# slow brookies but nice surprises



## concentroutin (Jan 7, 2014)

Fished a small unmentionable north of Oscoda. Brook trout fishing with crawlers was very slow - one 9" keeper was it. I did however go 2 for 2 on very fresh skipper steelhead (18-20") on spinners. Kinda late in the year I thought, but I kept one and let the other go. Also caught a few steelhead smolts, two small white suckers and a snot rocket (~15") pike at the river mouth. Some kind of good caddis or mayfly hatch - not sure what they were, not a fly guy - but they were NOT hex or brown drake. Probly kept the trout off the crawlers :lol:. Skeeters were thick but manageable, deer flies were just getting started . Nice cool breeze off L. Huron kept the temps down. Won't be back there for a month...


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

Were those Skipper Steelhead blowing eggs? I used to fish Tippy dam quite a bit in summer, for Skamanias. I usually caught some small hen Manistee strain fish that were spawning in July. Not a lot of them, but they were there every summer. It wouldn't surprise me if the same thing happened on some east-side tribs, but were much less well-known. 

Nice report, and thanks.


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## concentroutin (Jan 7, 2014)

Dude, no eggs blowing out of them. I think they may have been just drop-backs, the only thing that threw me off was their condition - bright silver. A neighbor caught a big one about a week ago, so I just think things were really late up there. Last year I caught a silver steelhead in mid-August up there that was missing a fin (hatchery fish), but have not heard of any skams up that way in years!? Hard to say but no complaints!


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## Blaketrout (Feb 9, 2000)

The runs were very very late this year. Heard of double digit days in the past couple of weeks. Chrome fish too. August will usually get some fish moving into the tribs that are true trout streams (remain cool through the summer).. There's a handful of east side rivers where it's possible to fish for lake fish thru the summer..


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