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[Knnn]

All good advice.  The only minor thing I will add is that you may also wish to consider the type of terminal tackle and the energy of the water you are fishing in.  In higher energy water, you don't want too long a leader or your presentation (if light weight) may be floating above your lead and not presented toward the bottom in front of the fish.  However, if you are fishing something like a jig which has a heavy bead, the leader length is not as critical, as the jig will almost always be below the lead.  You could quit happily fish with a 30 inch leader, just make sure that your lead is also at least 30 inches off the bottom.  I fish 20 lbs main and 15-10 leader (mono or flouro depending on clarity) and I have not caught many fish ..... er wait wat!

[FlyFishin Magician]

Length should be around 18-22 inches depending on clarity. But compared to coho or summer steelhead the winter runs are really not very leader shy. I think you're better off going with heavier FC (like 12 to 15 lb) than risking breaking off that 20 pounder.

Good advice CS.  In years past, I fished steelies just like I was fishing for those spooky little coho!  In fact, the largest steelie I caught was on 6 lb leader.  Lucky for me, the fish didn't do very much and when it came in, my leader broke. There was a guy standing right beside the fish who just picked it up and threw it on the beach.  Turned out to be a 35 inch, 15 lb hatchery buck.  That was almost 10 years ago now!  Point is, I was in "coho mode" and when people asked me what leader I was using, they were surprised that it didn't break off earlier!  Anyway, I still will go down to 10 lb fluorocarbon leader at times - just a confidence thing. 

[Shinny]

For me... 12 or 15lb main and a 8-10lbs leader for pretty much all my fishing.

[hrenya]

Ty guys a lot , got all of above together by getting my body on a river today from first light till last light was from lower river - mid river - upper river - back to lower river , no luck . But now all of the info I got start making sense , and I had a chance to play with my CP and practice my cast w/o being a problem to all other guys fishing out there .

 

[Spawn Sack]

There is more than enough good advice already given, but I'll chime in for the heck of it I myself am by no means a top steelheader. However, I have been lucky enough to fish many times with a very accomplished Vedder steelheader, who has won the year long derby on more than one occasion. The following is more what he has taught me than what I arrived at through a lot of trial and error.

Leader length: Generally, keep it short! S/h are for the most part not very leader shy. Also, often you will want to fish in tight to shore. I have hooked a few nice ones that were close to shore in 1 foot or so of water. It's pretty hard to fish shallow water with a long leader. For jigs (my favorite) and bait I stick to about a foot. For rubber worms and blades I feel a longer leader gives them better action, so I am probably between 18-24 inches.

Snap swivel: When I started out s/h fishing I used this method. I'd have a duo-lock swivel at the end of my mainline. then I would have a variety of pre-tied leaders on a leader board with a small barrel swivel at the end. To switch rigs no problem, just unsnap the duo-lock, feed in a new leader with swivel on the end, done. However, as I've gained a bit of experience I've learned that generally if one is around and your presentation is proper, it likely WILL smash your offering. I like fishing jigs, a LOT. So most of the time I gear fish for s/h I only fish them. I will take the jig off if I get a hit and then it will not take the jig the 2nd time around, or if I just feel like trying something else. I guess what I am trying to say is find what you like and have confidence in and more or less stick to that. If you like to switch your offering up every 20 casts then I suppouse there is no harm in that.

Leaders: In my opinion you want at least 5lb diff between your mainline and leader. 17-15 is not enough and you run a high risk of breaking off everything if your hook gets snagged. Personally if I hook a s/h I want to play it hard, get it in fast in case it's a wild, don't want to poop the poor fish right out trying to finesse it in on light gear. I run 20 mainline and 15 leader. Also, IMO, and esp for a steelheading newbie, I would NOT bother with the added expense of f/c leaders. If the stuff gives you confidence and you think it catches more fish then by all means go for it. However in my experience, esp with s/h that are not that leader shy, quality mono leader will catch you just as many fish.

Lastly, I'll say that the hardest part about steelheading is FINDING the fish! That is what I struggle with most. Which runs to hit on a given day, if I should go back to the head of the run and hit it again or keep moving down river, and so on. This is what you will slowly learn with time spent on the river. Generally I go out and expect to catch nothing and just enjoy the scenery, fresh air, solitude, talk to a few fishermen and try and learn a thing or two, have a cigar with a buddy, you get the idea. If I do catch a s/h that is a huge added bonus and does not happen very often!!

[hrenya]

I also forgot to tell to new guys like me , it`s not that scary as it looks like , all the guys on a river at least the ones I met were pretty nice and friendly . I was expecting something like b/b on fraser for sockeye , but I was gladly surprised by the attitude . We were walking by and and stop for a bit , guy got snagged and a spot looked godly so my buddy asked a guy if he can make few cast at the spot while he was tying his gear , and guy said no problem ... few casts and we walking again . So don`t be afraid of explore take your turns , move on and always be nice .

P.S. I was afraid to fish C/V after quite a few research and reading topics about how bad it is , unless I was lucky again and avoided all the "gang show" spots

[Steelhawk]

The C/V system is actually not bad for s/h fishing. It has a lot more rooms to fish and explore than the other systems. Perhaps fishing away from the meat hole and exploring the river will give more fun to steelheading, which to me is more like stalking and hunting a fish than camp posting a spot like fishing for salmon.

[fishallday]

thanks a lot for that, gunna head out tomorrow to try my luck with the s/h or some bullies

There is more than enough good advice already given, but I'll chime in for the heck of it I myself am by no means a top steelheader. However, I have been lucky enough to fish many times with a very accomplished Vedder steelheader, who has won the year long derby on more than one occasion. The following is more what he has taught me than what I arrived at through a lot of trial and error.

Leader length: Generally, keep it short! S/h are for the most part not very leader shy. Also, often you will want to fish in tight to shore. I have hooked a few nice ones that were close to shore in 1 foot or so of water. It's pretty hard to fish shallow water with a long leader. For jigs (my favorite) and bait I stick to about a foot. For rubber worms and blades I feel a longer leader gives them better action, so I am probably between 18-24 inches.

Snap swivel: When I started out s/h fishing I used this method. I'd have a duo-lock swivel at the end of my mainline. then I would have a variety of pre-tied leaders on a leader board with a small barrel swivel at the end. To switch rigs no problem, just unsnap the duo-lock, feed in a new leader with swivel on the end, done. However, as I've gained a bit of experience I've learned that generally if one is around and your presentation is proper, it likely WILL smash your offering. I like fishing jigs, a LOT. So most of the time I gear fish for s/h I only fish them. I will take the jig off if I get a hit and then it will not take the jig the 2nd time around, or if I just feel like trying something else. I guess what I am trying to say is find what you like and have confidence in and more or less stick to that. If you like to switch your offering up every 20 casts then I suppouse there is no harm in that.

Leaders: In my opinion you want at least 5lb diff between your mainline and leader. 17-15 is not enough and you run a high risk of breaking off everything if your hook gets snagged. Personally if I hook a s/h I want to play it hard, get it in fast in case it's a wild, don't want to poop the poor fish right out trying to finesse it in on light gear. I run 20 mainline and 15 leader. Also, IMO, and esp for a steelheading newbie, I would NOT bother with the added expense of f/c leaders. If the stuff gives you confidence and you think it catches more fish then by all means go for it. However in my experience, esp with s/h that are not that leader shy, quality mono leader will catch you just as many fish.

Lastly, I'll say that the hardest part about steelheading is FINDING the fish! That is what I struggle with most. Which runs to hit on a given day, if I should go back to the head of the run and hit it again or keep moving down river, and so on. This is what you will slowly learn with time spent on the river. Generally I go out and expect to catch nothing and just enjoy the scenery, fresh air, solitude, talk to a few fishermen and try and learn a thing or two, have a cigar with a buddy, you get the idea. If I do catch a s/h that is a huge added bonus and does not happen very often!!

when I fish for steel I like to go stealth small swivel, light line but that mostly just part of the mind games

[Apennock]

Learn how to read the water.

Are you sure there isn't something less helpful you could say?

[leapin' tyee]

Are you sure there isn't something less helpful you could say?

Are you kidding. Learning how to read the water is the most basic and important thing in fishing. I am just trying to help not trying to be sarcastic.

[BIG T]

Are you kidding. Learning how to read the water is the most basic and important thing in fishing. I am just trying to help not trying to be sarcastic.

Good advice.

[Steelhawk]

Are you kidding. Learning how to read the water is the most basic and important thing in fishing. I am just trying to help not trying to be sarcastic.

I agree. Learning to read the water for steelheading is probably among the top of all steelhead fishing strategies. Reading and adapting to changing water condition during steelhead season is crucial to success as the river can change a lot during rainy periods.

[Noahs Arc]

I prefer to just launch my gear as far as I can. Usually to the other side of the river, because that's where all the fish are because why else would that guy be fishing over there?!?!

[hrenya]

yeah ! keep them coming all of the advices are taken )) ty all ...
I gotta get 1 pretty soon ))))