The glamour game fish of Northeast Ohio are making an appearance this week in Lake Erie spawning rivers and streams, and not just the young steelhead trout usually caught in the early fall season. Some trophy trout like this trout netted by Cleveland Metroparks fisheries biologist Kali Newman while recently surveying the waters of the Rocky River. Mike Durklec, special to cleveland.com

CLEVELAND, Ohio — Walleye and yellow perch fishermen aren’t going to be very happy with the big winds and cool temperatures along the Lake Erie shoreline Friday and Saturday, but steelhead trout anglers are smiling.

That’s because surprising numbers of trophy trout from Lake Erie’s world class steelhead trout fishery are making an early appearance as the chilly rains and cooler weather of the autumn season have arrived this week. Look for cruising trout around the mouths of the Rocky, Chagrin and Grand rivers and in the lower stretches of those tributaries.

The trout will nibble on jigs baited with maggots and waxworms and suspended under a float, or chase casting spoons and spinners. The best trout fishing is usually early and late in the day.

Cast the same shoreline harbors after dark with minnow-style diving plugs, such as Smithwick Perfect 10s and Bandits, or vibrating rattle baits, such as the Cordell Spot and Rat-L-Trap. Dark-colored lures are easiest for the schools of feeding walleye to see after the sun goes down.

Be wary on Erie: Northwest winds were kicking up waves on Lake Erie on Thursday and are forecast again for Friday, with wind gusts in the 30 mile-per-hour range. Bob Hanko of Cranberry Creek Marina in Huron sees a lot of small boat anglers launching at his tidy ramp at this time of year, and reminds them all to leave behind a float plan, including when the anglers expect to return to shore.

Falling overboard can be terrifying, and it is ranked No. 5 on the U.S. Coast Guard’s list of types of boating accidents. But falling overboard is at the top of that list for resulting in deaths.

Boating experts also frown on wearing camouflage-style life jackets, which are popular with waterfowl hunters. The dark camouflage colors can make someone in the water very difficult to see, especially in big waves or low-light conditions. High visibility life jackets can save lives.

The 28th annual Steelhead Expo is being held Saturday from 9 a.m to 4 p.m. at the Rocky River Nature Center, 24000 Valley Pkwy., North Olmsted, and that should help fuel some early cases of steelhead trout fever.

Sponsored by the Ohio Central Basin Steelheaders (OCBS) and the Cleveland Metroparks, the Steelhead Expo will have seminar experts, fishing tackle exhibits, fly tying demos and tips and tricks for fly, spin, center pin and spey fishing.

Buy OCBS raffle tickets, as well. The prizes are great, and the raffle supports the steelheaders’ group and the annual Steelhead Expo.

Firing Zone still best for perch: The Lake Erie yellow perch fishing is just is fair right now in the harbors of Western Lake Erie and around the rock piles of the Lake Erie Firing Zone off Camp Perry and Port Clinton, a reason the daily bag limit remains at 30 perch per day. The Central and Eastern basins of Lake Erie are still struggling to boost perch populations, despite lowering the daily bag limit of perch to just 10 of the popular panfish.

Many anglers have given up on perch, and are focusing on the channel catfish fishing in Sandusky Bay and the Sandusky River, and the Portage River. Trophy catfish are being caught on Lake Erie around shallow rock piles, such as Gull Island Shoal.

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