Rich Forsgren, Erie Times-News photo cutline

By Deborah Weisberg

It might be more of a sprint than a run, but early season steelhead have caught Erie-bound anglers delightedly off guard.

"It's the flip side of last year," said fly fishing steelhead guide and author John Nagy of Brookline, who chalks up the action to a string of chilly nights, good rainfall and a summer in which lake temperatures were fairly normal.

"In the summer of 2005, record high water temperatures kept the lakeshore warm until early October. This year, the lakeshore is already at 66 degrees, which has jump-started the fall run of fish.

"We haven't had an early season cool down like this in years," he added. "But it's an ideal scenario because it helps stage large numbers of steelhead along the lakeshore. With good run-off, they'll head into the tribs."

Fish are as far as Route 5 on Walnut Creek and above the Legion Hole on Elk Creek, which has fewer obstructions than Walnut, although fish -- and anglers -- are concentrated in the lower reaches of the streams.

The "Mile" streams on the east side also are getting fish, especially Twenty Mile, which is the largest. And while a lot of the steelhead are jacks, or two-year old males which is typical for this time of year, big chromers are also being landed on Pennsylvania tributaries as well as Ohio's Conneaut Creek and New York's Cattaraugus, Eighteen Mile and Chautauqua creeks. The last two have new all tackle artificial lure catch and release only sections, effective Oct. 1.

Poor Richard's Bait and Tackle, which starts extended weekend hours Friday, weighed three huge steelies from Elk and Walnut creeks last week. They include a 32-inch, 12-pound, 11-ounce fish landed by Mike Komaray of Youngwood, Pa., and two 31-inch fish close to 12 pounds each caught by Rudy Yurkovich of Ellsworth and Wally Myslewski of Greensburg.

"As long as it stays cool, it'll only get better," said Jeff Staaf of Poor Richard's. "It seems this is one of those years when the bigger fish are coming in early. If the lakeshore is 66 degrees, the tribs are even cooler."

How good the next few months will be depends on conditions, with at least one run-off episodes a week the key to keeping fish in streams and initiating new runs.

Dan Nephin, Associated Press Here is the prize. A guide displays a steelhead pulled from Twenty Mile Creek in North East, Pa., in 2004. Click photo for larger image.

"Without runoff, fish in the lower tributaries will head back to the lake, and fish higher up will hide under ledges and drop-offs," Nagy said.

Anglers who don't want to deal with early season crowds might want to wait for a couple more runoff incidents to send fish further up the streams.

Fall runs typically peak in November, at about the same time that cold weather and hunting season begin easing angling pressure. "Until then," said Nagy, "be prepared for elbow-to-elbow fishing and parking problems. At this time of year, it can be insane."

But anglers say it's worth it, since steelhead -- which are energized by warm tributary flows -- are acrobatic and put up a good fight in early fall.

"They're silver bullets at this time of year," Nagy said. "You hook one of the those ... there's nothing like it in freshwater fishing."

This early in the season, anglers should seek the faster water, such as the upper half of the pools, the fast runs and pocket water.

"One of the biggest mistakes anglers make is spending too much time fishing slow water in early fall," Nagy said. "Fish typically don't start dropping into slower water until temperatures fall below 45 degrees."

Because steelhead will chase flies in relatively warm water, Nagy urges anglers to do more than dead-drift egg patterns and bead head nymphs at this time of year.

"Use a more dynamic presentation," he said. "Try stripping wooly buggers and streamers across pools and runs, or, if you can find a larger pool or run that's open, swing a soft hackle fly or a spey fly down and across the current flow. In late fall and early winter, when fish are less active, you can turn to dead drift presentations exclusively."

Anglers fishing low, clear flow should downsize from the bigger, brighter "go to" flies used in early stage run-off to smaller, natural or muted color flies, he said.

"In pressured areas, try something really different, something you've just made up, or switch to a bass, trout or saltwater pattern that steelhead haven't seen before," Nagy added.

And be aggressive when playing fresh-run steelhead on a fly line, he said. "Initially, let the fish run and keep your rod tip high to absorb any surges. Use the drag of the reel to put steady pressure on the fish. Your drag should be set light enough to prevent breaking the tippet."

"In higher flows, be prepared to follow your fish along the bank and steer it around obstacles. Minimizing the amount of line in the water reduces the risk of breakoffs," Nagy said. "Apply constant pressure by pumping your rod with intermittent side-to-side movement to keep the fish off balance. It'll shorten the battle, which gives you more fishing time and minimizes stress on the fish."

Nagy also cautions anglers that shale streams are still slick with algae in early fall, so felt-bottom wading shoes are a must and carbide studs with felt are even better.