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[DRP79]

EveryDay, how does temp affect what setup you bring to the river? I had built up a bit of confidence with my spinning setup over salmon season. Now 3 trips, all be it short trips and nada for steelhead so far.

Im hearing the "look that guy has a coffee grinder", you wont catch anything with that till March or April bla bla bla. I am starting to lose some confidence in it. I couldnt be bothered to take 2 rods, I find it really cuts down mobility when trying to cover water.

I am about to head out again this morning and am at war with myself over bringing the pin or the spin.

[Flytech]

Now 3 trips, all be it short trips and nada for steelhead so far.

You have to realize Everyday knows great spots and knows the holes. If you're fishing the vedder and expecting steelhead on every trip you're sadly setting yourself up for depression.


Remember the steelhead is a fish of 1,000 casts.


I have fished the vedder 15 or so times for steelhead, and im still skunked on that river.


Do not expect to catch fish like Everyday.

[DRP79]

By no means am I expecting to catch fish every time out (yet, lol) and I know that it is still a little early on. Im just wondering if he uses the spinning setup more, less or the same in winter vs summer.

[leapin' tyee]

Im hearing the "look that guy has a coffee grinder", you wont catch anything with that till March or April bla bla bla. I am starting to lose some confidence in it. I couldnt be bothered to take 2 rods, I find it really cuts down mobility when trying to cover water.

I am about to head out again this morning and am at war with myself over bringing the pin or the spin.

Wow, sounds like you are really losing your confidence over stealheading. Put in your time and learn to read the water.  And use your weapon wisely. Tight line 

[riptide]

DRP79 ... If you are struggling between spin casting or drifting combine the 2 . Use your usual drift set up and tie on your spinners , colarados , dick nites , spoons  etc. very effective way to cover a lot of water , hold back on your line near the end of your drift and run it across the current .Watch your depth for snag ups  as you now have 18" to 24" of weighted line under your weight if you chose to use one. If you aren't having luck with the flash switch up to roe bags , pinkworms , jenseggs , etc.  Your confidence to catch your steely will grow with your ability to read the water to determine were they are holding and by covering lots of water to find those spots . Good luck , its worth it . And don't worry about what other people say , you can easily shut them up by pulling a fish out  in front of their feet .

[Tenz85]

Read spoon fishing by bill Herzog and spinner fishing by Jed Davis. Great info to explain what you're doing and what you're doing wrong. Fishing not catching.

Tight lines.

[bald_seagull]

EveryDay, how does temp affect what setup you bring to the river? I had built up a bit of confidence with my spinning setup over salmon season. Now 3 trips, all be it short trips and nada for steelhead so far.

Im hearing the "look that guy has a coffee grinder", you wont catch anything with that till March or April bla bla bla. I am starting to lose some confidence in it. I couldnt be bothered to take 2 rods, I find it really cuts down mobility when trying to cover water.

I am about to head out again this morning and am at war with myself over bringing the pin or the spin.

as others have said its a lot to do with confidence and your ability to find fishy water. so go back to a setup you have caught fish on before and go out and cover water until you can find a few bites
steelhead are definitely a species where 10% of the fishermen catch 90% of the fish

cover water as steelhead are strong and can hold in just about any water type
if you can do a nice drag free drift near unspoked fish theres no reason you shouldnt hook up especailly early in the am

 

[RalphH]

Remember the steelhead is a fish of 1,000 casts.

Well then I should have caught a lot more by now!

An old truism is that 90% of the fish are caught by 10% of the anglers. The V/C has a rep has being a pretty tough nut to crack partially due to all the pressure and presentations the fish see. I've been able to catch more fish on other rivers but not so many there. I keep trying though. Being there at the right time may have something to do with it.

[Every Day]

EveryDay, how does temp affect what setup you bring to the river? I had built up a bit of confidence with my spinning setup over salmon season. Now 3 trips, all be it short trips and nada for steelhead so far.

Im hearing the "look that guy has a coffee grinder", you wont catch anything with that till March or April bla bla bla. I am starting to lose some confidence in it. I couldnt be bothered to take 2 rods, I find it really cuts down mobility when trying to cover water.

I am about to head out again this morning and am at war with myself over bringing the pin or the spin.

I use to be a firm believer in warmer weather = better spoon fishing.

I had an eye opening experience however two years ago. It was -12C that day, ice forming rapidly on the eyelets after every cast. We came across a hole that had approximately 20 fresh steelhead that had come in the day before (maybe that morning?). This area allowed bait, so we started with roe, moved to pieces of shrimp, then to ghost shrimp. Tried pink worms, jigs, my stonefly nymphs, literally everything else I had in my box. Starting to get discouraged - I half laughed at Kitty when she pulled out her spoon rod. She hit 6 of those steelhead in 7 casts and ended up hooking 12 of them. I was in complete shock.

After that I started using them every day I went out, and would always pick them up in cold weather. The year before last on the Vedder (2013 season) I got 6 steel in 5 trips out in December, along with bulls and bows. Last year I didn't get to fish the Vedder as much as I would have liked, but still got nearly 50 bulls and a half dozen steelhead in 10 trips (it was a great year for bulls!). Spoons work, and they work well, no matter what time of year (I should mention every trip to the Vedder last year was between December/February - no March/April trips).

The coffee grinder comments on the Vedder were my favourite, as I quite often would hit fish right after those guys exited the run. You're obviously not going to hit a steelhead every time out on the Vedder... but I would say your chances on spoons are better than on a float set up (in my personal experience - and by how many I've caught directly behind float guys). Make sure you fish right into the tail outs, and when you think you are done the run (especially in places like Bergman, Brown road in the lower) take another 3 casts (so 15 steps total). You'd be surprised how many fish get forced out of those runs into the chutes -water that is hard for most people to cover - but spoons do it quite well.

[Every Day]

Maybe this will help sway your decision for tomorrow....
36 inch buck on spoons today!

[Murky]

Thanks for sharing your idea. I started spoon fishing almost by accident a couple years ago when I found myself in Chilliwack with time on my hands, no vest but a box of spoons and a level-wind. Early success convinced me of the effectiveness of spooning and I change up with floatfishing with a pin. I continue to use a levelwind rather than a spinning outfit. Though I can't cast quite as effectively with really light spoons, the greater control one gets with a levelwind is more important to me. Your ideas regarding the hook rigging and fluorocarbon attachment are now part of my arsenal. Really great stuff. Had great results this fall on Coho.

Weird thing happened the other day though. I made a short cast  and was into a steelhead at the start of the swing. It immediately jumped and ,though I bowed, the spoon flew deep into the trees behind me. I was amazed when it came out of the thick branches easily! It did because the Dacron had slid through the eyelet of the hook, leaving the hook in the steelhead. The Dacron was frayed, but not broken. I haven't been out since, but I've used pliers to try to eliminate any space between the eyelet and the shank( broke a few), on all my spoon hooks. Has anyone else had this happen; its shaken my enthusiasm for the trailing hook rigging. I'd like to think its a one off and, by tightening the eyelets, I'll be able to fish with confidence. I suppose the only way to find out is to hook and maybe lose a steelhead. The enhanced landing rate with this method is obvious, so experiment I will.

[Spawn Sack]

Everyday, would you mind sharing your opinion on using trailer hook wire (Rio's knottable wire, Senyo stinger wire, etc) instead of dacron? I'm not sure if it would be an advantage, disdvantage, or not matter at all to have the hook connected to such a stiff wire.

The method I have used is to put my trailer hook in my tying vise, cut a length of wire (I like the Rio knottabe wire), and feed the two cut ends through the hook eye, fold over and tie down (base of thread laid first). Basicially the same thing people do when making their trailer hook on an intruder. I'll tie up a dozen or whatever and put them in a small container like a film container.

From there I just loop them through the lower eye of the spoon and they are good to go.

Honestly I have not noticed a huge diff in my landing %, but then again I dont fish spoons that often, primarily for coho.

[DRP79]

Maybe this will help sway your decision for tomorrow....
36 inch buck on spoons today!

Im too stubborn to give up that easy, lol. I hit a dime bright 10-12lb wild today on the spinning setup. Hit a 2/3oz Silver R&B and put on a little dance. Sure was fun on the lighter gear. Im not sure the pin or the level wind will make it out this year.

[Kever]

Wouldn't adding another split ring between the hook and spoon have the same effect? (Two in total between the hook and spoon) And you wouldn't have to worry about knot strength or fraying?

[Flytech]

Wouldn't adding another split ring between the hook and spoon have the same effect? (Two in total between the hook and spoon) And you wouldn't have to worry about knot strength or fraying?

The splits can bind more than the line. Plus it's not as cool.