I'm cool with less people catching these bad ass fish and I also kin...

River Trash

River trash aka the common carp (click the link for a cool article on the history of carp) are the most exciting and finicky fish in fresh water. People dont just compare these amazing fish to bonefish without a good reason. The carp is a true sport fish and deserves its spot in the river. So that video was pretty exciting, I loved the perspective of the carp angler and the approach. Anyone that doesn't think carp can be a game fish, is simply a fool. These fish are naturalized within the river and lake systems and have earned their spot along with bass and trout as well. The world of fly fishing for carp is exploding all across the United States as anglers see the potential for these fish and target them specifically. The world of carp is ever expanding and being created, their are carp specific fly tourneys, The midwest golden bones , The 3 rivers carp cup tournament I plan to fish both tournaments and try my hand at fishing competitive. I urge anyone in the near are to head ...

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