Category: Fly Fishing for Steelhead

     Fishing for steelhead during the winter is usually good due to the fact there are usually a lot of fish in the river and few anglers pursuing them. Most of the year river levels are fairly predictable but winter water conditions fluctuate a lot. Each stream will fish best when the water is neither very high nor very low. Small rivers and streams will start to fish best within a couple of days of a major rainfall as the water begins to clear. Within a couple of days thereafter, the water in the smaller creeks gets too low to fish well and at times, difficult to navigate by boat. If the weather remains dry, you may want to change locations to fish a larger river.

     Some of the larger rivers need a lot more time to clear after heavy rains before you have good opportunity with a fly rod. When that occurs on the stream you had planned on fishing, select a smaller stream to fish. The bottom line to this is to get familiar with different types of streams so you will have a good opportunity when you head out.  

     When the weather is very cold, steelhead usually hold in the deepest part of the pool and more towards the tail end of the pool than the other shallower locations. The current is usually slacker in this type of water than other types of water and other locations within a pool. That lets the fish spend less energy fighting current and is nature’s way of making sure they can acquire enough food to survive.

      When the fish are in the deeper water, it is often best to use a float or a strike indicator and drift your fly through the pool. Clear floats work good for this. Nymphs, wet flies, and egg flies work good under these conditions. Nymphs like our Perfect Fly Black Stonefly Nymph and our Hexagenia Nymph are good fly choices. You should weight the fly down with split shot placed a few inches above the fly to keep it down.

     As a rule, smaller flies work better than large ones when the water is very cold. Steelhead are almost always holding very near or on the bottom in the pools rather than suspended in the middle and upper sections of the water. Make sure your fly gets into the very bottom zone of water.

     Fish at the warmest part of the day, say from 11AM to 3PM. Even a one-degree difference in water temperature can make a difference. As a rule, rising air temperatures are better than dropping air temperatures. Sunny days are usually better than cloudy, overcast days.

     Dressing properly for the cold is not only good for you as far as feeling good while you’re fishing. You will do a better job of fishing when you are not bothered with the cold temperatures and sometimes harsh winter weather.    

   Great Lakes Steelhead Flies:

Pacific Steelhead Flies:  

Many fly fishermen over do the complexities involved with casting. Some want to make it more important than it really is. Many think you must learn to cast a long way to catch fish on the fly. While all of the above is true, there’s always those guys that try to fish the steelhead rivers of the Northwest Pacific and the tributaries of the Great Lakes who simply do not have the skills they need to have. Most of the time this gets down to not so much how well they can cast, but how long they are able to cast without tiring. There’s another important element to it that needs to be learned. You can waist lots of cast by not knowing where to cast. Knowing the type of water to fish is also an important part of it.  Most anglers think the only application for double hauling is fishing saltwater. While this is true in some cases, there actually less requirements for a double haul in saltwater fishing applications than there are in Steelhead fishing. You should at least be able to haul. It’s better if you can double-haul. One main reason is it lessens the amount of work involved. If you get tired, you can’t cast accurately. The more false cast you have to make, the faster you will give out.It’s not always necessary to make a long cast but it is at times if you want to reach the areas of the stream you need to reach in order to increase your odd of success. If you can make seventy-five feet cast, you don’t have any problem as long as you can do that without tiring too quickly. This isn’t to say you can’t or won’t catch a steelhead with much shorter cast. You certainly can. This is only to state a goal you should try to achieve if your physically able to. If your not, you shouldn’t become discouraged. You should just learn to make the shorter cast more accurately and just as important, learn to make the different types of cast that may be required. A young man that’s perfectly able to make straight line cast up to a hundred feet and keep it up without tiring isn’t necessarily going to catch any more steelhead than on that can cast accurately but not over fifty feet.In most cases, single-handed rods that vary from a seven up to a nine weight work quite well for most Steelhead streams. Often weight forward, floating fly lines will work but it’s also true that sinking tip lines may offer an advantage at times. The multi-tip systems are popular. They allow you to use different heads on the same fly line. You can vary the depths of water your fishing without changing rigs or fly.In some cases, when your fishing large you may want to consider using a Spey rod.  There are rivers and places where they have some advantage over single-hand rods. Spey casting lets you make longer cast with less effort, but only if you know how to do it. Anyone considering Spey casting should practice and perfect the method prior to going on a steelhead fishing trip. I guess you could learn if you happen to live on the stream your fishing, but otherwise, you should learn the technique before you attempt to use it on a steelhead trip. You will spook far more steelhead than you will have a chance to catch if you attempt to learn on the water.There’s some advantages many of you may not be familiar with. You can’t catch a steelhead with the fly out of the water. Spey casting will reduce the time your fly is out of the water. It will also let you mend the line much easier and better.Regardless of the fly rod you use, be prepared to make a lot of cast. As I often say, Steelhead fishing is hours and hours of making sometimes boring cast, interrupted by minutes of sheer excitement. If your not willing to pay the price, physically and mentally, you probably won’t like it. If you do succeed, you will probably be like most steelhead angles and go the rest of your life trying to explain why.

Catching Winter Steelhead takes a lot of planning and patience when you get there. You must plan your trips between storms and during the right stream conditions. If your new at Winter steelhead fishing, you will need to know what your really getting into. This isn’t to try to discourage you. It’s just to make you aware of what your up against so you can plan for it.First of all, you should get read to cast for hours and that may turn into days before you hook the first steelhead. On the other hand, it’s possible to have multiple catches in one day; however, your more likely to go home fishless. Steelhead have their on schedule. You can’t change that. You have to plan your trip to coincide with their schedule. You can’t catch a Winter Steelhead if they are not any in the river where you’re fishing. You must do the necessary research to make certain your fishing the river or stream at the right time. Much of that information is available on this website. In addition, you need to pay attention to the weather forecast. Get the long range forecast if your planning on fishing for a few days. You should also get the USGS stream flow data for the river you plan on fishing. Data and associated graphs provide information on how the river is doing, whether it’s rising or falling, as well as it’s current condition speed and height in relationship to what the normal stream flow conditions are.Beware of rising water occurring during your trip. It takes time for rivers to recede back to fishable levels in most cases. It takes time for the water to clear reasonably well and all rivers differ in this respect. Some clear fast and some clear slowly.If you’re new to the river and you plan on spending a few days, it pays to learn the access points and where the best holding water is prior to your trip. Again, much of this is available under the stream section of this website. Concentrate on one river rather than trying to fish several different ones in the area. You may have to change streams due to changes in water levels, but other than that, your better off sticking with and learning to fish one river. In most cases, a few days isn’t enough time to learn a large river. changing rivers isn’t going to improve your odds unless conditions turn adverse on the stream your fishing. The grass usually isn’t any greener on the other side of the hill and the steelhead are not usually bitting better in the next stream over the hill.To be successful at catching winter Steelhead, you must be persistent. You have to be fully prepared to fight the odds. You may encounter heavy rain, snow, wind and the water is always cold.The way to handle the situation is to first, never under estimate the importance of having the right attire. Layered clothing is a must. It’s about the only way you are going to remain comfortable with the constantly changing conditions. You must have excellent rainwear, not just any waterproof designated rainwear but good rain gear that will not leak. The northwest Pacific Coast and the tributaries of the Great Lakes will put all the seams of your waterproof clothing to the ultimate test.Yes, you will have those good weather days. You may have to stay a month to encounter one though. They don’t happen very often. Everyone needs to understand the importance of being comfortable when you are fishing. It is necessary to remain alert and aware of what’s going on and to react when you do have an opportunity. It’s necessary to be patient and dedicated to the point you wiling to put up with some tough conditions.There’s plenty of good clothing you can purchase for steelhead fishing. We’re not going to get into brands and specifics but you need to have the appropriate layers of clothing, newer fleece type garments, wool socks, fingerless gloves are a must, good head wear, and other clothing that keep you warm during cold inclement, weather. Avoid any clothing that absorb and/or retains moisture.One most important thing you can’t do without is a good wading rain jacket. It has to be large enough to go over all the other layers of clothing you may wear.  If you plan your Winter Steelhead fishing trip right, remain patient when there’s little to no action, and dress properly for the weather, you may learn why many Steelhead anglers think it’s the ultimate fishing experience.

According to avid Steelhead anglers, fly fishing for Steelhead is frustrating and you often go home without a single strike, but when you do hook up with one, it’s the ultimate fly fishing experience. Steelhead make hard, fast runs, stripping your fly down to the backing. They can also put on some acrobatic displays that gets any anglers heart pumping fast. Steelhead are rainbow trout but the steelhead version of the rainbow grow fast in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. They return to the coastal rivers each year to spawn as bright, chrome color fish. There’s both Summer and Fall runs of steelhead on many of the Pacific Coastal Rivers but most of the fly fishing is done during the Winter.The anglers that pursue the steelhead during the winter months, have to love the sport to endue the extreme weather conditions. They often cast all day long in freezing temperatures and very cold water waiting on that one bite. It’s hours of casting interrupted by minutes of sheer excitement – that is, if your lucky.Fly fishing techniques for steelhead came mostly from Atlantic Salmon anglers. The most common technique is to swing a fly downstream. Most steelhead strikes occur near the end of the swing. This is done both on floating fly lines and sinking tip fly lines. At times sinking fly lines are used. It depends on the fly, the river your fishing, and the time of the year. The next most popular technique is nymphing. Some anglers frown on nymphs for steelhead and refuse to use them and other prefer them. Nymphing for steelhead has developed mostly during the past few years.When you go trout fishing, most of the time you can be certain the trout are in the river your fishing. The problem gets down to fooling them into taking your fly. Contrary to that, Steelhead are not always in the river. You must time your fly fishing trips to coincide with the migration of the fish. Information on the migrations is available on this website for just about all the west coast Pacific streams in the nation. The same information is available for the steelhead of the Great Lakes tributaries.As the season transpires, schools of Steelhead, or better stated, groups of steelhead, move in and out of the rivers. Weather and stream conditions plays an important role in the migrations. Even when steelhead are in the rivers, heavy rain and snow can change things in a very short time.Those that pursue steelhead on the fly are patient anglers. If they were not patient, they would have never got to the point they call themselves steelhead anglers. Your not going to catch a steelhead every few cast. You might get one to take the fly just minutes after you have landed one or lost one, but it also may be days before the next strike comes. It may or may not have anything to do with the way you are fishing and yet the technique you’re using may well be the problem. It’s difficult to really know because of the average low numbers of fish caught. Arguments between anglers have regularly taken place on over the flies and techniques used for years and probably always will. It’s just one of the things that make steelhead fishing the sport it is.