Fly-fishing guide Ray Travis wades deftly through Elk Creek, passing a dozen other anglers on his way to a promising hole.

It's the Friday before a long holiday weekend and steelheaders are hoping recent snowmelt has bolstered flow in the streams. Although the cold water temperature has raised creek levels, it slowed the upstream advanceof a lot of fish. Steelhead in the middle reaches of Erie's largest west-side tributary have been here a couple of weeks, since the first good soaker of the season.

"I'm not seeing many fish, but if they're in there, they're probably along that seam," Travis says, pointing to a ribbon of dark water halfway across the creek. He ties on a salmon-colored sucker spawn with three split shot and casts to a likely spot.

We are in a valley with woods on one side and a steep embankment on the other, downstream from Folly's End Campground on Rt. 98 near Gerard.

Judging from the half-exposed roots of tall trees -- their orange and yellow leaves a stunning contrast to the bluff's blue shale -- it is easy to see how high the creek can rise, and how low it has been for much of this year.

Even when fish are running in the tribs, crowds tend to thin as temperatures fall -- particularly during antlered deer season, which runs through Dec. 8 -- offering anglers willing to brave the cold a nice change of pace.

"As steelhead become less active, you need to fish a little slower, maybe put more weight on your line or adjust your strike indicator to slow the drift down," says Travis, manager of Lake Erie Ultimate Angler shop. "Swinging flies can still work well, whether it's wet flies or streamers. Just try to slow that presentation down because fish may see your fly but not go for it when water is cold."

Travis is partial to egg patterns from fall through early spring.

"I might change colors throughout the day. If they're not hitting eggs, I'll go to a Little Stonefly nymph or Pheasant Tail or Wooly Buggers drifted like nymphs," he says. "When I see fish pairing up trying to find a place on gravel, that's probably the most fun, trying to swing streamers and larger wet flies in front of them. You get to see how the fish react to your fly as it approaches them in the water."

Presentation must be precise when fish are reluctant to move, which can be more challenging for novice steelheaders, Travis says.

"You have to get your fly or your lure in front of the fish. You have to learn how to control your drift to keep it in line with where fish are holding, whether you see them or where you think they are when conditions don't allow you to see them."

Erie tribs tend to rise and fall quickly. The larger ones are the last to recede after a runoff event. Travis says it pays to become familiar with smaller tribs that may be fishable when larger tribs aren't.

"You see people going back to the same holes, but I'd encourage them to explore any new place that looks like it could hold a steelhead. [Exploring] the little ledges and logjams that fish tuck up under can increase your catch rate," he says. "Drop a fly into smaller pocket waters. Even riffles can be productive before water gets terribly cold."

The time to learn new streams is in milder weather.

"Fishing tribs, or just walking them in the spring, summer or fall and noting where fish might hold, can be a big benefit later," Travis says. "Of course, the key to whether the fish are there is flow. Last year, we had plenty of water in the fall and through the early winter. This year, at least so far, it has been very different."

Although snowmelt and other runoff can make streams murky, low water in the coldest months can be clear and will dictate the size of an angler's tackle.

"I always use the lightest tippet fish will let me get away with," says Travis, who usually fishes a 10-foot, 6-weight rod. "I use 3X and 4X [tippet] a lot. It's a rarity when I have to go to 5X. If the fish are there and they look at the pattern, but [there are] no takes, I'll drop down in my tippet and maybe drop down a fly size, too."

One of the biggest drawbacks to winter steelheading is the discomfort of standing in frigid water or wrestling with slush and snow, says Travis. Anglers who get cold may be too distracted to focus on their fishing.

"For two months out of the year I will wear a boot foot wader and not have to leave the water," he says. "A boot foot keeps you warmer than a stocking foot. Some guys, it doesn't bother. But my toes tend to get cold and I'd rather be warm."

On the plus side, winter steelheading allows for a leisurely breakfast, since anglers need not be fishing at the crack of dawn.

"You usually have to wait for the sun to be up to get everything moving and flowing," Travis says. "In winter, even a temperature difference of 2 or 3 degrees can make a big difference between lethargic and active fish. Usually a sunny day will do it."

Another bonus, he says, is that some of the biggest steelhead run in December.

"It's an oddity, and the run is very small, but you'll see 12-plus pound fish come into the creeks just before the worst winter weather," he says. "Usually rainfall triggers it, because it's warmer than snowmelt."

How cold is too cold for steelhead fishing? Travis wraps up his season once the riffles freeze.

"With skim ice on the slower pools, you can usually kick open a layer and make the water fishable," he says.

"Once the riffles freeze up, the pools will be even more solid."