I NEED A STEELHEAD!!!!

[cromedome]

HEY EVERYBODY!!! so im pretty new to this forum but ive been using this site for some time now to find out where to get my line wet. but now i figure i might as well join and get to know more then just where and when to go fishing. the sky is home, not a year goes by without me being there, ive just about fished all the holes that are assessable on foot. ive gotten to be pretty educated with just going out talking to guys on the river fishing for what ever is going up it, but ive yet to hook into a steelhead!!! last year around april im fishing reiter along with 50 or more guys and at the time im on the hatchery side just as you walk down by the creek. long story short the on my left and the guy on my right happen to hook one almost back to back, the guy on my right is using a gold spoon, on my left drifting a float and jig with shrimp. so i help both guys land there fish net them for them and what not but i dont get anything!!!. i go out and do research, get equipped the works but nothing is working. im clueless at this point but not dettered i need a steelhead im positive im well over a thousand cast. so any pointers guys? at least if anybodies willing to give me some help on finding the fish besides at reiter because unfortunately i dont have a drift boat muchless can afford one. but i know its just as possible to land a cromer from shore i just dont know where???
any feedback would be much appreciated, thanks!!

[BentRod]

I know it's frustrating, but don't lose faith! It took me three seasons before I caught my first and then I only got two that season. Last year I caught four (might not seem like a lot, but my goal was to double my previous season, so at least I met that) and lost five others, so once you do figure it out it only gets better from there. Sounds like you're already doing the right thing and some of the best advice is watch what the successful people are doing and mimic it the best you can. Ten percent of the people catch 90% of the fish. That's because most of the time they combine knowledge and skill which usually comes with a LOT of experience and time on the water. Steelhead are a different beast than salmon and although some of the same techniques will catch them you have to find them first. Toss in winter conditions, i.e. water temp/color/height, weather, and fishing pressure and it just gets more complicated.
If you have to just HAVE to catch one, then the best thing to do is hire a guide such as Danny or Nate here from WL. You've surely seen from their pics that they can put you on fish and share some of their knowledge with you at the same time.
If you're bound and determined to do it on your own, like I was, then continue doing what you're doing, but I also recommend reading and watching all the Steelhead fishing material you can. Doesn't matter what method is being used, as somewhere in the content will be information on Steelhead behavior in varying conditions and how to identify Steelhead holding water for those different conditions. Although there are a lot of good books out there, I highly recommend some of the material by Bill Herzog, Jed Davis, and Timothy Kusherets. If you do read their material, although all these guys know what they're talking about, don't just go by what one of them says. Use the common information as rule of thumb. I routinely check books of theirs out from the library to refresh my memory....and look at the pretty pictures.
Don't just limit yourself to Winter Steelhead material either as Some of the Summer Steelhead material can also hold some good information (such as making fish move to a more desirable location) as well as some entertaining stuff.
The last couple things I can advise are 1) Pick one method (i.e. foat/jig or spoon/spinner) and stick with it. Master it and make it pay out before trying another method. Trying to switch back and forth between gear can be very frustrating, especially if you only have one rod, and each method requires different skill and, many times, different holding water. And finally 2) think TROUT. If you're an experience stream/river trout fisherman, Steelhead are just big Rainbows and will behave much the same way, so applying the same techniques will put you on the fish.
They're out there and you will eventually succeed. Try not to get too frustrated as your day will come and then you'll wonder why it took so long.
Good luck.

[strider43]

Keep fishing, a lot of it is just luck and or timing. I have seen guys come down to the HI way side at Reiter and cast a float where the floats is lying sideways on the surface and jig is dragging on the bottom and they catch a steelhead after several us had been fishing properly for hours with no bite. I have seen people fish right next to me with the same float and jig and get a limit and I went home ready to give my gear away. I went for about a year of trying for steel before landing one..... If your float fishing make sure you are finding the bottom and then raising your offering about a foot 12" to 18" above the bottom. If you’re not fishing the bottom, you’re not fishing. Keep at it and learn from the guys you see catching fish and you will get one. My first one I watched the guy close to me land one and his float was set about 18” deeper than mine, I adjusted my float and the next cast bobber down and fish on….

[3footvis]

I feel ya man. It took me a couple seasons before I caught my first steelhead. Keep exploring and watching what other successful fisherman do. Start a journal if you haven't yet & mark the fish caught/seen, conditions, & etc. You'll be able to look back and see the different holes on the river that produced under certain conditions, and the run timing.

[jd39]

To echo BentRod's statement, if you're able, go with a guide. Danny put me on my first steelhead last January. I still haven't hooked or landed one on my own but am more confident now when I hit a river because of the experience of fishing with Danny. He's a patient guy too (I ask a lot of questions).
If not, like others have said. Just keep it at, pay attention to what successful anglers are doing and copy them at first. That's my plan to get my first on my own. When success becomes more common than not then I'll start getting creative and trying different things just for the fun, have a few ideas from trout fishing but need to get basics down first.
Oh, and look into bobber dogging if you haven't already. Slightly different than BentRod's recommendation, I'm concentrating on two methods, bobber dogging and float/jig. That way if one's not working the other is available to try and they use a lot of the same gear just set up differently.
Good luck to you man! Hope to see a report in the next few weeks with you holding a chromer!

[natetreat]

I'll give you a few pointers. Early in the season, start at the terminal areas, Reiter on the Sky, The Big Eddy on the Snoqualmie. Stick with the method that you're most comfortable with. For most people, that is a bobber and jig. Get there early with good quality bait. Think pink and orange for jig colors. If you don't have roe, head on down to the Green around Metzler to pick up a few chum hens to cure up some, roe is a surefire way to catch some steelhead. If you are going to fish several techniques, bring multiple rods set up for each one, it makes it way faster to cover water.

If you're not fishing the terminal fishery, cover water. Steelhead are aggressive, they will bite if they see it. I bring three rods: a float rod, a drift rod and a hardware rod. I start by working my drift rod through with a corky, throw my float through and if nothing takes I'll run my big ole rvrfshr or vibrax through. Starting subtle and working up to something flashy and in their face. It wil take me no more than a half hour to work a short run. If I don't hook anything, I move on. During the early season with medium to high flows like we have right now, fish are not holding up very long. They're pushing through up to the hatchery. With the limited amount of fish in the system, that means that you need to cover water to find them, at any given moment there could be only 50 fish in the entire system.

Those fish will be making their way to the hatchery though. If you're at the hatchery, say at Reiter, you're waiting for those fish to come in. So you'll have a good shot at hitting fish all day long from one spot. You'll notice how the fish come in groups, everyone will hook up for about 15 minutes and then it will get quiet. That's the fish coming up. They're dumb, and they will bite as soon as they see that jig. A good bet is fishing the tail out at Reiter, that way you get first dibs on the fish coming up. Be prepared with sticky sharp owner hooks and good quality leader and you'll get one.

[jd39]

Thanks Nate! Always like reading your advice and find it helpful!

[cromedome]

thanks you guys!!! all the feed back really means alot, i definitely will take all this good info and apply it to my skill set. ive recently start making my own jigs to increasing my chances as well. once im off work im definitely hitting the water every chance i can get. once again thank you all for the feedback!!!

[The Nuts]

At first I thought it would be a good idea to try and figure out on my own the whole "Steelhead" thing as well as posting a thread here asking if anyone was willing to allow my "tag along" one day on the river in hopes of picking up some tips. I soon came to the conclusion that I would be much better served with my time, money and most of all sanity to head out on the banks with a guide.

See you on the 21st Nate!!!!

[sealegs]

to stryder43's statement. how do i know if I'm near the bottom? Am I feeling for a drag?

I will also be out for the first time fishing for steelhead using float and jig.

[jd39]

to stryder43's statement. how do i know if I'm near the bottom? Am I feeling for a drag?

I will also be out for the first time fishing for steelhead using float and jig.

Only way I know is to keep extending the depth of the bobber until it lays sideways because the jig is being dragged across the bottom, once you see that move it back up ~1' and you should be in business. Your bobber should be more or less vertical. Experienced anglers will just know what depth to fish a hole based on water conditions, I'm not one of those anglers so I rely on the above method.

[sealegs]

JD, thanks for the great tip. I have the gear ready to assemble with my new lamiglas and Penn battle purchased for me by me as a christmas gift. I think I was a good dude this year so treated myself to a gift.
I am itching to get out ( win or lose) to get a steelhead and will try what you recommended.

Fish On!

[HillbillyGeek]

Thanks everyone! This has been very informative.
I have a simple question: Is early better?
Some people say that freezing your butt off at 7:00 AM isn't necessary. Others say it's the only way to go. (Early bird, worm, etc.)
What do you think? If I can show up at 11:00 and fish in the sunlight, I'm on it like blue bonnet.

[Gringo Pescador]

Thanks everyone! This has been very informative.
I have a simple question: Is early better?
Some people say that freezing your butt off at 7:00 AM isn't necessary. Others say it's the only way to go. (Early bird, worm, etc.)
What do you think? If I can show up at 11:00 and fish in the sunlight, I'm on it like blue bonnet.

As far as this bitter cold, they say the sweet time is when the air temp rises above the water temp. I've been fish caught outside of that but you pretty much have to bump em on the nose as they are conserving their energy and not going to go as far to grab a lure. Fish can be caught pretty much any time of the day, you just need to change your presentation and where you fish as the fish will search out different hiding spots in full sun than they would in the dark/shade.

[HillbillyGeek]

Thanks everyone! This has been very informative.
I have a simple question: Is early better?
Some people say that freezing your butt off at 7:00 AM isn't necessary. Others say it's the only way to go. (Early bird, worm, etc.)
What do you think? If I can show up at 11:00 and fish in the sunlight, I'm on it like blue bonnet.

As far as this bitter cold, they say the sweet time is when the air temp rises above the water temp. I've been fish caught outside of that but you pretty much have to bump em on the nose as they are conserving their energy and not going to go as far to grab a lure. Fish can be caught pretty much any time of the day, you just need to change your presentation and where you fish as the fish will search out different hiding spots in full sun than they would in the dark/shade.

Thanks GP!
Today is looking stellar with the front coming in. I may have to hit High Bridge in Monroe today. Heck, it may be my last chance at Reiter before it snows.
I used to do a lot of big game hunting and steelhead fishing feels more like hunting than fishing...

[jumpinjim]

Thanks everyone! This has been very informative.
I have a simple question: Is early better?
Some people say that freezing your butt off at 7:00 AM isn't necessary. Others say it's the only way to go. (Early bird, worm, etc.)
What do you think? If I can show up at 11:00 and fish in the sunlight, I'm on it like blue bonnet.

As far as this bitter cold, they say the sweet time is when the air temp rises above the water temp. I've been fish caught outside of that but you pretty much have to bump em on the nose as they are conserving their energy and not going to go as far to grab a lure. Fish can be caught pretty much any time of the day, you just need to change your presentation and where you fish as the fish will search out different hiding spots in full sun than they would in the dark/shade.

Thanks GP!
Today is looking stellar with the front coming in. I may have to hit High Bridge in Monroe today. Heck, it may be my last chance at Reiter before it snows.
I used to do a lot of big game hunting and steelhead fishing feels more like hunting than fishing...

GP points out good beta on air temps. Like he said they can be taken outside that rule but the more ideal your conditions the better your odds improve. Finding the fish and not spookin them is the battle. I find they are equally if not more aggressive that salmon in general. Get to know your water well and spend time scouting too. Each year before I fish runs I walk them to see what I can eyeball before disturbing the water.

[BentRod]

Water temp, clarity, and flow are all factors that will effect where the fish will be holding. As a rule of thumb, this cold weather and lack of runoff has really dropped the temp of the water, so the fish will be lethargic and looking for holding water where they can expend the least amount of energy, but still feel safe. Gringo is right that you'll have to bump them in the nose, but the key is finding where they're holding, so you can put the offering in front of them. As the water temp rises with the warming weather they'll change their holding location.
There are some very good books out there on Steelhead behavior during varying winter/water conditions. Might start with anything by Bill Herzog, but there are many others as well. Most will address general behavior patterns regardless of fishing method.