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Hooking and landing big steelhead remains as significant for me as ever, but catching one away from maddening crowds completes the experience. The Great Lakes region is known for crowded fishing conditions and solitude may seem wishful, but the fishery has greatly changed in the last decade, and the opportunity for a quality experience has never been better.

Solitude is relative when it comes to Great Lakes steelhead fishing. I define it as a feeling of personal space and having room to fish a stretch of water productively without being invaded by other anglers. It doesn't necessarily mean fishing where I can't see another person on the water. Often there are two or three anglers within 50 yards of me. But my idea of solitude may be too extreme for other fishermen who don't mind fishing among six or more people. Define solitude for yourself; what might be comfortable for others may not be for you.

Through the years I've developed a number of strategies for finding solitude on almost all the steelhead water I fish in the Great Lakes region. The keys to finding solitude are simple. Identify water you enjoy fishing and devise a strategy involving the time of year, water conditions, and weather that allows you some time alone on that water. This may include not fishing the most productive pools or fishing when water and weather conditions are not considered optimum. Fishing in solitude comes with a cost--you won't catch as many fish--but for me it's well worth the trade off.