Print

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

[Steelhawk]

EveryDay has some great points. Here are some pointers from my last 20 years of steelheading:

- In areas of high traffic, always change up your presentation, to be different from those guys around you. Be flexible and adapt.
- In early season, roe works best as steelies are trout, and they home in the dominant feed of early season - loose drifting eggs from salmon spawns. In later season, shrimps and worms works great.
- During brighter daylight, spoons and spinners work great, especially those around you are all fishing the pink/orange stuffs.
- In really high water when those hot runs are now too fast, fish the edges. Also zoom in to the slow side channels. Yes, with big glob of roes like Everyday says.
- If you are early birds, short floating roe in some known lower river hot runs will likely get you into some first night fish, those just coming up from the mouth.
- If you are afternoon steelheaders like me, I usually hiked into mostly little known spots, or fish some spots which have long stretch of unfishable waters below. Why? Because a steelie can just show up to my spot in the afternoon after going through the unfishable stretch in the morning untouched by early fishermen.
- Look for bottle-neck spots which can pile up travelling fish. These fish will leave the deep pools or long runs in late afternoon to position themselves to ascend the bottle-neck shallow areas when light dims. Have you seen how the coho travel in massive # when light dims in evening? Steelies do likewise.
- When fishing in crowded lower runs bores you, head out to the fast waters and pick out pocket waters where a steelie may surprise you. This is my favourite hunt. You may need to walk miles and cast hundreds of times for a take down. But when you hook a steelie in a targeted spot and then fighting a jumping silver bullet in fast current, it is a sublime experience.
- Searching a steelie in heavy waters - try casting out big spoons in big heavy waters of fast runs or deep pools. A big flashy spoon can attract & take a trophy with the stamina to hold in these waters. Make a cast across river and let the spoon fan out in an arc. Take a few steps down and repeat until you cover the whole run or pool. Respect other fishermen when you work down the run, as Nicole suggests.
- Fish above the school or concentration of fish. Steelhead like to travel in schools if they can. Sometimes, a run can just heat up with multiple hookups when a school arrives or holds up. If you are late to the action, it is still better to fish above the hot actions, as some fish might be slightly hooked before, or others just spooked and not biting. A run or two above, they may open up to biting again.
- Check the kill marks if you arrive at a run after the actions. If you see a few kills, that is a good sign of fish concentration. Fish above it or chase the fish up.
- When visibility of lower river is near zero, try head up river past those mud slides (Sleese & Alison areas). If even the upper river is muddy, head home.  There are some spots you can still fish, but local rods should have camped out there already. Best is to check out the river condition reported by Chris or other great helpful fishermen brothers before you head out, just to save gas & time.

Hope these pointers help some newer steelheaders.

Good luck and tight lines.

[jeff]

Great post Steelhawk, THis not my first steelhead season, but is also not my 20th like you and I picked up some good pointers out of there thanks.

[Every Day]

Great point Steelhawk...
One point of yours that I havn't personally found is that Steelhead travel in schools. In December, January and Febrauary you almost never hit more than one fish, I would tend to disagree that they school up. In March and April however the definatly do because they are starting to couple up and spawn. My best days have been in march with 3-5 fish days in a matter of hours because yes they will travel in schools and stack in certain runs.

One thing I cant point out enough is to keep a journal. Alot of you may laugh at this but you will find that Steelhead will sit in certain runs at certain times of day or different height flows. For example, last year I had a circuit, I would fish 6 runs all the way up and then 6 runs back down. There was NEVER a day where I hit a fish in the run I called "Twilight Run" before the last hour of light. This run produced a Steelhead on at least 75% of the trips but I would never rush to it because it never turned on until the last hour of "Twilight." I also had a 3 fish day in 1 hour last year in a run when the water was higher. A guy was walking out of the "area" and told me it was a waste of time. I went in and hit 3 in a roe in one run and went home. I checked that run everyday for the rest of the season and only ever hit one more fish, and the water level was EXACTLY the same as the day I hit 3, coincidence?

One last thing I would suggest... Get confident with at least ONE artificial bait and then TWO natural baits. I normally fish the artificial bait FIRST because if you miss a hit they will normally come back for a natural bait if they won't hit the artificial again. I have found that if you use natural bait first sometimes the fish will only hit once, then again me and a buddy had a fish hit on 8 consecutive casts last year before finally hooking him. After running the artificial bait through (if you know fish sit there) I always run a natural bait through after to try and "clean up." My fav Artificial is still the colorado... never had success on much else.

Funny thing is... I never go out early for Steel anymore. Almost ever fish I have ever caught has been between 10 and 2 or after 4 pm. These results however may be because I always use to go out after school and slept in on weekends

[Steelhawk]

Good obervation Everyday. You are right about the schooling phenomenon. I tend to find that in the lower river runs and pools, you will find that the fish can travel in groups, especially the first nighters in lower river. In fact, I have been observed this many many times.

During my younger fishing days, I used to be early birds in the lower runs. There was one time that stood out in a perfect steelhead run which was a hot run usually producing a few hookups each morning. But that morning, no one hit anything first light there, strange. I looked  below the run. There was a pool below where access was impossible due to ever changing landscape by flooding every year. I was thinking perhaps the main school of the first nighters could be trapped in that pool. Perhaps they could be travelling up any minute before the morning turned too bright. Sure enough, soon some one at the tail out hooked into a fish, then the guy next to him, and then next.... Soon, many fishermen were into fish including me. I hooked into the only wild fish out of 10 fish hooked and landed, all happening within 1/2 hr.

A strange expisode happened also right after the hot action was over. There were 3 buddies fishing next to each other and two of them got their hatcheries and were really happy and high spirit. But the other guy was getting frustrated and mad that he didn't get into a fish. Suddenly with a loud curse, he flew his entire tackle, rod & reels included, into the river, and dashed out of the run back to the parked car, cursing loudly along the way. The two high spirited friends were shocked. They quietly picked up their fish and followed this guy out. Soon every one of us changed our target of fishing, from steelie to a rod set. 

Another time I was also fishing in the lower river. That morning, again, no runs had any much action at all. Strange, because the entire section seemed to be bare of fish, and this was during very good steelhead season at least 15 years ago when there were not that many steelheaders like now.  Again, I was thinking where the fish could have hidden if they ever come up during the night. I was fishing a section of river where it was common for the first night fish to hold up but they were not in the hot runs. As I was walking along the dyke between runs, my mind again zoomed into a deep pool with tall trees and bushes lining along one side, and unaccessible deeper side channel on the other side. The water was too high in the side channel that day for any dare devils. So that pool was not touched. I then focused on the run right above that pool. As I approached that run, there was a few guys there. Then a fish got hooked while I was still walking along the dyke which has a deep slough preventing me from accessing the run. Then I saw another fish hooked, and by then I was racing as fast as I could to the run. Then another, and another. By the time I got there, the action died. About 8 fish got hooked in a hurry... Oh well, next time.

Good luck and hope you can bump into one of these steelie schools...

[costas]

Thanks for all the great advice...I am going to be taking all of the advice and going through it all and hope have a great steelhead season
and please keep all the advice and comments coming!! 
 

[Catch44]

Yea really good tips..as i am a newb kinda to steelhead fishing...they sound like fun to try and catch...love a good challenge...but will try my patience as well..hahaha......but when I hook one...ill be all smiles...and thnx for such a great forum and great group of ppl

[costas]

yeep..is sure is

[Catch44]

how many has someone ever landed in one day(trip) fishing for steelhead?...are they that tough or you just have to know what your doin

[Every Day]

how many has someone ever landed in one day(trip) fishing for steelhead?...are they that tough or you just have to know what your doin

Like said my best day was 5 in 3 hours....
Then again I sometimes can go 10 trips in a row without a hit.... all about skill reading water and alot of luck

[mr.p]

My best day has been 5 on and 3 landed.
But i too have gone 7 or 8 full days without seeing my float dip.

[Catch44]

Wow...sounds like fun and not...lol...all about reading the water, timming and patience...but im still looking forward to it..and the river and awesome place to be...im hoping to land at least one this season...a gooder...big and strong fighter.....Do they breach and jumo out of the water like coho...or fight like a spring..?..

[DavidD]

Maybe I should have clarified the following:

I've been at it for three years now... still waiting for that first hit

by also adding that I only got out about a half a dozen times a year.

Regarding:

The only way I can think of someone not touching one in 3 years is by fence posting in one run all day.

Trying to balance a family life with fishing and traveling from Maple Ridge to the Vedder in the Winter months only allows me a few hours of fishing(?) / learning(!!!) per trip.  I don't have many an opportunity to really work the river as I do in the summer/fall.

I've only been fishing for salmon for the past 3 years.  First year on my own (was I ever a newbie ) - second year and onward, had a more experienced fisher take me under his wing from time to time and show/teach me many-a-thing - but I can't remember going Stealheading with him.

I have followed many a 'Steelhead' posting on this forum to learn what I should / should not do and even took a 'How to fish for Steelhead' course. 

I have traveled from the top of the Vedder to the bottom (not in one day mind you - as again - I only have a few hours) - reading and studying the water.

Hmmm - I think I babbled long enough - I'm evening boring myself.   

My main point I was trying to mention to Costas was that fishing for Steelhead is somewhat if not really different than fishing for other salmon. Don't expect to catch one right away (although I hope you do and expect to see a picture posting in the forum). 

[Steelhawk]

7 fish, and one of my steelhead buddies had 9 in a day. He & I had a 25-fish day in the canyon pools of the Gold River way way back when it was still a prime river for wild steelhead. Talking about steelhead utopia back then, sigh!  And we hit our fish in total  brownish/yellowish water after a high water, bottom bouncing (with a short leader of course  ) with a small spin & glo with orange body and white rings called the Gold River Special. After that battle and success in the yellow water of the Gold, I always wonder whether steelhead is that tough to catch in low visibility in the Vedder, or just that our Vedder just don't have the kind of steelie run like the Gold of old. I guess if we have that many steelies in the river, drifting roe or a 6" worm or same spin & glo should have similar success.

Talking about the subject of how long a drought a steelheader will endure and still fishing (admirable indeed), I know of an older gentleman who had tried for 7 years and still going. You must think he doesn't fish often enough, or that he lives far from the river. Logical thinking. But this is the story:

Years ago, one morning I hooked and landed a hatchery in a not-so-known spot, in a section with houses and private property lining the river. An older fisherman came down to watch me played and landed the steelie. He was really excited and admiring the beautiful steelie and was telling me how lucky I was. I told him I had hooked many steelies in the season already and it wasn't that hard if you know steelie's habit. He was a bit shocked to hear that and proceeded to tell me that he had not hooked a fish in 7 years. I was shocked. Go figure. He was still trying with a rod in his hand. I asked if he lives far and not fishing often. 'No' he said. Pointing to one of the houses behind, he said, 'I live there'. Wow, that was preserverance to its best. I was speechless and overcome, toally at awe with the older gentleman's die-hard attitude. Needless to say, I proceeded to share with him my little insights I had about steelheading then. I never bumped into him again. I hope he has much success afterwards and still healthy enough to fish in his old age. Amen.  Yes, to the newer steelheaders, never give up easily if you want to hook into your dream fish.

Good luck and tight line.

[costas]

Thanks for all the good advice ..this is all very helpful to me and to the newer steelhead fished like me   

[hue-nut]

 for scottkemp