Joe
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fry
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The July/ August issue of Eastern Fly Fishing had a nice article on the St Joe River. Who here has fished the St Joe? Where did you fish? What luck have you had? Was a guide needed? What did you catch? It is not far from where I live so catching steelhead on the St Joe would be great fun without breaking the bank or my available vaction days! Thanks to all...Joe
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mudslinger64
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dual red striper
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i have never fished it,mainly the lake superior tribs in wisconsin and minnesota.welcome to the board lots of good info here.
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Mojo
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Interestingly that article was in error. There are no steelhead in the St. Joe. It has no access to the Pacific Ocean, hence any migratory trout would be just that...trout. There are some toad rainbows (Kamloops) and huge cutts in that river however.
You might want to PM adam376 on this board, because he guides on the St. Joe. He would steer you right for sure.
-------------------- Tight Lines,
Mojo
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Mojo
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Hmmm, the article I was reading mentioned steelhead fishing on the St. Joe in Idaho. It did mention steelhead in the same sentence as the Clearwater and the Snake. Maybe we are talking about 2 different rivers. The article I was reading was in the Northwest Fly Fishing magazine, by the same publishers I believe. Strange coincidence...
-------------------- Tight Lines,
Mojo
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mudslinger64
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dual red striper
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i am pretty sure the river he is talking about is a southwest lake michigan trib.
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BorntoFish
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Mojo, it has been common practice for years in the Great Lakes region to refer to bows migrating into tribs from the Great lakes as spawners to be referred to as steelhead. I first heard this back in 1967 while working in Isle Royale National Park where we had a "steelhead" run up Siscowet [sp?] Creek, on the main island. When discussed in park literature, the NPS did mention however the difference between these and those making runs up tribs from coastal waters.
BTW, welcome to this site "Joe", looking forward to your future posts regarding fishing in your area.
-------------------- TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
TEAM MOOSE DROOL
Edited by BorntoFish (09/01/09 08:43 AM)
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mudslinger64
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dual red striper
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we do have a lot of kamloops on the north shore of superior in mn.if i remember right the dnr was stocking the skamania strain of steelhead along the shore years ago and these are what i believe they are calling the native steelhead around here.you are not allowed to keep any of them just the loopers which are planted every year.
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BorntoFish
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And that just might have been the case with those Isle Royale fish...too long ago to remember [1967] the specifics. Then again, 42 years may have predated stocking of the skamania strain. At any rate, steelhead is what they were calling those ISNP fish back then.
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adam376
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steelie
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The st joe in idaho has no steelhead in it. In the spring there are a few rainbows and lots of cutts that come spawn up in there. In the fall kokanee and chinook come up also. I have to idea about michigan.
Joe I have never caught any kamloops in the st joe at least not anymore. all i have caught in there are a few small bows, cutts and bulls.
-------------------- Loop tackle prostaff
Castawayflyshop.com
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Denali
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The Joe is full of steelhead, big ones too. Much better then the Clearwater and better access. As a side note, I fished Kelly Creek for the first time the past 2 days. Beautiful river and beautiful country.
-------------------- Team Gray Ghost
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Joe
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fry
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Wisconsin and Minnesota are more than a few hours from home. They probably have better fishing they NE Indiana & SW MI but are no where near as close. I used to fish Wisonsin as a kid and have great memories of it. I've read that the SW corner of the state has good troute fishing. One of these days I will get there.
Thanks, Joe
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Joe
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fry
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I'm no expert but the article says "240,000 summer steelhead and 145,000 winter strain steelhead are stocked as smolts each year." The pictures also look like steelhead. Any way, if I could land a 20 lb fish in a river less than 3 hours away, I'm interested! In addition the author of "Steelhead Dreams", Matt Supinski, has a lodge, the Gray Drake, in West Central MI on the Muskegon River.
So either there are steelhead like fish in Lake MI or there is an underground tunnel to the Pacific 
Thank for the tip about adam376. Joe
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Joe
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fry
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Denali Is Kelly Creek in the UP? What about Clearwater?
Joe
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Joe
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fry
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mudslinger64 Yep, The St Joe river flows between the city of St Joe MI on the shore of Lake Michigan, through South Bend IN (Notre Dame country) then back into south central MI.
Joe
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BorntoFish
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Quote:
Joe said: Denali Is Kelly Creek in the UP? What about Clearwater?
Joe
They are here in Idaho.
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BorntoFish
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Quote:
Joe said: So either there are steelhead like fish in Lake MI or there is an underground tunnel to the Pacific 
I've seen an occassional episode on The Outdoor Channel featuring "steelhead" fishing on Michigan tribs to Lake Michigan. The guys were using chunks of fresh egg skeins [uncured] to catch them.
-------------------- TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
TEAM MOOSE DROOL
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Mojo
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Yes there are steelhead in the Great Lakes. The Skamania strain are real fighters too, like to jump from what I hear.
There is also a St. Joe in Idaho, hence the confusion. That is where Adam376 guides. Sorry for steering you wrong.
-------------------- Tight Lines,
Mojo
TEAM MOOSE DROOL
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TEAM JACKSON BALDWIN
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adam376
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steelie
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Denali did you catch any bulls when you were up there?
-------------------- Loop tackle prostaff
Castawayflyshop.com
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Denali
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No bulls, only fished on top with small black ant patterns.
-------------------- Team Gray Ghost
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Black_Ghost
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I have, since 1980, yes has steelhead, king salmon, and trout migrations from Lake Michigan, fishing has gone down from what it was in 80s, but still has some good runs. Right now is a very good time for steelhead and thru the winter into next april.
BG
-------------------- "The ability to delude yourself may be an important survival tool."
Jane Wagner
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