Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[RG]

Hello Everybody,

I am trying to get into steelhead on the fly.  It would be great if anybody could share or discuss suggestions or tips.  As I understand this is a difficult fishery with few hook-ups, I am certainly prepared for fishless days, really, I just want to be on the river.  That being said, I would still love the chance to catch one, which brings me here.  I've got the gear all sorted out, any other help would be greatly appreciated.  Cheers!

[VAGAbond]

Think summer run.    A guided day on the upper Stamp in late October would be an excellent way to start.

[abito]

get yourself a spey rod if u want to fish for steelhead on the fly. skagit line with different sink tips... type 6, 8 and T14 . flies. rabbit strip flies and any marabou flies will do.

[ffonly]

A spey rod is a big investment if you are just starting. I started fishing single handed, moved to spey then back to single handed for steelhead. I found for most of the lower mainland you can fish more water with a single hand rod than you can with a spey. The advantage of a spey is the distance and efficiency in casting. If you currently have a 8/9wt single hand rod add a versi tip pack if you haven't already. This will allow you to fish different water at different depths and speed of swing. This time of year on the Vedder, as an example, will be a low and slow technique. You need to get down and swing it right in front of them as they are not moving far for anything. Try different sizes and colours. You are going to have to pound it. The same system in late Feb and March has much more productivity. I have used rolled muddlers, minnows and small sparsely tied flies later in the season. Hope this helps.

[abito]

used single handers for a long time myself,  but to cover water without all the false casting and casting a heavy tip and big flies i will never use it again. Only time i use single handers are for skating dries for summer runs. Spey rod isn't only about distance,even though u definitely can cast much further. its more about not having to false cast to get line out. fly in the water more means u are fishing longer. Don't need backcast room like a single hander.
So u can cast further, no false casting, dont need back casting room, how does a single hander cover more water?? To me it comes all down to how efficiently i can cover water.

In the old days spey outfits used to cost alot because there wasn't much to choose from, but that has all changed with so much competition within the industry. Even buying used outfit, which i do alot myself can save you even more money.

[VAGAbond]

I invested in a Beulah Switch rod and love it.    Spey type casts, double hand overhead or single hand,  they all work and it seems about the right size for the Vedder and not too pricey.   Nice thing about the Beulah is they sell matched rods and lines so you get the right combination from the start.   Lines are available with Skagit heads for heavy flies/leaders (Tonic)  and Scandinavian heads  (Elixir) for lighter presentations.

[RalphH]

the advice on flies is good. As you have your gear not a lot of point in talking about spey vs everything else. Don't cast too far and make it across and slightly downstream. Fish the riffles and the seams. I'd pay attention to some of the other rivers besides the V-C at least until the end of February. As the water gets warmer and the crowds drop off a bit the V-C can be nice. Oh yes take alone your drift gear in case you need to deal with the frustration of being skunked.

[newsman]

Here's a tip I got from tom Johannesn years ago. Take your single hander and go out the day after everyone's license expires. The crowds and and critics will be reduced by 80%.

[Kype]

Double handed rods are about more than just throwing the line out further though also - they massively increase your line control, allowing you to slow down the swing and speed of the fly. 

They also provide far better leverage with larger hooked fish giving you the ability to turn a fish's head when they turn and run - with the extra leverage and shock absorbing ability you can fish with a reduced leader strength (and thus thickness) again improving presentation.

Double handed rods do not need to break the bank either - Scierra and Reddington make great value and lightweight rods - google them.

Good luck 

[HOOK]

other cheaper rod companies would be:

Amundson
Red Truck (http://redtruckflyfishing.com)
TFO
Echo


Red Truck also sells other brands and sometimes cheaper by alot

[KLX]

i still prefer a single hander. for me it is meditative, i only swing flies and grease line, never nymph or dead drift. that being said, the last few steelies i caught have been on trout buggers stripped in.

there certainly is nothing like the tug of a steelie when your fly is swinging 70 degrees downstream of you on the river. the anticipation of that is enough for me to tolerate the low number of hookups.

fish the seams, medium riffles and always look for a sub-structure of mixed boulders and cobble. Clay and sand bottoms generally dont hold fish.

[fly fisher]

here are the flys i use for steelhead the purple tube below the red moal leech in the first pic is one that beached me a fish last year
http://www.fishingwithrod.com/yabbse/index.php?topic=23248.0

[younggun]

DO NOT GET A SWITCH ROD AS YOUR FIRST SPEY SETUP. GET A MINIMUM 13FT 2 HANDER.

When you compress lines (skagit short heads 20ft) use short rods 10'6 - 11'9, trying to use heavy tips 10ft of t-14, and a half chicken fly its impossible to learn. Therefore impossible to fish properly. The way to learn on a spey rod is to buy/use a SPEY rod. With the shorter everything your timing, precision of the cast, setup and stroke all need to be spot on and refined. A longer rod, with a standard skagit head makes learning alot easier, and your fishing more efficient.

A few things you can do to help your casting:

Use tapered poly leaders, i fish a 15ft extra-fast and it gets down just fine, they have taper to them just like a tapered leader, which transfers the energy of the stroke evenly to the fly, turning it over, allowing you to fish a straight line presentation. They don't have as much grain weight to them as t-14, but i can fish them just as well as i can t-11. And they go down way faster than t-8. Quarter your casting angle depending on the water, and where you want your fly to setup and swing through. Think about where you fish, and don't just STEP CAST STEP CAST.

Light flies cast better than heavy ones. A gigantic double bunny with a pound of lead for eyes on the front to sink it, casts TERRIBLY. Where a nice marabou leech, or classic GP are sparse, sink easily with the tip and cast easily. A stiff fly to swifter currents to hold its profile, and a soft fly for the 'money' water. Plus the random snag or bad cast doesn't cost you $10 on an intruder.

Fish the water you would with gear. Just because you can cast 150ft, doesn't mean the fish are out there. Think about how many times you walk into a run with your float rod, bait up, adjust your float and flip one 10ft of the bank and....oh there's one! Undisturbed fish take the easiest route of travel, and hold tight to the bank in the soft water. Therefore fish the soft water.  You don't need to cast very far with very much weight and you have a very direct feel to your fly which is usually within 50ft of you. You feel every sniff, rock, twig, white fish, etc....

I personally fish spey rods, switch rods, and single handers. All the way from dry line, to 12ft of t-17 which sinks like a half pound of pencil lead. I run flies from rabbit leeches, marabou softies, intruders and classics. I tie all my own flies. I've caught steelhead on all, and each has a different application. If any questions, just ask. Myself and many others will gladly answer.

[Sandman]

I am fishing single handed with a 9 foot rod and alternate between swinging flies on sinking tips and drifting flies under an indicator.  All of my fish have been caught on the drift under an indicator although I have had a few hook up on the swing, but they were always brief.