Hi, it is me again to stir up the pot of steelheading. This time, we try to get a general consensus why so many hooked steelies failed to be landed? Please try to help the newbies again to guard against doing the wrong thing after getting a lucky bite. Again, rate the highest incidence for you, and give a rough estimate of your landing % in the last few years. Here I go:
1. Not paying attention was my worst problem. My last year's first steelie
was not landed as I was talking to someone when the float went down.
2. Weak hook set was 2nd worst. I fished the rapids a lot. Among hundred
of casts, I just snag bottoms at times due to casting too many spots.
One of those times you think you snag, it is a steelie on the line, and the
hook set can be weak. Now I usually double pump again when the fish
is about right in front, as I know if I don't do that, the next jump or roll I
will lose the fish.
3. Long drift, therefore the line is not tight enough for a strong hook set.
Now I don't get lazy, keep shorter drift, fan my drift, take a few steps
down after each short drift in a run/pool. If I target a fish in a pocket
water, I try to stand 12 o'clock to it, so the hook can penetrate the side
of the jaw, and not its upper lips which comes from top-down drift.
4. Forget to sharpen hook - so ever critical, especially fishing the rapids or
near to bottom, when the hook can get dull by hitting rocks. Now I check
the hook sharpness every now and then to make sure it stays sticky
sharp. Also using high carbon steel hooks exclusively now for steelies.
5. Leader or mainline break - I rate it last, as I fished with a customed
Loomis 1261, pretty soft rod, and Silex/JW Young centerpins, so the
line is rarely over-played. Sometimes the line does break due to wear &
tear with the rocky bottoms and just fail to detect it soon enough. Check
the lines for weakness every now & then to reduce this possibility.
My landing ratio improves through the years from 30% to 70% roughly.
Once again, I call upon the top rods to contribute freely to give the newer
fishers some insights of your rich steelheading experiences. Tight Line!