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Steelhead artificials


mike rousseau

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I'm looking to do some float fishing for steelhead this fall/winter/spring...

 

Over the last 2 years I've researched artificials for steelhead and people seem to be doing well on these options...

 

I have

 

Wooly buggers in pink, olive, and black

 

Steelhead jigs in pink, purple, and orange

 

Trout beads

 

Soft artificial eggs 6&8 mm in tangerine color

 

And pink berkley worms...

 

 

I think I have a good selection

 

But how to use thus stuff?... And dose this stuff work?

 

Do I add scent?

 

Am I wasting my $$$ on this artificial stuff?

 

Like I said... I primarily would like to float fish for these trout... But I find roe a pain in the rear end... And would like to avoid harvesting fish for their eggs...

 

Thnx

 

Mike

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Hey Mike,

 

You can pretty much use any of those items the same way you would use roe or any other live bait. Its basically going to be hitting the right depth, as well as fishing the right sections in any given run/pool, etc.

 

You should add some nymphs into that arsenal such as stoneflies, caddis, and mayfly nymphs. When steelhead are young, they spend at least one year in their natal streams. While there, they are feeding on nymphs more than anything else. When they return to spawn, natural instinct takes over and they'll hit nymphs simply out of what they know as food from their juvenile years.

 

Dave

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How do you determine wich presentation you use on a given day? River? Or pool?

 

I find that like a lot of species, trout prefer brighter colors when the water is stained, and more natural when it is clear, having said that I have caught trout on the pink worms in clear water, I would pick up some red berkley worms also, I have done really well on that color in the past. I also like to use live worms, but smaller 2-3inch ones on a small #8 or 10 salmon hook below a float. Obviously lighter line, and smaller flies/artificial in clearer water. I find the perfect color for the water is the greenish tinge with about 3-4 feet of visibility, which usually occurs a day or 2 after a good rain.

 

Try fishing the head of a pool, where the fast water goes into the deeper slower water, throw your rig into the shallower water and let it drift down into the deeper water so that the rig is at proper depth as the water gets deeper, alot of active fish will hold in the head of the pool and wait for a meal to get washed down to them, so if you start your drift in the deeper section of the pool, you might pass over some active fish.

 

Also try to fish the seams where the fast current breaks with the slower water, and back eddies, it allows a bit of a slower drift, while still presenting the bait to trout that are holding in the current.

 

The tail end of pools, and current breaks like big rocks, I find holds less active fish, but they still can be caught, always remember to let your drift go as long as you can stand it, sometimes you will be surprised how many fish pick up a bait at the end of a drift. Fallen trees and blow-downs that provide shade can be key when the sun is high also.

 

Sometimes a bottom bouncing rig works better than a float, so experiment a little bit if you aren't getting anything after a while using one presentation.

 

Also remember to talk to fellow anglers, sometimes particular rivers will have certain colors that outproduce others, so talking to someone who fishes there a lot can come in handy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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I can only find the small 3 inch ones.Where to buy the larger ones?

 

Riverwood makes 3 inch ones but fatter. Berkley makes 4 & 6" pink worms as well - I know Lebaron carried them at one time. I've used pink worms up to 10 inches (My friend got them from BPS in Florida) and I managed to win $25 and a McDonalds apple pie...My friend bet me I couldn't catch a steelhead with one...But I did :D

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Riverwood makes 3 inch ones but fatter. Berkley makes 4 & 6" pink worms as well - I know Lebaron carried them at one time. I've used pink worms up to 10 inches (My friend got them from BPS in Florida) and I managed to win $25 and a McDonalds apple pie...My friend bet me I couldn't catch a steelhead with one...But I did :D

 

 

 

Haha and a Mcdonald's apple pie!

 

I caught some in the spring on riverwood worms fished almost weightless, wacky rigged like senkos, the trout were actually chasing them it was awesome.

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Riverwood makes 3 inch ones but fatter. Berkley makes 4 & 6" pink worms as well - I know Lebaron carried them at one time. I've used pink worms up to 10 inches (My friend got them from BPS in Florida) and I managed to win $25 and a McDonalds apple pie...My friend bet me I couldn't catch a steelhead with one...But I did :D

 

Thanks bud. 10 inch :w00t:

 

Food for thought.

 

If it,s an apple pie to get you to trick my tricks,Im buying.

Edited by Misfish
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So if I'm at a pool with fish in it... How long or how many drifts do you give a presentation before changing up...

 

Like if I have a pool with 10 steelhead in it to myself...

 

Do you "run and gun" threw your presentations... Like no hit in 10-20 minutes change up?

 

pretty much yes, change colors/baits after 20-30 minutes with no action, but make sure you cover the water, dont repeat the same drift over and over again, one you dont want to spook the fish too badly, and 2 sometimes all it takes is a foot one way or the other to make all the difference.

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Anise...

 

Smells like black licorice...

 

Yes. Not to much. The oil preserves the egg. I should warn you.If you do boil yer own,send the wife and kiddies out for a few hours,or you can do it like I did after learning :whistling: . Use a portable burner outside. When you boil yer own,you want to see an eye in the egg. That to me is the milking of the egg. If you over boil,then you might aswell buy mikes eggs in a jar.

 

Man Im getting back my old school stuff.LOL

Edited by Misfish
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Yes. Not to much. The oil preserves the egg. I should warn you.If you do boil yer own,send the wife and kiddies out for a few hours,or you can do it like I did after learning :whistling: . Use a portable burner outside. When you boil yer own,you want to see an eye in the egg. That to me is the milking of the egg. If you over boil,then you might aswell buy mikes eggs in a jar.

 

Man Im getting back my old school stuff.LOL

 

So you literally boil your salmon eggs?

 

Please explain...

 

I've tried different egg cures but wasn't impressed with the end result...

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Gagnon in Oshawa had some Gulp saltwater 3" trout worm left over from there Aug sale for $1.99. They had them in chartreuse, peach and orange. They seem to be thicker than the originals. Good to try in dirtier water on a small jig head. They still had a poop load of them lastweek.

Edited by Bernie66
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So you literally boil your salmon eggs?

 

Please explain...

 

I've tried different egg cures but wasn't impressed with the end result...

 

Just take a pot of water,add some salt. As the water is about to boil,add a cup of eggs. Stir gently.Once they come to the top,allow them to boil til you see the orange eye in the white egg. Scoop out and put in the jar of oil/Anise right away,dont allow to cool.They will plump 1/8 the size.

 

 

I tried this once while doing beets for canning. You talk about red jewels. It,s all about the right temps.If the eggs cool to much,they will harden and will not absorb. If they are still hot,or warm,they will aborb the scent/colour.

Edited by Misfish
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So you boil till they are milky outside and orange inside...

 

Then scoop em into oils of choice...

 

What's the end result like??

 

Firm centers?

 

Or do they pop when a hook touches them?

 

I'm assuming they are firm...

 

And when you have the boiled eggs in the jar... Do you refridgerate? Freeze? Neither?

 

Shelf life?

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So you boil till they are milky outside and orange inside...

 

Then scoop em into oils of choice...

 

What's the end result like??

 

Firm centers?

 

Or do they pop when a hook touches them?

 

I'm assuming they are firm...

 

And when you have the boiled eggs in the jar... Do you refridgerate? Freeze? Neither?

 

Shelf life?

 

Boy you sure are stetching my memory here. :wallbash:

 

The white part if firm. The gold eye (as I call it) is the milking/scent.

I would pop the hook through the yellow eye ,then through the white.

 

Like I said,I would make a cup full.This would stay in the fridge for the fall and spring months.

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