Although November is prime time for targeting steelhead on Erie streams, there are still opportunities to fish from shore.

When streams aren't cooperating, or steelhead aren't running, the lakefront near the mouths of the tribs can offer anglers a good "plan B."

"The best time to fish the shore is when the lake is relatively flat, and that occurs with a south or southeast wind," said steelhead guide and author John Nagy. "Steelhead are light-sensitive, so an overcast day is ideal. On sunny days, early morning is best. By noon a lot of fish have moved away."

Erie-based guide and L.L. Bean fly-casting instructor Ray Travis suggests fishing the mouths and adjacent shoreline for no more than 100 yards on either side because steelhead become more scattered the further they are from the tribs. Steelhead are drawn by the scent of the stream in which they were planted as smolts, typically returning to the same waterway every year. The scent dissipates farther along the shore.

Winds will influence which side of the mouth will fish better, Travis said. "If flow is a little low and winds are out of the southwest to west, I'd fish to the east side of the mouth, because the current is being pushed there."

The shoreline can yield fish when streams are too low for steelhead to run, and when they're blown out.

"You'll sometimes see a dark current from the stream going into the lake as the water is beginning to clear," Travis said. "Targeting the edge of that muddy current can be productive."

While spin fishermen throw spoons, spinners and skein, Travis casts Bucktails, Rabbit Zonkers or other emerald shiner-type imitations into the open water and then strips them back.

"I start casting just 10 to 15 feet out," he said, "because when steelhead want to come in they're not very far off shore."

Although his go-to colors are white, olive and black, some creek mouths, such as Sixteen Mile, are murkier than others, and call for orange, chartreuse or black and white, he said.

On days when the lake has a little chop, Travis ties on an egg pattern or nymph under a strike indicator with enough weight to keep the fly up to a foot off the bottom and drifting with the action of the waves.

"A Zonker or marabou streamer under an indicator also works in these conditions," he said. "I typically fish a size 8 or 10 -- something a little smaller than when I'm stripping. Size depends on acceptance by the fish."

Anglers should consider using a shooting-head fly line when they want to get their streamer, Wooly Bugger or sculpin out further from shore, and should be prepared to weight their leader or fly when fishing choppy to wavy water.

"A shooting head system enables you to get a little more distance than with standard weight-forward line," Nagy said. "You're essentially double-hauling and shooting the line."

Boaters also can do well trolling the mouths and adjacent shoreline for steelhead with stickbaits in pink, orange or black, keeping them 6 to 10 feet from their boat with small in-line planer boards, and around the public docks and marinas where minnows are schooling in Presque Isle Bay. However, most charter captains and recreational boaters are done for the season by Thanksgiving.

"The lake is too unpredictable in fall. It can get too rough for people to take a chance on being out on cold water," said Matt Hrycyk of Chasin' Steel charters, who has already put his boat away for the year.

Access for boaters also becomes more limited. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission pulled up all but one dock at Walnut Creek Access Area at the end of October. The last dock at Walnut is slated for removal soon. The agency now allows round-the-clock fishing at the Walnut marina until the docks are reinstalled in spring. This is another good spot for when tribs are unfishable.

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