One Winters Steelhead

These were and are today the legendary Winter Run Steelhead. you can meet up with one of these “legends” in the Stamp River Winter Steelhead section.
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Add or detach shot just above the swivel on the indicator end of the leader as needed. Also note that some situations call for more shot—think faster, deeper water. Other times, you may want to increase the weight to incrementally slow the drift speed of your flies. Sometimes that reduction in speed is the difference between catching a fish or getting skunked. Whether to use an indicator or not is purely a personal choice. The takes of winter steelhead can be beyond subtle. Look for a reason to set the hook on every drift and remember to check your hook points early and often.

Any hook repeatedly traversing the river bottom is susceptible to dulling. No matter what your preferred method is, begin by presenting your fly on a dead drift. Let the soft-hackles do their job, which is to move and flow and entice a steelhead.

Hang Tight! Routing to checkout

Let the fly continue downstream. Track the drift with your rod tip as the fly begins to swing upward. TMC , sizes 6 to Fluorescent fire orange Antron. Small holographic silver tinsel. Grizzly hen cape hackle, palmered. The Woolly Worm first gained widespread popularity when Ray Bergman featured it in his landmark book Trout. The original fly had a tag of red wool. You can and should play around with different-colored tags. Some of my favorites are blue, hot pink, chartreuse, and metallic copper. The steelhead will let you know if they have a preference. Bergman thought the Woolly Worm was a caterpillar pattern.

In low, clear flows, I like this fly tied in a size TMC , size 6 or 8. Hot pink hen hackle fibers. Hot pink hen cape hackle.

White arctic fox, tied sparsely. I first read about the Rajah in a slim volume titled Fly Patterns of Alaska. So I replaced the bucktail tail with soft hen hackle fibers and swapped the chenille, which I consider a lifeless material, for sparkly Estaz. Then I traded furs on the wing, substituting flowing artic fox for polar bear.

Winter Steelhead Fishing Options from $225

Finally, I chose fancy holographic tinsel instead of flat silver. The result is a soft-hackle that delivers a one-two punch of flash and motion. The coldest day I ever went steelheading began with the mercury just a few degrees above zero. By midafternoon, the air temperature had barely made it into double digits. I was fishing a Salmon River Rajah under an indicator. As the fly completed its drift along the bottom, it began to swing up and downstream. I saw the wake before I ever felt the strike.

It was a steelhead that had been in the river awhile, its chrome flanks long since transitioned to deep winter hues. Any fly that can urge a dark horse to chase it down in degree water on a day that would keep even skiers at home has a permanent spot in my steelhead box. A suspended jig can be fished through boulder pockets and areas that have grabby bottoms more effectively than drift gear. Two different types of lures fished in similar fashion. By using a spoon or spinner, a lot of water can be fished fairly quickly and effectively.

More ways to bring home winter steelhead

As soon as a spinner hits the water, there's instant noise and attraction from the spinning blade. A spoon works similarly but with a little less noise attraction. It's best to fish spoons and spinners with a spinning rod and reel, although it's not mandatory.

If the current is running fast, or if you fish a deep hole, it's acceptable to add a split-shot or two a foot or so above the spoon or spinner. Be careful not to put the weight too close, however, as it might dampen the action of the lure. For clear-water conditions, I'd suggest sticking with a chrome or nickel finish on the blade.


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For days when the water is off-color, switch to a brass blade -- it will reflect what light there is much better than nickel. One of the keys to effectively fishing a spoon or spinner is working the lure completely to the end of a drift. These lures are primarily used from a boat, although a tackle company did come up with a side planer a number of years ago that allows a bank angler to use them. Plugs are most effective when more than one is used. The key, though, is to have the plugs out the same distance, generally 50 feet.

The same thing goes from the bank if you're using a side planer: Plugs are best fished in the tailout of a drift where fresh fish are moving into a drift or holding up. This method, under certain conditions, can be just as effective as any other technique. The downside to fly-fishing can be the cost of equipment.

Winter Steelhead on Sportfishing Adventures TV

But from what I've learned so far, the better the gear such as rod and line , the easier it is to make good casts. Fly patterns vary as much as anything in the sport; fly and color choice boil down to personal preference. The exposure I've had to fly fishing has taught me that steelhead will lie in shallow riffles a couple of feet deep near the edge of the river.

This water is not effectively fished by any other means. There isn't any one method better than the other when it comes to catching a steelhead.

As I discussed last week, drift fishing is the most popular. But that method won't always cut the mustard in all situations. That's why we have alternatives.