HiYa Bozzo,
Preference?
Hmmmm... I very much like the candied version - Yummy! That said, from time to time I also like them smoked on the BarBee. So kinda an
either or thing I guess.
But most years I kill less than a half dozen. This year will be no different. Seems more and more these days, I'd rather return to hunt them again, or offer that back to another, over making grits out of them
you seem to have a great catch per hours-spent ratio.
LOL! 
Not always, that
IS For Sure!
Sometimes you land on 'em, sometimes you don't. Regardless, it is as much the
Pursuit more than anything else. I've had many
many days where I've been skunked, many more when I've walked away with a serious grin, having shaken hands with but one or two. Those rare
Gravy Days are far and few between, and of course, result in a
PermaGrin that is actually disturbing to some
If you don't mind, can you tell me if you mainly use bait, wools or hardware?
It all depends...
Where and when bait is open, there is a host of things that will work. Just now, the hottest thing we locals can fling out there is obviously chumly roe, whether singles (bagged) or skein. These were the last to spawn in most systems, and therefore the most likely delicacy the steelhead encountered on their way upstream. At other times, roe from springs or coho will work better. Sometimes shrimp (or prawns) is the answer, and often sand (ghost) shrimp is unbeatable. All depends on the timing...
Most systems, bait is a non-issue in that it's use is
Verboten. There, I like egg imitations whether flies or plastic as a first drift item. After that, natural coloured rubber worms (when clear water) or pinkos when a tad off colour to dirt. Have caught the odd handfull on spin-n-glos, corkies, and even Colorado blades, but for me, these latter are almost always the last in the arsenal to be tried. Some of my Buddies do well on spinners and spoons, and under the right circumstances they can be deadly.
Nothing new there,
same old - same old actually. I personally think a lot of it boils down to the right place at the right time. Of course that occasionally pays off better when you've done your homework, understand the type of water they tend to prefer under varying circumstances and how to "
read" the flow for where that might be. One's potential for having the "right terminal" increases with the understanding of that, and the individual river.
Pursuing steelhead is amongst my most favorite pastimes, more like an obsession some say. Kinda like hunting, I find it more akin to that than most other fisheries I engage in. Often it hurts, a few days you grin, and on some rare days there's glory. Just the way it works.
I am of the opinion that the more time you put in out there, the greater will be your understanding of how it might be working on the occasion you're there. And likely as importantly, the next time you're looking.
Cheers,
Nog
Author
Topic: The New and Improved Steelhead Thread :) (Read 21420 times)