Douglass Oster, Post-Gazette Fishermen stand near the mouth of 12 Mile Creek where it empties into Lake Erie as they fish for steelhead in late March. The lake was still filled with large chinks of ice at that time. Click photo for larger image. Related article: Fishing Notebook: Erie walleye limits could be changed

Big fish seem to characterize this year's steelhead season, with 13 and 14 pounders making an occasional splash on Erie County streams.

"November into December is the peak of the fall run," said steelhead guide and author John Nagy of Brookline. "That's when you'll have the most numbers of fish and when the big boys come in."

With the start of deer hunting season last week, serious steelheaders will find they have more elbowroom on creeks and streams washed free of silt and fallen leaves, and with clear flows and nice green tint.

Water temperatures are beginning to plummet, which means anglers should begin changing tactics, said Nagy, who published "Steelhead Guide: Fly Fishing Techniques and Strategies for Lake Erie Steelhead."

"Water 45 to 38 degrees indicates a transition time. Once it gets below 38 degrees, you're into classic winter steelheading."

A steelhead's metabolism relates directly to water temperatures. If early fall steelhead are lively and acrobatic, winter steelhead are lethargic and less willing to fight. "They're fussy. They literally won't move an inch for a fly," Nagy said. "They'll seek the slowest current area they can find with enough cover to give them a sense of security." That includes the tail-outs of deep sloping pools, slower runs, slack water or slicks adjacent to current edges created by shale ledges and drop-offs. "You'll find them in back eddies, where the current is just barely moving and fish may even end up facing downstream."

Though this fall was marked mostly by low, clear flows, September hurricanes blew out Erie streams, causing significant streambed changes in many places. At Sixteen Mile Creek, for instance, floods caused formation of a waterfall that has hampered upstream steelhead movement. Even veteran Erie anglers may have to walk streams to figure out where the best pools and runs are located. "If you find the winter holding locations, your success will increase remarkably, since 90 percent of the steelhead will be in 10 percent of the water," Nagy said.

Winter tactics call for downsized terminal tackle and precise presentations, he advised. "It means smaller flies and lighter tippet and constantly adjusting your set-up in terms of float sizes, the amount of split shot you use and the distance of the floating indicator to the stream bed where the steelhead are."

While the key is to place your fly on the nose of the fish -- since they aren't going to move to take it -- achieving proper drift can be tough when there isn't much current, especially along ledges and drop-offs in tail-outs and eddies. "That's why I recommend the right angle floating indicator technique. It will give you an effective drift and it's not as difficult as trying to bottom bounce where you're likely to get hung up in slower currents," Nagy said. The right angle forms when you place your floating indicator on your leader at the approximate depth of the water being fished.

Nagy also likes using a tandem fly rig.

"If water is a little stained, I use a bright color egg pattern in a larger size (12 to 8) on top. Below that, I tie a trailer fly, usually a bead-head nymph in a smaller size (16 to 12)," he said. He keeps the two flies relatively close, fewer than six inches apart, and ties most of them, including egg patterns, with beads because that gets them down to the streambed quickly and eliminates the need for much split shot, which can spook fish. His top flies are typically Sucker Spawn, Scrambled Eggs or Half and Halfs in orange, pink or chartreuse, while bottom flies include Bead Head Pheasant Tail Nymphs, Stonefly Nymphs and Flash Back Nymphs. Some of his favorite patterns are Steelie Rock Worm, Bloody Mary and Copper John.

"You want to emphasize the bigger egg pattern, because that's what will attract fish, especially in stained water, and that's what they'll take half the time," he said. "The rest of the time, they'll take the nymph. But you want the fish to see both flies at the same time and give them a choice."

Nagy keeps his split shot four or five inches above the top fly and typically uses 3X fluorocarbon tippet when water is stained and 4X fluorocarbon in clear conditions. He advises against using lighter tippet to compensate for poor technique in drifting flies, because there's a good chance it will break off when you try to land trophy fish.

"You're better off taking the time to learn drag-free drift," he said. "I emphasize technique over lighter tippet."

Nagy also advises that the "take" on winter steelhead can be very soft, especially at the end of a fly drift -- not like in early fall, when fish are far more aggressive.

If there's a bonus to ice water steelheading, it is that anglers can sleep in some.

"You don't want to be out there at first light," Nagy said. "Noon is ideal. Even a couple of degree difference in water temperature can make fish more active."

He offers a few other tips. Try to keep your fly reel from getting dunked, since sub-freezing air temperatures will cause it to lock up. Keep rod guides unfrozen by rubbing them with lip balm or a specially made product. Where streams are frozen, you can break open holes and usually find fish have returned half an hour later. If you're looking for open water even in the middle of winter, try lower Sixteen Mile Creek, which is downstream of a warm-water discharge.