One of my favourite types of fish to target is steelhead on the open water. Nothing like putting the Walker downriggers on the back of the Ranger and hitting the open water in search of high flying, drag screaming steelies.
For me steelhead fishing is located on the Lake Erie waters from Wheatley to Erieau Ontario. Here the bite usually starts near the end of June and runs until about the Labour Day weekend. Wheatley and Erieau are located in southwestern Ontario and are the fishing ports for many commercial fishing vessels. Here many of the great lakes fish hit the super markets and many restaurants. It is also home to many charter fishing boats that seek walleye, perch and steelhead for their clientele.
From Windsor this trip is about 1 hour to the east. I find myself headed to Wheatley more often in the last few years as the steelhead fishing has been excellent. Many of these steelies come from the US waters of Ohio and Pennsylvania and follow the food to the north shore of Lake Erie before they return to US waters near the end of August. I think I would be there every chance I could if I ate trout or salmon. Although they are a great eating fish for many they just don't agree with my taste buds. I have tried them many ways but still don't go over well.
The use of downriggers and dipsey divers is what most use to catch these chrome bullets. Whether you use manual or electric downriggers is a personal choice. I use Walker electric downriggers to make my job as a guide easier. Fishing here is usually done is 40 to 70 feet of water and electric downriggers are not necessary but I do travel to other locations on Lake Ontario and Lake Michigan where fishing can be much deeper.
One of the most important pieces of equipment for me is my graph/GPS.
It also contains a Navionics chip that is preloaded with plenty of detail of bottom contour and boating information. I am constantly watching the graph for bait and checking the GPS when I locate a school of active fish. Catching fish is usually easy; finding fish that want to bite is the tough piece of the puzzle. Once active fish are located continue to do what worked. Although "you" may not be adjusting your speed I am always checking my GPS for speed as things will change due to underwater currents, waves and wind.
Speed is critical for establishing a piece of the pattern.
With 2 or 3 people on board I generally run a basic 4 rod set up, 2 on the downriggers and 2 dipsey diver rods. Downrigger and dipsey diver rods are built for the stress that is put on them. I use Shimano Talora medium action dipsey diver rods and Shimano TDR downrigger rods. These rods seem soft but have the power to haul in these ballistic steelies. My downrigger rods are 9 footers and 10 footers for the dipsey. When fishing with a 3 people and where allowed I will run stackers or sliders to try and locate more fish. Stackers are another type of downrigger release that attaches to the cable and allows you to put another rod out. If you are looking to purchase rods and reels for this type of fishing buy matching gear. It not only looks good but makes sense. Matching rods and reels will have the same action and will react the same way. Just like a set of golf clubs, same feel and same action.
Steelies are notorious jumpers and scream line as they strike your lure. When a fish is hooked it is important to get to the rod quickly and take up the slack like "Jack the Bear". In many cases these fish hit the lure and are headed to the surface in short time. This is where many are lost if you cannot get to the rod quickly and take up that slack. Distance behind the cannon ball can make a difference, so vary your "leads" and make adjustments as necessary. I keep my leads from 20-50 behind the cannon balls and determine which is working best. Each day is different so be prepared to change as conditions do.
There are a number of downrigger releases that come in various styles. I use the Offshore Tackle OR-1 medium tension downrigger release. These are a pinch pad style release. Offshore Tackle also makes a light and heavy tension release too. When using the Offshore Tackle OR-1 release I put the line in to of the way into the pad. This ensures the line to stay in the release without tripping falsely.
Steelhead fishing will take a toll on your equipment and your line is what connects you to the fish. Having quality fishing line is a must. Choosing the right pound test will help. I use 14# or 17# Gamma High Performance fishing line for my downrigger applications. Dipsey divers pull more on your rods and reels and come with a dive curve chart that is estimated when using 20# line. Keep that dive curve chart on your boat or in the tackle box. What I have done is enlarge the chart and had it laminated. This ensures that the chart will not get wet and be ruined. There are numerous calculations on the chart with the different settings so keeping the chart is important.
Steelhead fishing takes place in many locations across the province and country so lures will vary a bit. I use spoons for most of my open water steelhead fishing. They come in a number of sizes and have different applications but I generally use the medium sized spoons. Two companies that make great spoons are RAC and Michigan Stinger. RAC is a local company based in Windsor and as a former charter boat operator RAC knows the baits and colours that catch fish. Michigan Stinger is a well known major tackle company that has a huge selection of baits and accessories for anglers. They also have a colour chart have on their website to make your decisions a little bit easier. Once again print a copy of the colour chart and keep it in the boat. There are too many colours to memorize them all and when listening to the marine radio chatter it can take the guess work out of deciding if you have the right bait on.
Fishing offshore can be intimidating and dangerous some items you should have on board are pliers, a marine radio or cell phone and of course a compass. The fishing action can be great and the leaps these fish will boggle your mind. So if you get a chance give it a try whether it is with a guide, charter boat or a friend. As you know there is some special equipment that is needed and you may not want to invest more until you have tried downrigging first hand.
If you enjoy fishing, I am sure you will enjoy the thrill of steelhead fishing. Check your local area and there may be a chance it is closer than you think. And soon, you to could be hanging on the end of a drag screaming, line peeling, airborne steelhead!