Anglers seeking big steelhead without big crowds may find Conneaut Creek made to order, especially at this time of year when fish have reached the remote upper portion of Pennsylvania's largest Lake Erie tributary.

"December is when I generally start looking at Conneaut, although good flow brought steelhead in earlier this year," said Mike Laskowski of Oil Creek Outfitters, who fishes the stream in Ohio and Pennsylvania, depending on conditions.

"Ohio used to be more like a wild stream, but fishing pressure has really ballooned there. The Pennsylvania side is much less crowded and you can catch some really nice fish there."

Conneaut comes on shore at Conneaut, Ohio, and meanders for 25 miles before entering Pennsylvania in a southeast direction just west of Albion.

Although it veers into an East and a West Branch, the main stem flows for about 75 miles along Route 98 to its headwaters in Dixonburg, Crawford County. State Gamelands 101 on the West Branch -- with its guaranteed public access -- is one reason the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission began stocking Conneaut four years ago, augmenting the Little Manistees that Ohio has been planting for 15 years.

"You're not going to walk to a hole and find 100 fish at your feet," said steelhead guide and author John Nagy. "Conneaut's big water and the farther fish run, the more they tend to scatter. But if you're willing to sacrifice numbers, you can have a quality fishing experience.

"Pennsylvania steelheaders are spoiled. They don't realize there's a type of steelheading where hunting and finding fish is as much a part of the challenge as catching. They're lost on big water."

The Pennsylvania stockings, intended to relieve pressure on creeks such as Walnut and Elk, are now producing bona fide fall runs of fish, said Nagy, who wrote "Steelhead Guide: Fly Fishing Techniques and Strategies for Lake Erie Steelead." But they also have brought more anglers to the lower reaches of Conneaut, in Ohio, where steelhead tend to concentrate more. As a consequence, the postings that plague anglers on other Erie streams have spread to Conneaut's Ohio waters, with landowners leasing to fishing clubs and guides, or blocking public access altogether.

The area around Conneaut is the only semi-urban part of the stream, most of which flows through farmlands and woods and supports a diverse fishery, including bass and walleyes.

The slower-moving section from the Pennsylvania border to Albion, with its sandy, muddy bottom, is a muskie destination. It also is wild and scenic and offers the prospect of bald eagle sightings. As the stream wends its way toward the East and West branches, it regains faster pools and runs.

An old Erie-Bessemer Railroad dam on Temple Run -- an East Branch tributary -- is a steelheading hotspot.

Conneaut is dependent on runoff for fishable flows, especially in Ohio. Agricultural runoff gives the Pennsylvania section a perpetual stain, especially in high flows.

"You don't see low, gin-clear water," said Fish Commission biologist Chuck Murray. "Most anglers are sight fishermen. Because Conneaut's always off-color, you're not going to see steelhead. You're going to have to hunt for them.

"But steelhead can move 25 miles in a day, and in years like this one, with a lot of rainfall, they're going to be in there. Use spring trout-fishing tactics. Fish the undercut banks, the heads or tails of pools. Read the water."

Although Pennsylvania steelhead are a mix of strains, including domesticated rainbows, Ohio's Little Manistees are a wild steelhead from naturally reproducing fish in Michigan's Little Manistee River. They run in late winter and early spring, although some trickle in during the fall.

"They're a livelier, stronger fish and bigger on average than the Pennsylvania strain. They're better fighters," Nagy said. "You'll know when you hook a Little Manistee, trust me."

Nagy suggests using heavier tippet, which isn't a problem in Conneaut's stained water, and bigger flies, including bright colored egg patterns or bead head nymphs.

"I like to swing flies, like wooly buggers and streamers and spey flies, because of the bigger runs and pools," he said. "Conneaut is conducive to that presentation."

If predictions of a cold winter pan out, anglers can expect to see a very defined spring run.

"If the lake shore melts and the tributaries thaw, the spring run could start in early March," Nagy said. "A mild winter brings fish in sooner and dilutes the spring run. The best scenario is a cold winter."

Some anglers have success trolling the Lake Erie near the mouth of Conneaut Creek. Bruce Frerotte and his cousin Jeff have fished there for years and this past fall boated a 17-pound steelhead.

"On weekends, you'll find just half a dozen people trolling there," Bruce Frerotte said. "Fall is the best time for trophy fish, because females are putting on weight. In the fall, we go to long narrow baits and in spring we run small fat lures. In spring, we catch white fish, too. Last fall, we got some nice brown trout and a pink salmon."