When fish become finicky or the sun forces the trout to move out a little deeper, it is a good idea to troll straight out away from the mouth into water that is 40 to 50 feet deep. Summer steelhead often retreat to those cooler, darker depths during the midday hours. Those anglers who follow them can keep catching fish.

Another strategy is to troll out from the mouth of the creek and head east toward the corner of the breakwall around the Port of Indiana. The water quickly drops to about 45 feet when you get offshore from the mouth, and it stays relatively constant as you near the port. Boats are prohibited from entering the port, but they can still troll along the outer walls.

At Michigan City, Trail Creek empties into Lake Michigan right at Washington Park. When the steelies first begin appearing at the end of June or early July, trollers often fish for them right in front of the pier head at the mouth of the creek. If the fishing action is slow there, they spread out along the beach to the east and west and pick up cruising steelhead in the shallows.

Early in the season, the best trolling action can take place a little farther offshore of the pier head. Boaters working a mile or two off the mouth can expect good action, either right near the surface or down deep. Experimentation goes a long way when it comes to finding actively feeding steelhead.

Pier-fishing at Washington Park for shoreline anglers is always popular. Trail Creek flows past the pier on the west side, and many fishermen fish right there in the muddy current. Bobbers of all sizes are used to suspend the baits and keep them in the strike zone.

Although many pier-anglers cast the "old reliable" fluorescent orange spinners and spoons, live-bait fishing is also quite productive. Spawn sacs, night crawlers and small minnows also catch good numbers of steelhead each summer season.

During normal years, Skamania will show up at Michigan City and Portage in early July and stage in front of the creek mouths for a couple of weeks before heading upstream. If the rains wait until the beginning of August, the trolling action will remain hot. If the rains come too early, however, the Skamania may shoot up the stream and the trollers (and pier fishermen) may not even see a fish!

CATCH-AND-RELEASE
With the growing popularity of catch-and-release fishing, stream steelhead anglers should be aware of one of the dangers of releasing fish during the summer. Since steelhead become stressed when water temps rise above the 70-degree range, mortality is high among fish released during these warm-water conditions. Most fish just won't survive, even if released quickly.

If you plan to keep your catch, higher water temperatures are not a problem. But conservation-minded anglers who always release their fish might want to reconsider fishing for steelhead when the water temperature rises. Or they might want to fish other areas where the water is cooler.

Certainly, the water off the creek mouths in Lake Michigan itself is usually cooler than 70 degrees at this time of year, so a location change might be a good idea. Trail Creek rarely gets above 70 degrees in July because it is spring-fed and there is more tree cover and vegetation along the shoreline, so it is another good bet for catch-and-release minded anglers.

Bring along a small thermometer to test the water temperature where you are fishing. When you find cooler water, you will be able to catch and release fish with confidence they'll survive to possibly be taken another day!