My first steelhead trip

It is still early up here, more rain this week is predicted. Leaves have pretty much turned and are on their way down so more run off will be experienced. Still haven't had a killing frost.
Weekend and next week will be the leave season up here.
 
So you guys that do this often..
Do you nymph the same way you do for trout?
I tried nymphing for like 4 hours in the morning and didn't even get a single hit. Tried all sorts of patterns, egg patterns, physcho princes, regular nymphs (PTs ect..). Was fishing them just like trout fishing, deep to where I hit bottom occasionally.. is this not the way to do it for steelhead? Do you actually suspend them? Just wondering on the technique.
As soon as I switched to streamer style patterns the game was ON. But would like to be able to nymph as well the next time I go. I for whatever reason enjoy nymphing more.
 
You nymph for them just like trout
 
Honestly I nymph like I do with trout, bottom bouncing on a dead drift. But with egg patterns mostly. More bold colors in dirty water, more pastels in clearer water. When there's high flows and fresh fish I'll do the same with a bugger or leach and give it a swing at the end of the drift.

In very low conditions and skittish fish I will use trout nymphs. Black stones, PTs and the like.

Bigger tippet of course.
 
For those this going this weekend...There was an OK number of fish above follys and platz on Sunday. Probably more now with another bump in flows last night. Real bonus was most guys were lower on the creek so I had a few pods to myself.. if it were crowded I would say there weren't many, but there were enough to keep me entertained for a whole day sunday with little to no other pressure around. Put quite a few miles on the boots, but beats fising in a crowd any day and was a perfect day out for an early season outing.
 
Streamers are much more effective on fresh, just out of the lake fish.
The more they are pressured, the less likely they tend to take a streamer.
Nymphing is the same except the fish usually aren't actively feeding so the lies may be different than typical trout lies. Steelhead are either holding/resting, staging to make a run or running. So, tactics may need to change accordingly.
 
Thanks mucka. That's what my sources said too, but confirmation is always welcome.

That middle stretch between legion and follys is all posted up and leaves a black hole in the info gathering, lol.

May not matter anyway. Rain may have it blown out for us. But if you ain't flirting with blow outs then you ain't ever gonna hit it just right either.
 
Salvelinusfontinali wrote:
Honestly, I really don't blame my equipment for my lost fish, everytime I would hook up it was like an instant adrenaline rush, didn't get good hook sets, and when I was playing the fish I was so dang adrenalined up, and nervous about loosing it I was just about shaking!! LOL!! Next time I go, I will know more about what to expect when one of those monsters takes my fly and be more prepared and conscious about getting a good hook set and taking my time landing it. Definitely a new experience for me... even the biggest trout I've ever caught are no comparison to those things.
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Sal, that still happens to me on the first fish. I usually lose that one and then settle down.

And two years ago, it happened with every fish I hooked. But there was that Amish ghost hanging around that year, so I blame it on that.;-)

A forgiving rod is indeed helpful.

IMO, with a faster action, you will lose more. That has been my experience. The slower the better.
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Yep!! It's a bummer all that water is posted.. closes off what probably was holding the most fish last weekend (hopefully).

If the forecast holds it might be as good as a weekend as someone can hope for on a pre-planned way in advance trip.. Friday and Saturday are looking good! Plan on making a run or two up there myself. Good luck!
 
Salvelinusfontinali wrote:
So you guys that do this often..
Do you nymph the same way you do for trout?
I tried nymphing for like 4 hours in the morning and didn't even get a single hit. Tried all sorts of patterns, egg patterns, physcho princes, regular nymphs (PTs ect..). Was fishing them just like trout fishing, deep to where I hit bottom occasionally.. is this not the way to do it for steelhead? Do you actually suspend them? Just wondering on the technique.
As soon as I switched to streamer style patterns the game was ON. But would like to be able to nymph as well the next time I go. I for whatever reason enjoy nymphing more.
Click to expand...

Nymphing is my best method of catching Steelhead. For typical indicator nymphing rigs I'll have the top fly as an unweighted attractor pattern, almost always an egg pattern whether it's a glo bug or sucker spawn. Orange, red, and pink are all good choices. Below that I have a 6-12" dropper (4X) to the bottom fly, a weighted nymph. Beadhead nymphs of really any variety work well for me, as long as they're heavy enough to get both flies down to the fish. Prince nymphs, psycho princes, pheasant tails, hares ears, Caddis pupa, green weenies, wooly buggers are all good choices.

If the water is low and clear and or the fish are within a rod's length away from me, I also like to "high-stick" nymph as well without an indicator. Again, if the water is clear then I'll often just use a single super-heavy anchor fly to dredge the bottom and watch for any fish that open their mouths. If it's slightly stained or deeper clear water, I'll have the same anchor fly on bottom with a higher visibility fly (glo bug, etc.) on top to use as a sort of underwater strike indicator. The method works very well for me, but you have to take extra caution not to spook an already skittish fish. It takes some practice but I'll say it's probably my favorite method of catching small water Steelhead now.
 
Another hint on this that I've found extremely helpful.

While I'm not normally a fan of fluoro tippets, most steelheaders do use them, and for good reason. This is an instance where I do as well. The reason is mainly abrasion resistance. Fluoro is more abrasion resistant than nylon based tippet materials. Steelhead have teeth, and with all that running and angle changing that tippet rubs across those teeth during the fight. Fluoro makes it less likely they'll cut the line.

Seaquar Grand Max has generally been the best tippet material I've found.

But, and here's another key. I hold that nylon LEADERS are a big advantage. Reason is stretch. Fluoro doesn't stretch, nylon does. And stretching is another shock absorber in the system, just like having a soft rod tip. It's like having rubber bands built in. The longer the better. Helps absorb those head shakes and sudden runs. But it only has to be incorporated in the system, it doesn't have to be at the business end.

So I typically use 6-8 feet of nylon leader material (usually straight untapered 0x or 1x) with a foot or so of 2x, 3x, or 4x fluoro tippet at the end, and I think that's the way to go on chromers. That's just me, though.

And of course, be real careful on knot tying. For other stuff I whip up knots real quick and if it's only a decent knot, and not a perfect one, well, who cares. But for steelhead I deliberately take my time and become a real perfectionist on knots.

One last one. A steely will straighten out a cheap, flimsy hook pretty quick. Depends how you hook the fish and the angle of the pull, but I've had it happen. Usually nymph hooks and streamer hooks are ok, but if you buy egg patterns at Cabelas or Fly Shack or somewhere like that, often they use the flimsy dry fly hooks for them. Buy instead from a steelhead/salmon based shop or tie your own on heavy nymph hooks.
 
Yup, for any big fish - steelies salmon or stripers, check your knots, wet them properly and check them after hook ups too.

Also keep an eye for windknots. I strip in and check about every 30 casts or so - the hook points too.
 
Another tip.

When you get to Manchester hole, loudly mention that it's your first time ever with a fly rod. Quietly remove your fly. Start wipping the line back and forth parallel to the stream, creating that great whip sound each time. Watch as people clear out and give you room!!!

Oh, and anywhere on the tribs, if there's a dirty pinner above you letting his junk drift down into the area you are fishing. Then cast over his line and start a drift. Yell "Fish On!!!" while giving the largest bassmaster hookset you can muster, throwing your line behind you like a full backcast. And watch his free spooling reel spits out about 100 ft of line. Then say "oh, darn, missed him".

Gotta learn the finer details of combat fishing. :) J/K.
 
pcray1231 wrote:
Another tip.

When you get to Manchester hole, loudly mention that it's your first time ever with a fly rod. Quietly remove your fly. Start wipping the line back and forth parallel to the stream, creating that great whip sound each time. Watch as people clear out and give you room!!!

Oh, and anywhere on the tribs, if there's a dirty pinner above you letting his junk drift down into the area you are fishing. Then cast over his line and start a drift. Yell "Fish On!!!" while giving the largest bassmaster hookset you can muster, throwing your line behind you like a full backcast. And watch his free spooling reel spits out about 100 ft of line. Then say "oh, darn, missed him".

Gotta learn the finer details of combat fishing. :) J/K.
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LOL, great tips Pcray!

Kind of the same tips the guy I went with gave me.. His words as we went to the Manchester hole... "you just gotta be an ****** man. If your not youll get pushed out real quick." I quickly realized what he meant by that.

I should mention that the guys on my elbows were pretty cool guys. I seen a few fish downstream of me in front of the guy on my left elbow that he was fishing to. I politely asked him if I could please make a few swings to those fish because I really felt I was in a good position to hook one. He let me, and lo-and behold I did hook into one of those fish... I guess the moral of the story is, sometimes you just gotta talk to people.
 
Tye streamers on shorter hook 3x or longer the fish will use the leverage to through the hook.

Don't use a lot of drag on your reel the harder the drag the more apt the fish will run down stream. Use a reel that will allow you to free spool your line in; large arbor or a large reel will allow you to pick up(bring in) your line much faster.

Sometimes a "Hello" will make your fishing more enjoyable, make the other person you friend, swap stories, etc. They may have a wealth of information or they may simply need an education on how to fish. Don't let ignorance make you the a--hole.
Turn the situation positive or move on it is your choice.
An enjoyable trip is a choice you make of the situation you experience.
 
Fish are way up, Erie blew out again yesterday. There have been fish above legion on elk since the first week of October. The fish are typically much higher at any given time than most people think. Is each run going to be loaded, no, but go for a walk and you will be surprised. Weekends are always bad with people, its a given. The farther up and the farther away from access points you go, the more solitude you will find.
 
krott243 wrote:
Fish are way up, Erie blew out again yesterday. There have been fish above legion on elk since the first week of October. The fish are typically much higher at any given time than most people think. Is each run going to be loaded, no, but go for a walk and you will be surprised. Weekends are always bad with people, its a given. The farther up and the farther away from access points you go, the more solitude you will find.
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Cool, thanks for the info. I will be heading up again soon.
 
Holy crap i am spoiled! Sorry that pic doesnt look fun.

Belgian casting rookie watch out. Lol. Jk of course.

There was a time recently i was looking forward to that..... Thank the lord he changed those plans!!!

I havent read all the posts.

Fluros the only way to roll. Rigs depend on fishing tech. But it all will work.

For combat, id try small nymphs and drop to 6lb fluro on the tippet end. Lets face it, you cant loose something you never hook!

Strip strikes arent needed but generally speaking hook towards the downstream side sideways will hold more fish by a long shot. Reality is unless youre poking and shaking fish you rarely think of it.

One thing i have and normally use regularly, but didnt this last trip, is a hook file. In fisheries where one or two butes is a good day, sharpen judiciously! Even quality hooks go dull fast! If youreagain shaking fish.... Check the hook. If its crazy good. I dont waste my time! Though i know better!



 
Fyi. Fished Friday and Saturday. Landed 2 on Friday (12 mile and Elk). Saturday, was low and clear on upper Elk. Landed 3.
 
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