Depending on the Flows in eight days

Sonder

Sonder

Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2026
Messages
38
City
Ravenna
Normally bye now my body is going through lake run smallmouth withdrawal.

The current and forecasted weather patterns as we all know have been cold and filled with rain.

Don’t get me wrong, we need the rain and a small window of opportunity to fish lol.

I find myself at a crossroads of sorts.

The upcoming weather forecasts look the same.

I have chosen to explore and camp in Potter County. After digging through this site, I have found some good data to help me with bodies of water to fish.

I will look like an odd ball “pretty normal for me” with my switch rod swinging flies in the waters I have chosen.

I have tied up some ugly streamers and soft hackles in size 10’s and 12’s.


It’s more about the adventure for me and not the catching. My GG Grandpa, who is a WW1 Marine, had always told me it’s not about the catching it’s about the adventure.

I will keep my eyes on the flows and even if they look marginal, I will be there!

Now it’s time to plan the food camping menu ..lol…
 
In a normal year when Lake Erie reaches the high 40’s the smallmouth start looking for spawning ground. Now obviously people need to not fish for spawning pairs of fish but the prespawn feeding frenzy can’t be denied.

Every creek mouth gets a run of fish. Now the larger the tributary the larger the run of fish on a normal year.

Two of the secrets are timing and temperature.

They are very eager to take clousers sparsely tied in various colors.

I first got turned on the Smallmouth bite in the mid 90’s. There are five main areas to fish for lake run smallmouth Presque Isle, Walnut, Elk, 16 Mile, and 20 Mile.

Weather is your biggest threat.


The beaches are all wading friendly, but the sand bars can be the end of you! If you pull up an aerial you will see what I am talking about with the sand bars and Presque Isle.

If anyone wants specifics your welcome to contact me directly.

As long as the mouth is open and it has a rocky gravel bottom you stand a chance to hook these bronze tigers
 
Last edited:
Makes total sense this is 'a thing' for Erie. Thanks for sharing!

WI, MI, MN guys I know go ape over it in the springtime for Lake Michigan & Superior; prob Huron too, in the case of MI. Big smallies get brought to net.

Joe
 
Not only an Erie thing. Lake Ontario and the Fingers have smallmouth runs where you can catch big lake smallies in streams. Salmon R has a good smallie run and many are the 4 to 5 lbs Lake O big boys.
 
JeffK said:
Not only an Erie thing. Lake Ontario and the Fingers have smallmouth runs where you can catch big lake smallies in streams. Salmon R has a good smallie run and many are the 4 to 5 lbs Lake O big boys.
Click to expand...
Very true and the only Lake I have not caught them is Superior but I also was not targeting them. Lol
Timing is the key though and remember they are bass doing bass things. Their is no reason to complicate things.
You don't need a1000 dollar rod or my fave 200 yards of backing 😂
 
CinnamonJoe said:
Makes total sense this is 'a thing' for Erie. Thanks for sharing!

WI, MI, MN guys I know go ape over it in the springtime for Lake Michigan & Superior; prob Huron too, in the case of MI. Big smallies get brought to net.

Joe
Click to expand...
Not only Erie thing it’s normal for a lot of are waterways. They swim up from a lot of our lakes and rivers to spawn in smaller waters.
 
Solitariolupo said:
Not only Erie thing it’s normal for a lot of are waterways. They swim up from a lot of our lakes and rivers to spawn in smaller waters.
Click to expand...
Also, they are not the only fish who do it "wink"!
 
Well camping reservations are made. I'll be fishing, and or hiking while I am in town. I'm looking forward to the adventure.
 
I am really looking forward to fishing new waters. Seeing the flows and to see for myself if the body of water is fishable. All I need is 12 to 18" of visibility to give me a chance 😂.
The rains have bumped the flows a bit. The day time temps look warm and the nights cool.
I won't be fishing much after 1 pm and then I'll hit the body of water after dinner.

Forecast 01.jpg

Forecast 02.jpg
 
Last edited:
Sonder said:
In a normal year when Lake Erie reaches the high 40’s the smallmouth start looking for spawning ground. Now obviously people need to not fish for spawning pairs of fish but the prespawn feeding frenzy can’t be denied.

Every creek mouth gets a run of fish. Now the larger the tributary the larger the run of fish on a normal year.

Two of the secrets are timing and temperature.

They are very eager to take clousers sparsely tied in various colors.

I first got turned on the Smallmouth bite in the mid 90’s. There are five main areas to fish for lake run smallmouth Presque Isle, Walnut, Elk, 16 Mile, and 20 Mile.

Weather is your biggest threat.


The beaches are all wading friendly, but the sand bars can be the end of you! If you pull up an aerial you will see what I am talking about with the sand bars and Presque Isle.

If anyone wants specifics your welcome to contact me directly.

As long as the mouth is open and it has a rocky gravel bottom you stand a chance to hook these bronze tigers
Click to expand...
Water temps now in low 50's
 
CRB said:
Water temps now in low 50's
Click to expand...
And behind for this time of year IMHO. Atleast with the high water and low temps the spawning fish should do really well this year.
 
This will not help my fishing
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20260516_120002107_HDR.jpg
    IMG_20260516_120002107_HDR.jpg
    254.2 KB · Views: 10
Well, sometimes they move through fast; that, or some places get more of just a glancing hit, and the flows don't get blown out as bad; that happened to us here in this part of Iowa last night; lots of wind, lightning and carrying on, but barely 1/4" of rain in the gauge this morning. Further north and east in SW Wisconsin, they took more of a direct hit with the heavier rains.

Joe
 
Allegedly today is the last day until maybe Wednesday for any significant rain. I'm also hoping because of the higher gradient it becomes fishable sooner due to the topography. We will see how it all plays out.
 
Sonder said:
Allegedly today is the last day until maybe Wednesday for any significant rain. I'm also hoping because of the higher gradient it becomes fishable sooner due to the topography. We will see how it all plays out.
Click to expand...
Higher gradient streams usually go down more quickly, plus they don't get as cloudy as a lot of other streams. That's if the rain even becomes an issue. A lot of times the fishing is better right after a shower. Like Joe said, sometimes these storms move through quickly too.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Montana Angler Fly Fishing
Harman's North Fork Cottages

Share this page

Back
Top