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[Carich980]

Hey guys,

  I'm new to River fishing and I'm trying to catch my first Steelhead on the Vedder. I've been out 4 times so far with my fly rod but am failing miserably with it so Ive decided to try with float and a pink worm set up on my river rod instead. Ive seen Fish surface near me twice but I haven't had a bite at all.

How do you know what depth to set the float at? I've tried different depths but seem to either get too much bottom and get hung up a lot or don't feel the bottom at all. I'm using about 20 inches of leader from the weight. When I cast this float set up am I better to cast more downstream then upstream or does it matter?

I was out today in the rain and I'm gonna try again tomorrow in the rain again below the train bridge.

[Fish Assassin]

I like my lure 12-18" off the bottom. First find bottom (your float will lie flat in the water), then move your float down 12-18". I like casting my rig slightly upstream and let it drift downstream

[BigFisher]

Your doing everything right, Just keep moving down river. Switch up and fish something different back up river. Keep in mind they will sit at your feet in these current conditions.

[bigblue]

Might also be good idea to rotate between pink worm and artificial eggs with little bit of yarn on top as pink worm is more of an impact bait.
Also, try to set you float so that your pencil lead (split shot is not well suited) or slinky gently tap the bottom once in a while so you know you are fishing near the bottom. Occasional bottom snagging comes with river fishing, so use methods so that pencil lead can be dropped without breaking your line and possibly loosing your float. Using surgical tubing to hold pencil lead is one of many options. As Vedder water temp is still low around 5~6 degrees, steelhead won't chase your bait far, so best  keep it close to bottom to get a strike.

[HOOK]

Bigblue - you actually dont want to be tapping the bottom but actually anywhere between 1-2 feet off the bottom. Fish look ahead and up NOT down, I have also seen in clear water that when your lead taps the ground and your bait (whatever it is) jerks with the impact the fish can be spooked and wont hit it that drift. If your tapping the bottom your also not getting a proper drag free drift which is what your after most of the time.

During the fall fishery make sure you keep a close eye on what the fish do, especially when you have flossers/rippers in the run/pool. We fished an area last year where the coho sat anywhere between 3-5feet down from the surface to avoid all the flossers/rippers lines and hooks. We had awesome days only fishing a 2foot depth with roe because we were right in the fishes faces  the Chinook would even raise up in the water column to avoid the nonsense, of course if they stopped ripping for 5 minutes the fish would settle and start hitting again 

[bigblue]

Bigblue - you actually dont want to be tapping the bottom but actually anywhere between 1-2 feet off the bottom. Fish look ahead and up NOT down, I have also seen in clear water that when your lead taps the ground and your bait (whatever it is) jerks with the impact the fish can be spooked and wont hit it that drift. If your tapping the bottom your also not getting a proper drag free drift which is what your after most of the time.

Hook - if you read carefully what we are trying to say is the same thing. I said "gently tap the bottom once in a while", not frequently. As you well know, most river bottoms are uneven due to boulders and such, so in a drift you will normally want to bounce once or twice off the high points (likely top of a boulder) of the drift. If you do that your drift in effect will be 1 feet or so off the bottom most of the time. Exception of course would be if you are fishing a flat gravel bottom where the bottom structure is very even. I completely agree with you that bouncing lead off the bottom is counter productive as it might very well scare fish. However, as you well know, dead floating is also sometimes very effective under certain situations as practiced on certain runs on the Vedder during steelhead season.

[kindalonismo]

I like my lure 12-18" off the bottom. First find bottom (your float will lie flat in the water), then move your float down 12-18". I like casting my rig slightly upstream and let it drift downstream

Not trying to jack the thread, but some great info guys...Cheers! 

[HOOK]

drag free drift = dead drift. which i did say  however for certain baits and lures you actually want to create a bit of drag/tension to make sure that your presentation leads the way before the lead/split shot gets to the fishes eyes. this is especially true in slower runs where fish can look at stuff longer as opposed to a reactionary response. I rather have my gear not hit the bottom ever unless im to lazy to change depths to fish from the deeper to the shallower shoreline runs but i will normally adjust my cast and tension so im not dragging but just tapping periodically.

I wasnt saying you were wrong by any means, just that i like to do it a bit different because i find with the odd tapping that you still get stuck and i dont favour having to retie LOL

Presentations that i like to tension back on for example are: blades, roe (chunk not bags), rubber worms.

[brownmancheng]

Presentations that i like to tension back on for example are: blades, roe (chunk not bags), rubber worms.

Hook- why do you like tension back on roe and not bags

Sorry could someone explain what impact bait is? I googled it and just got bait car programs lol

[bigblue]

Not trying to jack the thread, but some great info guys...Cheers! 

Very good point in FA quote.
I use to do that when I first started out river fishing (I even used a plumb bomb then LOL), but somewhere along the line I got lazy I guess.
Like Hook said, it is best to keep it 1 feet off the bottom without touching anything. Just have to be more deligent and careful.

Brownmancheng -- Impact bait refers to bait like blades and pink worms which have greater stimulation effect on steelhead and are normally fished last and fast.
Sweeping a run by putting on tension on a drift as Hook mentioned could increase effectiveness of your presentation.
You can also cover a wide area, such as wide shallow tail out, quickly by sweeping it with a blade for example.

[wonder]

dont get discouraged and doubt yourself, just do some reading wenever u can and eventually it will come, i went at least 20 times b4 my first steely and and now im upto 3 on the season. keep at er!

[HOOK]

I like to put tension on roe chunks because they milk better than bags and i want the fish smelling my roe, then seeing it before anything else, if you let it drift drag free alot of time your lead will present itself before your offering, not always but probably more then you would want it to. I hold tension on blades and worms to increase their action and effectiveness, it also allows a person to use a sweep (like Blue said) to cover water faster. In the spring if im fishing gear i use blades first through a run because the takes are fierce and the fish go insane 

I also find blades start working better once the fry start hatching, like right now for example

[brownmancheng]

Wow great info thanks a lot guys! Small things you don't think of but can make a big difference. That's why I love this site, I normally fish alone or with my brother who is also an inexperienced angler so it is great to benefit from the wealth of knowledge. Cant wait to hit the river and try these techniques out

[blaydRnr]

I like to put tension on roe chunks because they milk better than bags and i want the fish smelling my roe, then seeing it before anything else, if you let it drift drag free alot of time your lead will present itself before your offering, not always but probably more then you would want it to. I hold tension on blades and worms to increase their action and effectiveness, it also allows a person to use a sweep (like Blue said) to cover water faster. In the spring if im fishing gear i use blades first through a run because the takes are fierce and the fish go insane 

I also find blades start working better once the fry start hatching, like right now for example

it also depends though on what part of the river you're fishing.

when i'm centerpinning a seam where the current is running smooth, i'll usually allow my presentation (roe sack or chunk) to flow naturally, only to put enough tension so my line (above my float) doesn't bow.

[blaydRnr]

Wow great info thanks a lot guys! Small things you don't think of but can make a big difference. That's why I love this site, I normally fish alone or with my brother who is also an inexperienced angler so it is great to benefit from the wealth of knowledge. Cant wait to hit the river and try these techniques out

just remember steelhead like salmon travel thousands of miles to get where they're going... on the river, they'll always take the easiest path possible and rest where they're protected not only from predators, but from the river's strong current.