Black_Ghost
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Thick Tail
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Thanksgiving Steelheading
Winter identifies the real hard core steelheaders, god I love it and hate it, but love it more than any other time of the year.

BG
-------------------- "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool."
Jane Wagner
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Will fish for food
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Thick Tail
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Loc: South West Washington
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I love Snow Steel. But I remember 78/79 lots of snow and -70 deg below zero and some of the ice was 3' thick. WFFF
-------------------- Take A Kid Fishing It Will Be Good For Both Of You
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silverfly
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Silver
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Loc: Livingston Mtn, WA
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I see that the expression "heating up" is a relative term in the midwest. 
Snow and chrome sure makes a purdy pic!
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BobK
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Yeah... but following that we had a warm few days (new record of 67 deg. here), and the white stuff disappeared. However, NOT TO WORRY! The snow will be back by tomorrow!!
BobK
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Black_Ghost
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Snowing right now in Chicago 1 inch or more, roads are not good. Winter season is here for sure now.
BG
-------------------- "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool."
Jane Wagner
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BorntoFish
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Team Old Phart
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Wow BG, great pic, but my nuggets retracted at the sight of that snow - Brrrrrrrrrr! 
Got word from my brother that the brown's are getting active along the Milwaukee lakefront and on the Milwaukee River providing some action for bank/shore fishers. Don't know how long this has been going on but hopefully the action will continue to pick up for the Cheeseheads - not much reason to stay home to watch Packers games.
-------------------- CCA Member
TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
Team Moose Drool
Team Old Phart
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Black_Ghost
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Yep the Brown action is heating up from my WI insiders
BG
-------------------- "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool."
Jane Wagner
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rippin_lips
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steelie
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That is when it is at its best, goto luv it, nice fish to.
-------------------- Before you criticize someone, walk a mile in their shoes. That way you are a mile away and you have their shoes.
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BobK
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The BEST time is about November 10th, here in NY. They are ACTIVELY spawning then, the peak of the cycle. But they stay in the stream into Jan. and I have caught some good ones then.
BobK
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Black_Ghost
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I just saw a picture of what was stated to be a high 20lb lake run brownie from a WI trib, what a beast, released too.
It looked like a big king salmon in dark spawning colors if you want to see it I can link it ?
BG
-------------------- "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool."
Jane Wagner
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Mojo
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Smarter than you are...
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Link it! Always up for fish porn...
-------------------- Tight Lines,
Mojo
TEAM MOOSE DROOL
TEAM SMOKIN' MERC
TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
Alaksa Nitro Baits Pro Staff
"It's Gonna Be A Long Winter"
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BorntoFish
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Remember on one of my trips back to Milwaukee...the large browns were apparently spawning. At any rate, they were working close in on the shoreline in front of the Lakefront Feastival grounds in the pond area that is open to the lake. There were so many of these large fish in close, and in their frantic actions were literally pushing some of their cohorts partially up on the rocky shoreline. It was really something to see.
-------------------- CCA Member
TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
Team Moose Drool
Team Old Phart
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Black_Ghost
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Here it is what a pig ! Fly caught and released 36 inchs 25-27 lbs they estimate.
-------------------- "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool."
Jane Wagner
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Black_Ghost
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Here it is what a pig ! Fly caught and released 36 inchs 25-27 lbs they estimate. I'm sick why not me, I blew my chance 17 years ago, got smoked by a big brownie still remember its parting run downstream, I was help less wading.
-------------------- "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool."
Jane Wagner
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BorntoFish
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Wow, that is a hawg. Do you know what trib it was caught in?
-------------------- CCA Member
TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
Team Moose Drool
Team Old Phart
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Mojo
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Beauty! Thanks for sharing the photo. Who is the lucky angler, someone we know?
-------------------- Tight Lines,
Mojo
TEAM MOOSE DROOL
TEAM SMOKIN' MERC
TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
Alaksa Nitro Baits Pro Staff
"It's Gonna Be A Long Winter"
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Will fish for food
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Thick Tail
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My biggest back there was 17lbs at ComEd in 81. That water has some back home feel to it. The Browns there are suckers for the egg sucking leech. WFFF
-------------------- Take A Kid Fishing It Will Be Good For Both Of You
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BobK
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You got THAT right!!
BobK
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Black_Ghost
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The location is unnamed I swear ! If you see no posts from me this weekend though imagine where I might be. Yes thats a lake run brown in the river on a fly rod of a life time. The charter sport fishers on lake michigan believe most of the big browns die of old age out there as they get so smart and are hard to catch and land in that huge inland ocean they wander around in.
BG
-------------------- "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool."
Jane Wagner
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BobK
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They are as easy, and I think even even easier than chrome, to take on the fly rod and 2-hander when they are running in the tribs!! And, like WFFF says, the egg-sucking leech (aka. "Lawyer Fly") works superbly!!
BobK
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Black_Ghost
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Thats out by you in eastern Gls where the stocking programs are huge only one state out here has a big stocking program where this big one was caught, WI.
BG
-------------------- "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool."
Jane Wagner
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BorntoFish
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BG, if I recall correctly, my brother told me the other day that he heard that WI F&G either has decided to discontinue or is considering discontinuance of the brown trout stocking program and perhaps other salmonides. Think that this hinges of the low alewive population and other forage/prey species for these big eaters. Till they figure out what to do about building up the prey base they evidently see no point in stocking more of these large predators. This is the gist of what he told me about the situation there in Wisconsin.
-------------------- CCA Member
TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
Team Moose Drool
Team Old Phart
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BobK
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Yeah... the same problem exists here, where the forage fish are down. Apparently, the problem exists from the Zebra and Quagga mussels and other "exotics" which have really had a major effect on the food chain. This is ALL due to international shipping, and emptying out ballast and bilge tanks.
BobK
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Magicfly
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Just curious, is it legal to keep unmarked steelies in the Great lakes region.
Beautiful fish.
Mf
-------------------- The schexy van...under the Trees
There is unrest in Camas...
trouble with the van
for the family
wants to keep it...
and the PANTS ignores
their pleas....
(Part XII of Fear)
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BobK
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Yeah - here in Upstate NY it is legal to keep any fair-hooked fish of legal size, and that varies by water (but the size limit is small, so no worry - 12 to 15", depending on the stream/river). But all of the foul-hooked fish must be returned. Limit is 3 per day (mixed) of trout, steelies and salmon.
But no one smart keeps 'em anyway - they are full of pollutants and pesticides. If you eat one, you just might glow in the dark....
BobK
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Black_Ghost
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Yes you can keep wild steelhead. Only one river section I know of prohibits the killing of any fish (steelhead, trout, salmon)
BG
-------------------- "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool."
Jane Wagner
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