# Huron Chatter



## Steelmon (Mar 30, 2009)

I don't think many people were out during the week, with the wind and cold. I know I wasn't. I did get out yesterday and caught a small male, saw another caught, and another lost. This was down river though, as Huroc Park still remains dead. Yesterday, I went by the park twice and asked around. I was told there weren't any fish caught up there. I was told there hasn't been a decent day up there since the tournament. That is just odd. Huroc Park should be producing now. I'm almost convinced that just not that many fish returned this year, at least so far. There aren't enough good spots downstream to hold a good run of fish. Many of them would have to move upstream in search of holes.

The weather forecast is one for a good week, but who knows, with the way the year has been going. Let's hope the water change brings more fish up.

An interesting little tidbit I heard. Last Saturday, someone caught 10 fish in a certain spot and one was a salmon. Salmon run late in the huron, most not even showing up till sometime in November. This is about as late in the year as I've ever heard of one though. Yesterday, that spot was D.O.A.


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## Downriver Steel (Sep 15, 2005)

Take a boat on the huron and then tell me there aren't a lot of spots downstream.

Main point here is that there is the possibility that there are a few holes with 10 or 15 fish in them. I have (myself personally) witnessed 9 fish come out of one stretch about 40 yards long a couple years ago. It is possible. It does happen. Albeit rare, it does happen. In other words, dont knock the retruns yet. There is a lot of water that people cannot wade to that is prime water including many trees covering half the river that these damn fish sit under. Its the truth, they are there, you just have to entice them to come out and play.


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## glongworth3232 (Oct 18, 2006)

The Huron river is very under estimated!!Any one with a boat that has been up from Lake Erie knows there hare dozens of holes and spots for fish to hide.


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## Chromedoggy (Mar 25, 2007)

Steelmon said:


> I don't think many people were out during the week, with the wind and cold. I know I wasn't. I did get out yesterday and caught a small male, saw another caught, and another lost. This was down river though, as Huroc Park still remains dead. Yesterday, I went by the park twice and asked around. I was told there weren't any fish caught up there. I was told there hasn't been a decent day up there since the tournament. That is just odd. Huroc Park should be producing now. I'm almost convinced that just not that many fish returned this year, at least so far. There aren't enough good spots downstream to hold a good run of fish. Many of them would have to move upstream in search of holes.
> 
> The weather forecast is one for a good week, but who knows, with the way the year has been going. Let's hope the water change brings more fish up.
> 
> An interesting little tidbit I heard. Last Saturday, someone caught 10 fish in a certain spot and one was a salmon. Salmon run late in the huron, most not even showing up till sometime in November. This is about as late in the year as I've ever heard of one though. Yesterday, that spot was D.O.A.


Did you hear if it was a Ho or a King?
I hear of a few every year throughout steelhead alley


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## bntz313 (Aug 13, 2009)

I'm still hoping I can get out some time and catch dome steel. I can only wade and shore fish tho, so those spots you guys talk about reaching with boats will have to wait for me to hit.


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## Downriver Steel (Sep 15, 2005)

Quick report, was out for an hour. Water has dropped and is becoming pretty clear. Possibly as much as 2 1/2 feet of visibility which is amazing for the Huron. No fish for me though. Good luck guys. Time to study for my finals. I hate being a law student. The end result of all this stress and studying better be worth it.


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## Jim..47 (May 5, 2009)

I read a post in another thread a couple weeks ago that claimed the run for steelies was over for the year. Was that true or intentionaly missleading?

This is my first year ever to try river fishing for steelies, I haven't got the first one yet but hope to get back over there sometime next week.

One more question please. As I stated above, I am unfamiliar with this river. Is there another maybe better place to put in a boat with the chance of fishing for steelies other then the small launch next to Telegraph rd?


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## streamertosser (May 20, 2008)

Jim..47 said:


> I read a post in another thread a couple weeks ago that claimed the run for steelies was over for the year. Was that true or intentionaly missleading?
> 
> This is my first year ever to try river fishing for steelies, I haven't got the first one yet but hope to get back over there sometime next week.
> 
> One more question please. As I stated above, I am unfamiliar with this river. Is there another maybe better place to put in a boat with the chance of fishing for steelies other then the small launch next to Telegraph rd?


Over? no... slowed down a bit, yes. They can be caught all the way through winter, and probably one of the biggest reasons we don't hear about as many being caught during the winter months is the fact that not as many people are out targeting them. 

Keep on trying for them, continue doing what you're doing along with trying any and everything else that you haven't yet tried. Many a fishing trip has became successful in the last 20 minutes of it when an angler decided to throw some hail marys out there before hooking up.

For a boat launch... there's really not a "better" place to launch from than the telegraph launch other than down at the mouth of the river, the only other launch is at I-75 which is crude at best. I wouldn't recomend it on a warm day without 4X4, it's kinda steep and very soft.

good luck and tight lines!


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## Steelmon (Mar 30, 2009)

I know a lot of guys that have been boating all season and very few of them have been hitting big numbers, even in the best holes. Why would the fish all hold downstream this year, as opposed to any other? Why would there be so many days when they don't want to eat, when they move into the river to feed? I don't see any other way to explain the lack of fish at Huroc Park, which should have plenty of fish right now. Why wouldn't they have pushed up there by now? Someone will have to explain that to me before I believe we have a normal run. I am hoping that more fish will trickle in with the weather change though. It could be that the fishes biological clocks were thrown off by the long warm fall. Of course I'm just speculating here, so maybe I'll accept that I could be wrong. Can anyone point out another year where the fish didn't show up in Flat Rock in any numbers, but it was a good run? 

Yesterday I caught a bright chrome male, so that is a good sign that maybe more fish are moving in. He was caught on a chartreuse spawn bag. That was my only fish though. I lost 5 jigs and floats, got more line snaffus than bayer has aspirin, and broke my favorite rod. I earned that fish. I've been catching fish pretty consistently, but not it the usual numbers. 

Chromedoggy; I wasn't told what brand of salmon was caught, and forgot to ask, sorry.


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## Toga (Nov 11, 2009)

Steelmon I would not say there is a low return rate for this year just yet. The fall steelhead that run up in the fall do so instictivly as part of their feeding pattern. Instinct tells them to run up the river and get their feed bag on by feasting on salmon eggs. With there being a tiny amount of salmon in the huron each fall these days I would imagine a large portion of the population will come in and blow back out into the lake to feed until spring when they come in to spawn. They do at least have shad to feed on but those are about done now too. Once the shad are done the steelhead fishing slows down. The huron is also a warm water stream. Trout live in cold water which is why they don't show up in the huron till the temps start to drop quite a bit. With the warmer weather (and water) we had this fall not as many steelies would want to stick around after they come up to get their grub on. A percentage will always stay in of course but with the lack of their favorite fall food (salmon eggs by the pound) and the warmer water most will go back to the lake till its egg laying time.

Also have you gotten any reports from those that fish up stream? Since the fish ladder was put in I have caught way more fish in the upper stretches of the river over the years.


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## bigsablemike (Apr 26, 2005)

44 inch,28 lb muskie,5 days ago,not by me,below bellville dam.
14 inches from back to belly.
one badass fish,dude jumped in the water over waist deep to land it.
kept it to mount.


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## Frogfish101 (Apr 5, 2007)

nice 'ski! Do you know what it hit? I'm guessing a Hot n Tot?


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## Steelmon (Mar 30, 2009)

I agree that many fish may have gone back out to the lake for a lack of a good overall food supply. What I don't buy is that the fish will be in holes in any number, yet refuse to eat, in the fall. If there are a few fish in a hole, a couple of them are going to be hungry. The fall rain will dislodge a lot of food and wash it downstream. This fall was too dry for any large amounts of food to be washed down.

I fish above the ladder but don't usually do well until spring.


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## Michigander1 (Apr 5, 2006)

This yr is a Very Very slow yr.Fish just are not in like in the past.Boat or no boat.Its going to be an off yr.Fish just are not holding in any certin area or holes.We had rain cold everything neded for a great push.And it did not happen.Maybe they will come up in the months to come.But this is the 1st yr i seen it myself so slow.Mich


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## Shoeman (Aug 26, 2000)

I'm sure all the publicity didn't help

Counted 6 trailers at the top on a weekday. A few more from the bottom and you have 10 boats working 8 good holes. Add a few bankies and the marginal run that entered are caught out. If last week's rain didn't bring any, we'll all be waiting for that Mid-Winter thaw (providing the shallows at the mouth won't be choked with ice)

Go West!


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## ESOX (Nov 20, 2000)

bigsablemike said:


> 44 inch,28 lb muskie,5 days ago,not by me,below bellville dam.
> 14 inches from back to belly.
> one badass fish,dude jumped in the water over waist deep to land it.
> kept it to mount.


He is going to mount a 44" fish? Damn, next thing you know they will be mounting Emerald Shiners. :lol:


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## Michigander1 (Apr 5, 2006)

Shoeman said:


> I'm sure all the publicity didn't help
> 
> Counted 6 trailers at the top on a weekday. A few more from the bottom and you have 10 boats working 8 good holes. Add a few bankies and the marginal run that entered are caught out. If last week's rain didn't bring any, we'll all be waiting for that Mid-Winter thaw (providing the shallows at the mouth won't be choked with ice)
> 
> Go West!


 Well said.This sight does wonders for the lower river ,Mich


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## Shoeman (Aug 26, 2000)

Not just here

Previous magazine articles, fishing contests and the newspapers. They made it sound like the St Joe or Manistee. :lol:


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## Toga (Nov 11, 2009)

Shoeman I agree it has been hyped up to be a better steelhead river than it is by the media. In their defence it is by far better for steelies now than it was in the 80's when I first started fishing it due to increased plants but it still has no where near the numbers of fish you see on the manistee, grand, or the joe nor will it ever.


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## Downriver Steel (Sep 15, 2005)

You guys are certainly right. However, there are some really good days to be had out there too. You really gotta fish it a lot though to have one of those banner days. Also, the best days I have seen out there have all been in the WORST conditions (terrible weather - steady cold rain). Thats steelhead fishing!!!!


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## Toga (Nov 11, 2009)

You definately have to put your time in to find the honey holes just like any river. Cant wait till spring. Till then I'll tie up my supply of flys for the year


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## Steelmon (Mar 30, 2009)

I believe that DNR Reports, articles and other media do more damage than we do. If you followed all the posts this season you saw that no one here was raving about the river. What we've been writing shouldn't cause a big increase in traffic on the river. It should have had folks running away. I think that we just have a lot of people out of work, with time on their hands. Many of them can't afford trips across the state, so they opt to take a chance on the Huron. I've talked to several guys that are really tight on cash right now.

Don't want to sound like a C&O advocate, but when things are tough, like they are, others could benefit from it [IMO]. It's just a suggestion to try to squeeze out a half way decent winter. I've released every fish this year, so some of you can thank me for that nice catch.

I just want to throw something in here, a little off topic. I was fishing in the rain a few days ago. One of my reels has a waterproof drag, the other doesn't. The next day I took both apart to clean and lube them. The regular drag was a mess. The grease was washed out and the felt washers were all wet. The waterproof drag was fine. So, be sure to keep an eye on your reels, when fishing in the slop. The last thing you want is that Trophy Steelie to make a big run and have your drag stick for even a second. I've had it happen, years ago. That was a brand new reel, first use, with the drag not properly lubed. That's when I became anal about my drags. Factories don't always do the best job of lubing a new reel [IMO]. You may also consider a reel with a waterproof drag, if you're in the market and have the extra money.


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## bigsablemike (Apr 26, 2005)

Frogfish101 said:


> nice 'ski! Do you know what it hit? I'm guessing a Hot n Tot?


a chrome rattle trap.


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## Steelmon (Mar 30, 2009)

I went to Huroc Park yesterday. I got there at 11:30 am. There were 4 cars in the entire parking lot, and no one else was fishing. I hit a favorite hole pretty hard, without even a tap. I went by the boat ramp; not one car in the place. I went to another favorite hole downstream and hit it hard. Not even a tap. One other guy fishing, but he left as soon as I started. It looked like he didn't have any luck either. It was a nice day though, with no wind chill. There should have been a lot more fishermen out. It was almost eerie. The Little Dipper was closed. They had a few days blacked out on their hours sign, but I didn't check which ones. it looked like most of the weekdays. So, i would call them before going.


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