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[mistermongz]

second season steelheading and i havent caught one yet..but i will not lose hope...

[glx]

Definitely far better chances at hatchery fish in the lower and mid river.  I would say about 90% of my Steelhead on the Vedder in the past have been wild and caught from the upper river (Tamahi and up).  

[BCfisherman97]

4th season steelheading, hopefully I will be able to manage something.

[Sterling C]

Kill every hatchery chromer you catch.
That's why they are there. If we released them all, funding for the hatchery would soon stop.

Agreed. Well almost, every hatchery doe gets the rock shampoo. All others are released. 

[Dennis.t]

I release most of my hatcherys.I kill one or two per season for the table,to eat fresh.The family enjoys fresh steelhead.By letting go hatchery fish,it gives the new fellas a better chance at hooking one.Put your time in,fish correctly and keep your feet moving.You will have sucess.

[beyond]

 By letting go hatchery fish,it gives the new fellas a better chance at hooking one.
so nice!

[therise]

Agreed. Well almost, every hatchery doe gets the rock shampoo. All others are released. 

Rock Shampoo! I am going to remember that one!

[silver ghost]

most of the experienced rods tell m to move around to diff spots when steelheading. is this because there aren't many fish around, or because steelhead are constantly on the move and will bite anything that they cross paths with, therefore if you get no bites in one area after 10-15 minutes, then there probably aint fish there?

sorry for the beako question...

[bigblue]

As someone already said in another thread, steelheading is a gas intensive hobby as you have to go look for it than wait for it to come to you. If you feel you have covered the water well and get no bite, it's best to move on and look for other fish. Most experienced steelheaders develop their own circuit on the river and follow it. Even for productive spots, if no bites after a while, move on and come back later. 

[silver ghost]

As someone already said in another thread, steelheading is a gas intensive hobby as you have to go look for it than wait for it to come to you. If you feel you have covered the water well and get no bite, it's best to move on and look for other fish. Most experienced steelheaders develop their own circuit on the river and follow it. Even for productive spots, if no bites after a while, move on and come back later. 

okay cool, I am doing something right then

[IronNoggin]

Good luck. I caught my first hatchery steelhead in my first season. A fluke...
It took me three years before I caught another keeper. 

Methinks a few more are headed your way (again!) this coming season Buddy! I'll letcha know once the conveyor belt kicks in!! 

Looking Forward!! 

Cheers,
Nog

[Matt]

btw, how does steelhead taste compare to coho? in the past months my conclusion is coho taste awesome...

Steelhead are decent,  but aren't anything special as a food fish.  That wouldn't be a worthwhile reason to pursue them.  If you catch a hatchery fish, keep it!  It doesn't do any good to let it go as they aren't supposed to spawn and doing to pollutes the wild gene pool.

[typhoon]

4 years in for me and still no hatchery fish. I'm happy with 6 wilds though since I don't get out much.

[mikeyman]

Biggest tips for steelhead, don't floss, snag, drag bottom, or walk below somebody without asking or you will get thrown in the river, and believe me it is cold!!!! Keep the leader reasonable and just above the fishes head so they can see it, and wait for that float to rocket down, oh ya best part! Fish spots and cocentrate on spots within spots, grid the water, move on if no bites. Fish a good presentation all the time, I use bait mostly, but don't have to. On colder days it can be a pain. Some times they are tricky other times they hit anything, sometimes the switch is just turned on, I think due to temperature rising. Oh and If you don't catch a fish for a long time just give up to give me more space on the river.
 

[Matt]

Biggest tips for steelhead, don't floss, snag, drag bottom, or walk below somebody without asking or you will get thrown in the river, and believe me it is cold!!!! Keep the leader reasonable and just above the fishes head so they can see it, and wait for that float to rocket down, oh ya best part! Fish spots and cocentrate on spots within spots, grid the water, move on if no bites. Fish a good presentation all the time, I use bait mostly, but don't have to. On colder days it can be a pain. Some times they are tricky other times they hit anything, sometimes the switch is just turned on, I think due to temperature rising. Oh and If you don't catch a fish for a long time just give up to give me more space on the river.
 

Steelhead are very seldom present in densities sufficient to make snagging/flossing effective over conventional gear.