Autumn renews the chase for trout

It was twilight on Elk Creek and in dusky shadows you could see dim shapes of the two anglers a few dozen yards upstream. They were laughing as they splashed from pool to pool, catching a steelhead trout on almost every cast.

That was a decade ago, and Jeff Liskay of North Olmsted and Mike Spanulo of Olmsted Falls were considered two of the best steelheaders. It was a time when steelhead trout were making the scene and only a few waded the rivers for them. The two men prowled the riffles and pools together and helped form the Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders in 1984.

Spanulo has settled down to sell cars. Liskay is still a river rat. When steelhead time rolls around, he can’t resist the allure of the big, silvery trout.

"Mike doesn’t have the chance to go steelheading as much, but we did fish Michigan together last week," said Liskay. "It was a wonderful four days because we got to fish so many different ways. We trolled Lake Michigan, floated the lower Pere Marquette, surf-casted around the mouths of the Little Manistee and Big Manistee rivers and waded the Big Manistee.

"It blew hurricanes, with snow, rain and sleet every day. We were catching cohos, kings and pink salmon and having a ball."

Liskay is back in Ohio this week for a taste of steelheading at its best.

The rivers of northeastern Ohio are clearing after big rains last weekend, high waters that promised to lure runs of trout from Lake Erie. The steelheading should sparkle now and, touring his favorite haunts, Liskay had some thoughts to share.

"The lure of steelheading and salmon fishing for me these days is the hunt," he said. "I’ve had those big days in Ohio when you catch tons of trout. In Michigan, if you catch one or two fish a day you’re doing well. I like that challenge.

"You can’t put a value on the fantastic Michigan scenery. Fishing the Big Manistee River as it flows through thousands of acres of national forest, you’re in awe of your surroundings."

Ohio lacks the pristine landscape but offers far better steelhead trout fishing, said Liskay.

"In Michigan, the water is always low and clear and fish are wary," he said. "In Ohio, every little rain kicks up the streams and muddies the water. That brings fresh fish into the rivers. Trout already in the streams re-position themselves and their guard is down."

Steelheaders in Ohio complain of growing crowds.

"I feel real steelhead fishing is when you work hard all day to locate trout that haven’t been pressured and perhaps catch a half-dozen fish," Liskay said. "Fishermen around here have to expect crowds in every prime hole from the middle of September to the middle of December."

The popularity of steelheading prompted the Ohio Division of Wildlife to buy the Castalia Fish Hatchery, import the premier Little Manistee River strain of trout and double its steelhead stockings this year. It is an expensive program and the crowds of fishermen make it worthwhile, said Liskay.

"Local fishermen are spoiled," said Liskay. "They have the game wired, networking every day to pinpoint river conditions and prime holes. Catching 15 trout or more is an average day. Anywhere else, that would be the steelhead fishing of a lifetime."

Liskay remembers a decade ago when an angler could experience an abundance of trout.

"We’d fish lower Elk Creek [in Pennsylvania] and slam trout all morning," he said. "We’d save the Gun Club stretch for the afternoon. These days, by lunch time the Gun Club pools have been blasted by six groups of guys, that is unless the Steelers are playing."

Liskay does escape the crowds.

"I go to Michigan, places where there are few anglers around and another adventure around every bend," he said. He also probes lesser-known Ohio streams for trout, including the Vermilion and Huron rivers, and small tributaries that few anglers will fish.

The Internet has helped to crowd the prime waters.

"Steelheaders complain about all of the fishermen, then go online to tell each other where stream conditions are best and how many fish they caught that day," he said, laughing. "It’s a way of fishermen doing what they like to do - mainly catch a few fish, stretch the truth and tell tall tales."

E-mail: degan@plaind.com

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