I am going on my first Steelhead trip this april up by lake Champlain.The fish run about 20-25 inches i can’t decide which rod I should use I have a 7’9 5wt , 9’ 6wt, and a 9’ 8wt leaning tword the 8wt but not sure any suggestions.
Kinda small steelhead. Are you sure there not over grown trout? :twisted: I would use the 6 weight.
Steelhead near Lake Champlain?
Probably more like landlocked salmon and/or browns on the AuSable.
The only steelhead near Lake Champ are 2-3 hours west on Lake Ontario…
Marty
They were stocked there in the mid 90s by fish and wildlife dept. The river that im fishing is Lewis creek it has aspring run of steelhead every year.
Ah yes, I think the DEC calls 'em rainbows like the fish in the Finger Lakes (even though I believe they are of Chambers Creek, WA origin). I’d stick with a 5wt or a 6wt.
Marty
Here is the info about the river STEELHEAD
Lewis Creek Is Hotspot For Steelhead Fishing
Anglers may be having better steelhead fishing at Lewis Creek in North Ferrisburgh than ever before, according to the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. The annual run of steelhead rainbow trout from Lake Champlain is well underway and producing a lot of fish.
Anglers are using a variety of tackle that can be fished along the bottom. Egg sacks, egg imitations, night crawlers and nymphs are all producing fish.
The Lewis Creek steelhead run first started producing fish on March 25, and it normally lasts three to four weeks, peaking during the first week in April.
This year’s good fishing at Lewis Creek is being attributed to favorable stream levels.
“The gradual run-off of water from melting snow and lack of heavy rain through the end of March helped keep stream levels lower than in past years,” said John Hall of the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department. “Barring extended rain, Lewis Creek steelhead fishing should continue to be outstanding into mid-April.”
“Most of these silvery beauties are measuring around 20 inches long, and they put up a great fight,” Hall Said. “The location is easy to find. Most anglers are fishing upstream of the Route 7 bridge, near the Village of North Ferrisburgh.”
“If conditions hold, this could turn out to be the best run since the Lewis Creek steelhead program started in the mid-1970s,” said fisheries biologist Brian Chipman.
You know if they get any successful reproduction in Lewis?
Those PNW guys would be insulted to see anyone calling a 20-inch trout a “steelhead”!!! :lol:
From what I have read, they ARE descended from a Chambers Creek strain, so they are technically steelhead. That’s really somethin!
Marty
i would use a 6 wt. that’s what i use for the erie tribs in PA. plenty of rod.
Yes, They do have good reproduction rates as far as I have heard about talking to local guides.
5 or 6 wt. Definately not the 8.
I’d definitely go with the six. The five would probably work ok to, if you end up fishing some smaller stretches. I use a 10’ 6wt. for the Erie tribs and sometimes a 7 for Lake O.
Having grown up in VT I still consider myself a misplaced Vermonter 
As a kid I spent a good amount of time on Lewis Creek (pronounced “crick”) fishing for bass until the lamphrey’s decimated it.
Im glad to hear that steelhead have been placed into the crick “but” have the bass made any come back ?
Not trying to “Hi jack”, just a question about the “crick” that gave me such pleasure as a kid.
You have it so good to be living in Vt, I know how much I miss it.
Best to you .
"pronounced “crick”)
my kind of guy 
More of a Tinhead huh?
Well there are the Rogue River half pounders.
but you’re right…
"Those PNW guys would be insulted to see anyone calling a 20-inch trout a “steelhead”!!! "
I kind of feel that way about the Rogue ones :roll:
The bass have made a big comeback the smallmouths flood the river in spring. A local guide I know goes up every year to fish for them. The lampreys have been knocked down pretty good in the lewis the state puts a chemical in in the spring to kill them they have been very succesful.
Half-pounders have been out to sea at least - and they fight like crazy! The Rogue is a pretty amazing fishery in its own right. I think those fish have earned the right to be considered “steelhead.”
Caught a handful a few years ago on a 5wt and they were scrappy fighters. On water that big I would have been better off using a 6wt.
Marty
I have caught one large Deschutes steelhead in OR which the locals told me was an Idaho “B” run (13 lb). Naturally this raised the question of what an Idaho “A” was.
During one of the Lowell FishIns, Fishin’Injun took a bunch of us FAOLers down the Clearwater to Lewiston. He thought we were a mite early for the “B” run, which are the strain that runs much bigger. While the other guys were running 8wts with huge wet flies in the main water, I spotted some rusty spinners and dimples, so I switched to a 4wt to see what was nibbling.
There were a couple of whitefish and small bows, but then I saw 2 larger trouty risers. The 1st one was 19" and fought harder than a Deschutes Redside, which is the hardest fighter in the Lower 48. After I released it, Fishin’ dashed over and asked if it was a steelie - I hadn’t thought of it that way, and I didn’t know to check the adipose to see if it was a hatchery IdahoA.
The mate was still sipping away, and I had the fly of the moment, so another drift and feisty 10 minute fight produced another 19", with a clipped adipose.
So at least there, some steelies run bigger than others. I wasn’t sure if the A’s were the same as the B’s, but with fewer years on them.
tl
les
Hello Les, the way I understand it, the A run is also referred to as the ‘summer’ run and the B run, ‘winter’. From what I’ve gathered, the B run steelies will generally be larger than the A run fish. You may already know all of that but I thought I’d toss it out there. Good to see you post the board !
Cheers,
MontanaMoose
Winter runs tend to be considerably larger than summer run fish on almost all waters out there. I can’t wait to get back out and try to nab one with a dry…
Marty