Chrome is flowing in the Lake Erie tributaries, but there’s no need to call the Ohio EPA.

Steelhead trout — which many call “chrome” due to their metallic coloration — have migrated out of the bountiful waters of Lake Erie into the creeks and rivers, bringing the fat and feisty fish well within reach of anglers.

Two of our region’s finest steelhead anglers are John Breedlove of Girard and Chris DePaola of Austintown. Combined, they catch and release hundreds of steelhead in the fall and well into winter, weather permitting.

Both report the fishing has been excellent in recent weeks as moderate rain has created perfect conditions in the popular steelhead streams like the Rocky, Grand, Chagrin and Ashtabula rivers, as well as Conneaut Creek in Ohio, and Elk and Walnut creeks in Pennsylvania. DePaola said anglers also are reporting good fishing in the Cuyahoga River in the city of Cleveland.

With rain in the upcoming forecast, anglers can expect more fresh runs of steelhead that have been congregating around the beaches and harbors where the streams flow into Erie.

Breedlove and DePaola employ different tactics to hook up with spectacular-fighting steelhead.

DePaola said the streams are in excellent condition for anglers casting flies and jigs. Big fish, fattened after a hearty summer of feasting on baitfish in Lake Erie, are in the streams now through spring in search of spawning opportunities.

“They all have fish in them,” DePaola said in answer to a question about which rivers he recommends. “We got a fresh push of fish with the rain last week. Fresh chrome!”

He wades all of the streams in the Ashtabula and Conneaut vicinity, where he hooks and battles steelhead on fly-casting gear. He enjoys casting flies with center-pin reels and rods. Productive flies include salmon egg patterns, sucker spawn and wooly buggers.

Breedlove prefers fishing in his aluminum V-hull boat. He mostly trolls the harbors, break walls and lower reaches of Erie tributaries.

His mind is a well-spring of steelhead tactics. His head is a catalog of trolling speeds, bait preferences, depths and all the other variables.

Speed is critical. Ask him the perfect trolling speed for a particular water temperature and he’ll confidently answer, “With water above 48 degrees, I’ll try to stay around 2.1 to 2.2 mph. When the temps get to the low 40s, I’ll usually slow to around 1.8. And once it’s in the 30s, I’m doing 1.5 to 1.8.”

He catches a lot of steelies on spoons like Little Cleos and K.O. Wobblers. In clear water, he goes with blue or green and chrome, and mixes in brighter colors in murky water. If the fish aren’t responding to the spoons, he’ll tie on stickbaits and crankbaits like Bay Rats, Rapala Shad Raps and jointed X-Raps, Wiggle Warts and Brad’s Wigglers.

“When trolling the break walls and ship slips, I’m constantly watching my sonar, looking for baitfish,” he said. “Where you find the bait, you’ll find the steelhead.”

Breedlove says casting spoons and Vibrex spinners also produces great catches. “When I’m casting in the river, I generally take the boat to the side opposite the channel and cast upstream to let the bait swing with the current as I reel.”

With the rivers running full of chrome, it’s a great time to cap off the 2020 fishing year with an excellent opportunity to battle one of North America’s most prized gamefish — just an hour’s drive from home.

Wollitz is a writer and angler who fishes all of the waters in northeast Ohio and western Pennsylvania. Send a note to Jack at jackbbaass@gmail.com.