FLY FISHING for STEELHEAD
~ When the water temperature drops below 40 degrees, switch to sink-tip lines.
~ You don’t have to dredge the bottom with your sinking line. It will work as long your fly is within 4 feet of the bottom.
~ Don’t swing flies in runs more than 8-feet deep because you probably can’t fish them effectively, even with a sink tip.
~ If you only have a floating line, use a sinking poly leader as a substitute. It will get your fly down deep enough in most cases.
~ When the river is getting lots of pressure, fish out-of-the-way places like pocket water, and the fringes of popular runs. You may find fish holding in unlikely places.
~ When fishing nymphs under an indicator, use a heavy fly in front like a stonefly or egg sucking leech, then trail a small nymph or an egg pattern behind it. In the spring, an egg pattern is your best bet.
~ If there’s lots of fishing pressure, fish with smaller flies, as small as size 10. Make sure the hooks are strong enough to land a steelhead.
~ It’s never too cold to catch fish on a fly, but when the temperature drops into the mid to low 30s, dead drift flies instead of swinging them.
~If you prefer swinging flies, swing them when the water temperature is rising, which makes fish more active.
GENERAL TIPS
~ Learn to identify steelhead water. Steelhead hold in fairly distinct spots. Look for current that’s about walking speed with underwater structures in the form of boulders or bottom contours where deep areas turn shallow.
~ Steelhead prefer water that’s from 3 to 10 feet deep, but there’s a lot of leeway there.
~ Pay attention to seasons and conditions and know how they will affect fish. As the water gets colder, steelhead tend to like water that’s deeper and slower.
~ Learn a section of river. It’s tempting to chase rumors of a hot bite, but if you know where fish hold in a particular piece of water, you’re usually better off going there and waiting for fish to bite rather than trying unfamiliar water.
~ Be adaptive. Steelhead fishing conditions are constantly changing. If you adapt with the conditions, you will catch more fish.
~ Think presentation. No matter what tackle you’re using, how it’s presented is critical. Slower is usually better. You want your gear in front of the fish as long as possible.
~ Learn the local tactics. People tend to fish the Snake River differently than the Clearwater River or Salmon River. Tactics even change between the lower and upper Salmon River.
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Yes, I know. There is little in the way of fly design that can equal the simplistic, single syllable utterances re the Adrienne Comeau Budweiser Beer Can Holder. Normally, I would not even attempt to suggest that much short of the take could equal Adrienne’s pull. But, tonight I almost found a match. Not quite, but for awhile, until I looked at the pic again, I thought I was close.
