Steelhead Run - 2014

[fishing89]

Hello All,

With the worst winter in decades and most rivers being frozen solid for months...what do you predict the run will be like this year? This time last year I was fishing open sections of the C and not a chunk of ice in sight.

I predict the temperatures will remain like this until second week of march, meaning the melt off will only start tapering off beginning of April....brutal. Blown rivers and downed trees from that ice storm should make for a very interesting opener

 

[BowSlayer]

i don't see why the run would be worse then other years, i would think better if anything, fish can still get through under the ice and they are not getting hammered by fishermen either so it should be a good run, they're running well under the ice in the east, going up, i suspect they will be higher up the rivers then usual but who knows.

 

[miles]

I still have my fingers crossed for a slow melt. With the large amount of snow covering most of the drainage areas for the northern tribs I expect the transition from lock up to blown may be fast. I don't really expect a month of double digit days this year but only time will tell.

 

[staffman]

There will be fish !

 

[classic drifter]

since we got not place to goooo,,, let it thaw let it thaw, let it thaw!!!!

 

[Shmogley]

a bit worried that the huge amounts of melt off will let most healthy fish blow through all the good spots too quick but other then that, the reduced pressure cant be a bad thing right?

but yes there definitely will be fish!

 

[[email protected]]

my prediction, high fast waters in april and fish will blow through, wil be the year of the fish, thats for sure, either that, or with the waters being so cold, and zero angling pressure, they are just going to hold tight in one spot all winter long and when the first melt comes all hell will break loose

 

[Fishheads]

high water spring this year up this way, almost 100% on that. No different then the fall we had. All round I figure this was a great spawning season for the steal. the run will start later this year so the fish will be in the systems longer. IMO I believe the urge to spawn is triggered by water temps so they will be kicking around now but have not started the main spawn run. again IMO

 

[chinooky]

agree with the above post. The run will start later and then all hell will break loose! Make sure you have some days off cuz I'm sure the best days will not happen on weekends

 

[OCDComputing]

Dang I hope its a late run...when I was scouting last year they were stacked up 2 weeks before open...but on opening...*poof* gone!

 

[BASSMASTER19]

hopefully the salmon runs are late because im not gonna be here in august lol

 

[classic drifter]

where you goin CT???

 

[Float_down]

Buddy of mine checked out some holding pools yesterday out east, he said there is only a 10-15 fish per pool, last year, there were hundreds in those same pools this time of year. Another buddy that lives out that way said they had a tin boat out front of one of the smaller systems and marking tons of fish and catching them pretty good too.
It's been a depressing winter for steel heading to say the least, there is open water out there though, and small runs of fish coming in.

 

[steelhead101]

this should be a great year for those who love bush waking to the hidden pools far up river, not a fan of fishing the mouths/open sections of the rivers shoulder to shoulder so it looks like a win win for me!

 

[fishfearme]

A good spring for the fish, not the fisherman. All the snow my way means that the rivers will blow out quickly and remain that way for a while. I'm sure everything is later this year. The last few years, by this time of year I've been into dropbacks (fall run fish spawn early, in colder water than their spring run counterparts) but this year it would appear that the early spawners are at least a couple of weeks from doing so, and that really depends on the water temp rising.

 

[garrett20]

I would have to agree with the consensus that it's going to be a wet spring for sure
We haven't seen this much snowfall in a long while
The fishing pressure will be high I'm sure,but
If it does turn out to be a "fish" year,
that should help the spawn rate,
which in turn would lead to a better future

 

[salmotrutta]

Lest we forget, if the ice melts slowly and we have a dry Spring, some tribs may not be blown at all. I agree with the general consensus of a later thaw / run, but still many variables at play. And to quote Kramer, "Mother Nature is a maaaaaad scientist!"

 

[[email protected]]

well its not just the ice, its all the snow as well, the ground is frozen solid, so its all going to run into the creeks, some will blown for a couple days, some will blown for a while.

 

[rich_ace_G]

If you can brave out this very cold weather...you will have a great time right now. If you can find open water...it won't matter if it's a 3 feet wide ditch or 20 feet wide mad river. the fish are coming in. i have only fished a couple of times since January and have caught my limit. Rivers are pretty much frozen all over GTA but the mouths are open...just be careful though. My next outing will be without a rod. I will go upstream and see if I can take some footage of how much steels have reached the promise land...undetected.

 

[goodentight]

From Nov - now last season, I had 50-60 days in steeling, averaging 2-3 fish outings. This season? PFFT. I took last year for granted. We got out and found open water second week of January and my buddy and I each pulled up chromers, it was awesome. Thats all I have been able to fish. Even the mighty Niagara is having one heck of a time compared to last season.

Can't win em all.

Agreed with everyone saying fish have been running, hooking up with chromers in January was a perfect example of that. Go trout go! If we can't have at em, I am glad there is still the benefit of them bangin away angler free.

This winter, searching for open water and only finding sheets of ice has been about as much fun as slamming non alchoholic beers.

Give it a week or two, if these temps keep up, eventually something has to blow open.