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[kellya]

Just about to tie up a bunch of rigs and was wondering what test you guys use and what leader lengths with different gear. As well what gear do you guys ushually use. In my boxes right now i have spinner/spoons/colorado blades/assorted marabou jigs/jensens clusters/singels/wool/Pink worms 4-6 inch/pink grubs(2.5inch). missing anything?

[Fish Assassin]

18-24" 10 lb. depending on water visibility

[Steelhawk]

If you fish the rapids section, you can cut back pre-tied leader to about 8-12".  This will keep the presentation from swirling with unsteady currents there, and stay closer to the depth of the lead.

[cohokid]

i use 8lb mono when conditions are clear. with a 12-20 inch leader. i like jensen eggs and jensen clusters as my prefered bait/lure.

[Addicted To Steel]

The gear you have in your box is fine for steelhead.
One of the most important things you should concentrate on is water conditions; flow, color, temp, etc.. You will learn over time what works better in certain conditions. Knowing what to use and when to use it is what makes the difference between hooking up once in awhile, and hooking up often, and under tough conditions. If you can perfect this, you will find yourself hooking and landing steelhead on a regular basis. There are times to use blades, time to use wool, time to use artificials, and times to use bait. Fishing pressure, reading water conditions, temp, freshness of fish, etc.. are all factors involved with hooking steelhead.

Leader length and strength is also a variable which you can learn to help maximize your hookups. If you are fishing colored fast water, you can get away with fishing a heavy shorter  leader. If you are fishing Gin clear slower water you will have to drop leader strength and also go to a longer length. If you are fishing clear but fast water you will want a shorter leader to keep your gear/bait down, but at the same time use a thinner diameter as not to give yourself away.

So many things come in to play with steelheading. If you are fishing virgin water with a large number of untouched/unspooked fish, you could get away with a multitude of errors and still end up with a hook up. Trial and error is a great teacher. Knowing where we went wrong is key, so that next time it will be a hookup.

You should consider tying your leaders up a little on the long side to start, so that if you want them shorter you have the option to cut them back when need be.
I have cut mine back all the way to 7-8" when fishing very fast  boulder filled runs. You never know when you may have to get that bait right down and dirty where the fish are hiding behind a boulder in fast flow. You may have to fish a long 2ft leader sometime if fishing slow clear canyon water.

Another pointer I can offer is to tie up a few different strength size leaders. Tie some 8lb, some 10lb, and some 12lb. Keep them labelled so you can quickly switch up when need be. You may also want to tie up 15 lb leaders if you are fishing a heavier 20lb main line. I only fish 15lb main in the lower mainland, so the heaviest leader I tie up is 12lb.
I keep a pips full of the three different leader strengths at all times. I separate the three by drawing lines in between with a black felt marker. It makes for quick changeups.

I hope I have been of some help.

ATS

[kellya]

Thanks for the advice. Im fishing only a 12lb main a bit on the light side it should be ok though. im useing 10lb leaders right now as the flows got lowish viz, Ill report if i get out

[fishingbuddha]

i like to use 12 lb leader if its a big river and 10 lb leaders if it is a small river. always 12lb-15lb main (maxima or ande) although i am going to try trilene.

i either drift fish or float fish so most of my gear includes pre tied lines in baggies. ( i usually pre tie everything with the hook, wool, corkie and swivel so that i all i have to do is tie it on and add bait. therefore more fishing time and less down time=more fish..you can buy little baggies that will fit one-three pre tied lines)
depending on where i fish i usually carry mostly pre tied corkies with wool, but i also include spin and glows, single eggs, gooey bobs, wool, aero drifters, aero jigs. i usually also carry a few other things just in case like...lures, spinners, pink worms, flies, shrimp scent, etc.

i always carry shrimp and roe as long as you can fish with bait.

as far as leaders are concerned...i like mine to be about 16-20"

[THE_ROE_SLINGER]

Great tips guys..all true