Bait Fishing (w/ dyied shrimp) for Steelhead

[Basshunter046]

I got a question here for everyone who fishes for steelhead. I've been doing it for around 20 years now and would like (if Possible) for some suggestions on rigging the shrimp on the hook. I run it through the back then out the head. It seems like the fish always want to tear the head off. I've caught plenty of steelhead in my life but watch others just slam them while we just get one here and there. Do you guys fish them different? Any advice on this would be great!

[mallard83]

I don't fish the dead/dyied shrimp really at all. I am assuming that since you live in Idaho there are no fresh sand shrimp around at the stores? I use a fresh sand shrimp and hook it pretty much the same way as you do. Are you making sure to bring the bait loop back over the shrimp after you hook it? Most of the sand shrimp that I fish with I break the head off and only use the tail. I usually only do this when I fish with the larger shrimp in the winter time. The summer I will usually leave the head on because I am using the smaller sized sand shrimp. It really all depends on conditions of the water and how I want to present the bait.

[Basshunter046]

Yes sounds the same. It seems like these fish wanna hit a whole shimp and preferibly with a head on it. I use to tear the head off and fish it that way but hardly ever got a hit. As time went on and more advice here, everyone at the confluence (Snake and Clearwater) runs a whole shrimp. When the Clearwater cools down from Nov. on thu Feb. and the Steelhead start holding up in the holes. I'll run spin and glows, or corkies off the bottom with a shrimp tail and do pretty good. I'm just trying to figure out how some of the guys here just slam em and some of us only get a few. I know some of them do make there own batches of dyed shrimp with scent and maybe thats just what it is??????
Thanks Mallard83 :thumright

[mallard83]

Also line size, length of the leader and the weight of the lead play a big factor. Are you using the same as these other guys? If not you could try that. You could have to heavy of line, to long or short of a leader, or even to heavy or light of weight. Just a guess, without seeing it for myself.

[Nik]

On a semi-related note, where is the area to post reports for steelhead fishing at the confluence? I don't even see the Snake River in the list of rivers.

[Basshunter046]

I used the Lower Granite Dam spot for a posting I think that was the relitively closest one I could find. As for line set ups and leader, I use 14lb treline XT as the main line the around 30" of Cameilion 12lb Florocarbon for the leader. I'm heading back down this upcoming weekend does anyone think the floro line could be the problem????

[mallard83]

Personally I don't like to use florocarbon line, but that really just falls under preference. I know a lot of guys that use it and like it, so it couldn't hurt to give it a try for yourself. Are you plunking or drift fishing with the 14lb and the 12lb? I use 10lb and 8lb for normal drift fishing and I will step it up to 14lb and 12lb if the river is running high. When I am plunking I will usually use 15-17lb mainline and 12-14lb leader.

[The Jigmiester]

I have heard this question asked a lot: How do you cure up and rig up dyed shrimp/prawns for steelhead? I am lucky... a very successful steelheader showed me the ropes and last year my girl and I landed 52 steelhead, with 29 hatchery fish and in one day last August had 19 fish at Drano. The biggest thing I can say is that the fish really responded to several factors: Head on prawns: Bought at Hammers and Grumpys in Yakima. Make sure that your batch to be dyed has thier eyes, attenaes and legs intact. The longer the antanaes the better! Use a quality dye: Beau Mack double red crystals is awesome. use food coloring blue to the red to make purple. Add strawberry cool aid packets and or jello packets in strawberry, black cherry and grape. Do not use chlorinated tap water! The smell seems to repel steelhead and salmon. Best case is to use river water from where you fish. fill up a 2 liter bottle at Drano and use only that water. Pack your prawns in coarse sea salt. don't use iodized morton salt. Add salt liberally, with just enough dye and water to cover your prawns in a sealable container. I add Mikes Shrimp oil to my batches. Separate out the shrimp that are missing feelers, eyes or are defective or filled with green sea crap in thier digestive tracts. Batches that have at least a week to cure work best. The debate rages about hook size, but we did just fine with #2 and # 4 octopus Gamakatsu red and black steelhead hooks. rigging a small shrimp on bigger hooks tore them up to bad so we stuck with those sizes. I went with 10 lb P line flourocarbon Clear 3 ft. leaders with 12 lb test Izor line green mainline. A 3"orange cigar slip bobber with long 5" center tube capped with a medium size bright orange corky. 2 1/8th oz bullet sinkers and one 3/16th oz bullet sinkers allowed the bobber rig to get down quickly, with just the upper end of the bobber sticking above the water with the center post and corky visible. Rigging the shrimp straight with the head down made a big differenc too. stick the hook tip about in the center of the smooth thorax on the shrimp's back, follow thru so that the hook pokes out just behind the eyes. secure you egg loop arond the thorax cinch gently then wrap a half hitch around the last 1/5th of the tail, so you shrimp is relatively straight and head down. Most importantly, add some pink Mike's Shrimp GEL to the upper back legs of the shrimp! It mde a huge difference in the number of take downs we had! Set your bobber to set within a foot of the bottom and hang on! The Jigmiester

[jens]

Are you using Coon Shrimp or Sandshrimp?