CybrSlydr

Outstanding - I'm glad to see there are actually decently priced items out there. Thanks for the help everyone!

How breathable is that jacket? I'm a very warm person and sweat.

Wasn't sure where to put this as I didn't see a forum for apparel and the like - so here goes! Might be trout fishing on Saturday and could be raining in the morning. I don't currently have a jacket I can wear that will keep the wind/water out so I'm asking for your help! Looking around - my God, the price some of you can afford to pay on this gear!!! - shows some absolutely insane prices for jackets. (when I realized you could have over a thousand dollars invested in just a pair of waders and a jacket...) I'm looking at or under the $100 price point. On Tackle Warehouse, they have a jacket that looks like it might fit the bill on sale, but it's XXL (I'm but an XL so far - lol). UnderArmor Storm Surge for like $65. Thank you for your input folks!

Any particular locations on Conneaut Creek?

Funny you say that... Anthony bagged it with his trout net and held it up for the photo-op - my brother never touched the fish! I think he was ok with that. LOL

Today was the big day! My brother and I were taking a trip up to the Cleveland area to do some trout fishing with a guide! We figured that with our luck or ability being so poor that surely with a guide we'd finally start catching some fish! I asked around on Ohio Steelhead Facebook page and eventually settled upon Steelhead Addicts - http://steelheadaddict.com/ Disclaimer: This service was paid for with my own money. Nothing was provided as compensation for this semi-review. We met up with Anthony "Cpin" first around 1:00pm at the Grand River. This is where he introduced to us the techniques involved in floating an egg sac or jig with the current to snag a trout. My brother has a 7 foot rod and I have a 6.5 foot rod - neither of these are long or sensitive enough to really cast the bobber/bait as far as needed. Anthony came prepared! He had a 10ft and 13ft rod with spinning gear (we have spinning reels, so it was an easy transition) rigged and ready to go for us - my brother used the 10ft rod and I used the 13. To say it was awkward to cast with this kind of gear is a bit of an understatement! lol Anthony was very helpful with honing our techniques to get the baits into the strikezone as often as possible. The problem with today is that the high was nearly 80 and it was windy as hell. The water in the Grand river was moving at a leisurely pace but there were quite a few other anglers out trying to snag some chrome. Another issue is newbies like us and the Grand being such a large body of water to try and fish. So after about 45min he decided to take us to the Chagrin river This looked like a great spot! Lots of rocks, shallow, good current - just what you think of when you think trout! So, we set up and waded out and proceeded to give it a go! For the first couple hours, not a single bite again. Anthony said as much would happen and the bite wouldn't pick up until closer to sundown. I cannot count the number of times my brother and I snagged in the trees or under rocks in the river, but we persisted. Anthony was quick to help un-snag us and get our egg sacs back into the river. I felt ridiculous with how many times I was snagged - but he took it all in stride, joking and laughing right along with us. Eventually my brother felt a tug! FISH ON!!! Anthony rushed over and instructed my brother on how to bring in his quarry. About 10ft from shore Anthony said, "Wait a minute, that's not a trout..." My brother, on the left, managed to hook a freaking CATFISH. Anthony, on the right, said this was the first time he's ever taken people out to fish for trout and they've hooked a catfish. This one dwarfs the one I snagged at Hook Lake at AEP - Anthony said this one probably weighed about 8lbs!!! As you can see for yourself, it was a good sized catch! I did not take the picture - his assistant, Mary, snapped this one! As the sun set lower in the sky, a weather front was moving in and we felt some raindrops. By now it was around 6:15 or so and having a 3 hour drive ahead of us and dinner still to go, we decided to call it a day and pack up. The biggest frustration aside from not being able to snag a steelhead was that we saw about five of them splashing around while we were there! Anthony tried just about every trick in the book - maggots, egg sacs, he tossed something that looked like bacon to me in, etc. He gave us the best opportunity he could - the fish just weren't biting today. So, despite the guide, I came up empty for fish and my brother caught what we weren't looking for! lol Like we say, "If it weren't for Sampson luck, nobody else would have any" Despite not being able to catch some chrome, I feel confident in saying I easily recommend looking up Anthony and his service if you are in the mood to fish for some steelhead. He is knowledgable, extremely friendly, extremely well prepared and a pleasure to work with. I would also say make sure you ask his advice on dates for fishing - my brother and I are a bit limited in our choices since Fridays are the only days we have off together, so we pretty much had to take today. Anthony will help you pick a good date that will land you some fish. We made it home about 9:35pm, just about when we expected. All-in-all, still a fun day.

SG1 was my first love - I adored that show!

You sound like Colonel Jack O'neill - two L's.

lol I would think a better judge of if you're doing it right is if you actually catch fish.

Occasionally I'll get something in a tree, sometimes hung up with rocks/branches/vegetation underwater where I can't see.

I've been very pleased with my combination of Berkley Fireline and Stren Flourocast. The only problem is I think I went too light. I've got 8lb Fireline and 6lb flourocast - while it works great and casts very well, I think I want something a bit beefier when the lures get stuck. So, I was thinking of getting some Suffix 832 in 20lb and some 10lb flourocarbon, maybe 12. Thus far the double uni knot has held extremely well - every time I've actually broken off as the flouro snaps below the knot. This will be on a spinning setup. I'm contemplating the 832 because it's a high-strength/small diameter line that will help me cast as far as possible (important when you're shorebound). I'm also considering the upgrade to 10lb flouro just so I've got some more strength on the lure-end so I might not lose as many as I have. lol Going from the 8lb Fireline to the 20lb 832 is an increase of only .002, so I figure casting should be similar.

Well, my results are in and it turns out... I'm pretty boring! https://www.23andme.com/published-report/2c039f6918a846c2/?share_id=9ba043639366483f

Indeed, I did toss him back. I didn't see any value in keeping it and figured the bass needed him to get bigger and they weren't going to do that while he was stuck with me. I didn't have any knives of anything and I've never used any live or cut bait before. Good news is a friend of mine who fishes might be able to get a Jon boat. If the weather is too bad up around Cleveland way for the trout tour we may be heading back to Tycoon Lake with him. I'll make sure to let him know about your suggestions. I've got a KVD 200 jerkbait in sexy shad I belive along with a couple jerkbaits we got recently with LTB. I'll look into the other stuff as well - thank you!

16.6% of all the fish I've ever caught have been on a Ned rig!

Today was an absolutely gorgeous day. Being that it was also a Friday, that means I'm going fishing! This time, my brother did not join me as he was helping one of his friends do... something. So I decided I wanted to head back to Tycoon Lake and give it another go. This time I went with a different phone and thus a different GPS, which took me to a different spot. Looking at the above map, this would be the parking spot/boat ramp on the south east side. I already had a 2.75" stick bait with a 1/8oz Ned Rig Jig tied on so I tossed it out around here for about 15 minutes. Didn't get any nibbles or such, so I packed my stuff back into the car and made for the actual entrance to the park. When I got there, I grabbed the gear and made for the fishing pier. As you can see from the water top, there was a light breeze throughout my time there. I had all my gear, my brother's gear and 3 Lucky Tackle Boxes as well as a few things I picked up at a local bait shop (some flukes, bullet weights and a couple hooks). I figured if I was going to catch anything that today would be the day. I started out with the Ned rig and fished it for about 20 minutes or so. Didn't get anything. So I swapped out to the flukes I bought from the shop - white with chartreuse forked tails. No go. Then I tied on the Storm Arashi Shad from this month's LTB. After a few minutes of slowly cranking this in, I hear and see surface strikes. I was honestly surprised by this. So the next one I saw near me, I cast the squarebill out and reeled it through the area. This is not exactly what I had in mind when I finally felt something on - I dunno what it is, but a friend of mine says it's a shad. It's about 6" long. Here's the fun part - I didn't even hook it in the mouth. Somehow, the treble went behind it's gill and was pointing out its mouth. Here's the lure - So I figured, if the shad are over here feeding then perhaps the bass will be near. So I kept throwing the squarebill, nice and slow. Didn't get any nibbles. So I pulled out some swimbaits from previous LTBs. White one, no bites. Biwaa Tail Gunr, no bites. Rage Craw, no bites. Riot Craw, no bites. Are you noticing a pattern?... So after about 2 hours of trying all these different baits and lures it was around 4:00pm. Sun was starting to get low in the sky so I figured I'd cut my losses and just head home (hour and a half drive). Another disappointing day at the lake, but I can't be too surprised. If the bass were active, they were too far out for me to reach anyway as the water is still probably too cold. Regardless, it was a beautiful day and I had to at least give it a shot.

Well, this certainly wasn't what I'd hoped to put in here as my first fish of the year - let alone thus far ONLY fish of the year...

23andme says they're currently reading my DNA on their chip - allegedly this is the longest part of the process, so this could take a bit. Very anxious to see what I am. I'm pretty sure I know most, but I'm still quite curious.

My brother is 3 years my junior. We get along quite well - I'm glad we have the relationship we have. As for the Steelers bit - I didn't realize that fish were haters!

My Fishing Report posts go back into August - back then we had literally just started, neither of us were working and I was going to school, so we could go about every day if we wanted. Haven't had any luck during those trips either! Eventually I stopped taking pics and posting if we didn't have any luck. So we've tried during the dog-days of summer when the water is too warm and the fish are far away and deep, we've tried it in the fall when it's transitioning, we've tried it in the winter... We've even tried going after trout as something a bit more "seasonal" and haven't gotten so much as a nibble. My brother hasn't even caught a fish yet. In the dozens of trips we've made, this is the sum-total of fish I've caught. And finally... The catfish is actually the first fish I ever caught. And just to prove how terrible we are at fishing, yes - that's a Bomber Flat A that got the catfish. A catfish with a bass lure. We've decided enough is enough and are going to take a guided trip up around Cleveland for some trout fishing. If we can't catch anything while doing that... Well... Maybe we should just go to the equipment section on here and sell our stuff to someone who can better utilize it. lol

You couldn't be more wrong. "No scientific evidence" my you-know-what. http://people.uwec.edu/piercech/zebra/index_files/Page581.htm Zebra mussels are a huge problem because they harm Native Species. In order for a zebra mussel to live, it must attach itself to a hard object. Not only do zebra mussels attach themselves to things like rocks, logs, and the hulls of ships, they also attach themselves to native species. Many native mollusk species are at risk of becoming extinct or endangered because of zebra mussels. Even slow-moving crayfish have been found covered with zebra mussels. Most people think that it’s a good thing that zebra mussels filter contaminants out of the water. Well, it’s not. Zebra mussels contribute to biomagnification—the toxins that they filter out of the water are concentrated in their bodies, and passed on to their predators. The zebra mussels’ main predator is the Round Goby, another invasive species brought from Europe, which is preyed upon by popular gamefish (walleye, bass, and perch). Biomagnification can be a problem for fisherman who eat these fish.1 The 1 liter of water they filter each day contains a lot of phytoplankton and algae which used to be a food source for native species! Over a period of three years (1990-1993) the water clarity in Lake Michigan increased from a maximum visible depth of 13 feet to 31 feet because of zebra mussels.2 This increased water clarity also allows more sunlight to filter in and support plant life, fostering the advancement of eutrophication. https://www.umesc.usgs.gov/invasive_species/zebra_mussels.html https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Threats-to-Wildlife/Invasive-Species/Invasive-Mussels.aspx Why are they a problem? Because they attach themselves to hard surfaces and can produce millions of offspring annually, Zebra mussels have caused drastic declines in native clam and mussel populations in some locations. Zebra mussels compete with other invertebrates and young fish for plankton, the primary food source for these groups. Industries that use river water for cooling and other uses spend millions of dollars annually for cleaning intake structures clogged by the mussels. They eat the plankton that bait fish eat. If the bait fish have nothing to eat, what are the game fish going to eat when the bait fish die off? The evidence is out there.

I just got a kit from 23andme and am awaiting the results. We got my dad one from family tree DNA for Christmas and he found out he's 95% European ( 60 Scandinavian and 30 English ) and 5% Middle Eastern. I'm expecting to get most German on mine from my mom'said side.

With our current inability to catch anything I've made the decision to go on a guided trip to catch some fish. I'm a member of Ohio Steelhead (or something like that) on FB and was told to check out Steelhead Addicts. I chatted with the proprietor on FB last night and came away quite pleased with his knowledge and pricing. So I think on the 17th, my brother and I will put in a reservation to go trout fishing with them on the 24th. I'll be sure to post up how things go - possibly a mini-review of their service if any of you in the area feel like taking them up on a trip. http://steelheadaddict.com/ I will admit their webpage could use a good proof-read (some poor grammar and spelling) but the price is right and as I mentioned, the proprietor came across as a good guy and knowledgeable. Looking forward to the trip!

Here's a post I made on another forum to someone who asked a similar question to you. I'm just cpy/pasting the entire thing.

Former roomie of mine and good friend lives up there and attends. He has a blast.