STEELHEAD PRO TIP OF THE WEEK “THE EGG RIG FOR STEELHEAD ON THE FLY
This week’s steelhead pro tip of the week comes from Pacific Angler’s Matt Sharp.
This rig is one of the most versatile nymph rigs for fishing eggs and pretty much any other imitation where you want to nymph. This is not a steelhead specific rig but it will work for steelhead, bulltrout and pretty much anything else in our rivers this time of year. This set up is specifically weighted for steelhead with larger lines. When targeting smaller species we use much lighter line. The key to the presentation is to only target water you can fish effectively. With this set up look for 3-6 feet of water moving at a slow walking speed. Avoid heavy deep seams, deep water in general (over 8ft), slow dead water, and large wide open runs where a swung fly is much more effective. I like to target smaller more defined holding water that is hard to swing a fly.
Mend your line constantly working to maintain a dead drift and to keep you indicator over top of your fly. Don’t get lazy. Some people have said that indicator fishing for steelhead is cheating and easy but if they knew how attentive you have to be to your line, leader and indicator they might change their tune.
At this time of year the slightest bounce or twitch of the Indicator can be a fish. You do not always need an aggressive hook set but each time you think there is a bite or something odd happens to your indicator make a hard check mend. If the line does not lift properly off the water turn the mend into a fast hook set. The rule is faster the better.
The rig: For steelhead run 3ft of heavy butt section 20-25lb then with blood knots, taper down quickly using 2ft of 15lb and 4 feet of 10lb. This fast taper allows the fly to sink without drag. A standard 9ft leader will work but building your own with a faster taper will cut down on drag. From the end of the leader tie on a #12 crane swivel and place 1 AAA or 2 to 3 #1 split shot just above the swivel (note: the weight should not have wings because they tangle). Some guys will also put a single #1 split shot at the 15lb to 10lb junction to get a straighter presentation.
Your indicator should be placed somewhere within the heavy butt section of the leader and we have almost exclusively gone to using the fish pimp or thing-a-mabobber indicators. They are hands down the best. Exact position on the indicator depends on depth. For most of the day I keep the indicator between 6ft and 8ft above my weight.
Tie on 14 inches of 12lb fluorocarbon leader to the terminal end of the swivel. We then use a bead pegged 3 inches above a # 4 black Gamakatsu hook. (We use a 1.5 inch spread and a #8 Gamakatsu for small species). Peg a small amount of white wool into the bead with the toothpick to add a moldy veil.
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Topic: Pacific Angler Pro Tip of the Week (Read 2837 times)