Steelhead artificials

[BillM]

I usually water harden and that's it.. I never cure brown or steelie roe.

 

A good rule to follow is this.

 

If the water is stained (8-12inches of vis) You'll wanna run bigger/brighter bags.

 

If the water is clean (2ft - unlimited) You'll wanna run a smaller presentation perhaps in peach or white..

 

It really does depend on the water you are fishing.. Early in the fall you'll still get the odd hatch out, so tossing a stone or similar down there might be the ticket. Once the salmon are in the river and on the spawn, roe will be your go to.

Edited September 13, 2011 by BillM

[solopaddler]

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?

 

 

Always carry a small baggy of chum (loose uncured salmon eggs).

 

A little bit of candy thrown in the pool will usually garner a hit or two.

 

 

Many guys overdo it though, throwing ridiculous amounts of roe in the water.

 

Less is better.

 

If you think there's 10 fish in the pool, throw 10 eggs. Good rule of thumb to follow.

 

It's not something I personally do a lot of, but it's a deadly effective tool to have in your arsenal for those times that warrant it.

 

 

Once you've chummed follow it up by drifting either a single egg or an egg imitation.

[BillM]

Also watch out for candy being whipped into the run by your buddies, lol! I've been the victim of more then one chum attack.

[solopaddler]

Also watch out for candy being whipped into the run by your buddies, lol! I've been the victim of more then one chum attack.

 

 

[newb09]

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

 

if you are using Marabou Jigs make sure not to put any scent on the feather. It will affect their action in the water.

Edited September 13, 2011 by steelheader09

[Harrison]

Many guys overdo it though, throwing ridiculous amounts of roe in the water.

 

Less is better.

 

If you think there's 10 fish in the pool, throw 10 eggs. Good rule of thumb to follow.

 

That is gold there. Good on ya solo.

 

I am a hardware guy in the fall. Love my tubes, power minnows, maggots, jigs and worms. But around Dec I will go back to roe once I get my favourite type in Nov!

 

I got Worms too.

Edited September 13, 2011 by Harrison

[johnnyb]

A muskie guy with a steelhead thread......WORLDS ARE COLLIDING!!!!

[mike rousseau]

A muskie guy with a steelhead thread......WORLDS ARE COLLIDING!!!!

 

 

Musky/walleye/carp/pike/bass/.... Trout maybe lol

[MichaelAngelo]

Once the cold gets here nothing beats nasty jam bags.

 

 

Jam bags?

[Harrison]

Jam bags?

 

Shopping bags full of 45's.

 

Or sicky, smelly, spreadable roe bags.

[MichaelAngelo]

Shopping bags full of 45's.

 

45's? darn tootin' fishin' jargon =P

[Harrison]

Here I'll attach one of Headhunters favourite 45's Edited September 13, 2011 by Harrison

[mike rousseau]

Thanks a lot everyone...

 

Great thread with good information...

[Harrison]

Thanks a lot everyone...

 

Great thread with good information...

 

Sorry Mike, I took it off track.

 

If you want to go for a fish, I am in Bowmanville and will start hitting the rivers again in late Oct.

 

Phil

Edited September 13, 2011 by Harrison

[mike rousseau]

Sorry Mike, I took it off track.

 

If you want to go for a fish, I am in Bowmanville and will start hitting the rivers again in late Oct.

 

Phil

 

 

Thanks...

[misfish]

 

Or sicky, smelly, spreadable roe bags.

 

 

I have some starting now,wifes not happy.LOL

[bassnass]

There’s a lot of great info here - but it's true what they say: "There's no substitute for time on the water". Granted, fishing time can be hard to garner (there is just never enough) - but nothing has improved my learning curve more than picking a creek and trying to hit it daily - even an hour or two. Pay attention to everything you see - especially the fish. Experiment and learn what works, when. If you think something's going to work and doesn't - don't be too quick to trash it - try it out now and then, again. If I had set hard and fast rules about what didn't work because it didn't work the first time, I'd probably feel like NOTHING works (we've all had those days). While I believe failure teaches you more than success, set your standards by your successes more readily. And always, experiment.

 

Vary your presentation. I've drifted some fish repeatedly with roe, and then pink worm, pink worm, pink worm, and then worm, worm, worm, and then nym-BANG!. Start with what you feel most confident in (wherever that confidence comes from) and change it up from there. Never say never, either – as the 10” pink worm anecdote from this thread demonstrates – fish haven’t read the same magazines as all of us, and they don’t follow the “rules”. I’m sure my man doesn’t fish those 10-inch pinkies all that often, but I bet he keeps a few in his vest, now.

 

Changing your presentation doesn’t just mean changing what’s at the end of your line, but also how you’re delivering it to the fish – floating/bottom-bouncing/hot-shotting/holding/drifting/retrieving/speed? – leader length/material/test/colour – line material/test/colour – swivel(s) size & placement – weight(s) size & placement – depth your fishing – hook size/colour/type -- drift-line (I’ve seen 2” closer to a log jam on a bend make all the difference). I often think that what's on the hook isn't as important as all the rest of it. The mind boggles. Use your common sense and confidence as a starting point and lean on your experience to guide your experimentation / fine tuning. Most of us have come a long way from spin-casts and red-and-white plastic bobbers. Keep comin’ -- don’t get bogged down by the infinite possibilities in presentation – that’s where the fun is!

 

Presentation variation is a must because the trout change, the creeks change, and each tributary has it’s own unique characteristics.

 

Trout activity and response is something that changes, HUGE – almost constantly. I’ve had days where trout come shooting out from under a bank five feet away, careening across the surface to slam a roe-bag I was retrieving back up through middle of the current in order to make another cast. Other days, if it doesn’t come within a 3” ‘bubble’ around their head, they won’t even look at it. One day, I spent 30 minutes working a big girl that was holding under a log. I eventually got frustrated and ‘crashed the creek’, at which point I realized this fish was asleep. I walked up to her, took a bunch of pix and vidy, and stroked her once or twice. Then I woke her up and she hastened off. This brings me to my next suggestion for variation.

 

Change your tactics. We all creep around like ninja commandos trying to stay slow and low and out of sight so as not to spook our wary adversaries. Not me. Not always, anyway. That big trout I woke up – I caught her a little later that day - 26 inches of niceness. Now, “Crash The Creek” is a tactic in my arsenal. Not only will I rudely awaken slumbering slimers, I’ll bust up any ice if I find it’s hindering my drifts. Keep an open mind. After you’ve broken up that annoying ice form, the trout may just do a couple laps around the pool and be ready to hit a 10” pink worm.

 

Changing tactics can also include changing location – move up or down stream – or move to another stream altogether. We all love that ‘green perfection’. Often times, the next creek ‘over’ will be exhibiting diametrically different conditions than the one you're at – high, dirty or just filled with snobby trout. So it MIGHT be a good time to try another creek.

 

Running and gunning to try and find beautiful green water on a creek SOMEWHERE is fine and dandy, but I’d encourage you to stick it out on the creek you’ve been fishing. Keep experimenting with your presentation and which areas of the creek you’re fishing. Most guys won't fish high, dirty water, but I will - only because I was there the day before, knew there were trout in the creek - knew where they were - started in those spots and moved until I found out how they react to high dirty water and what was working. You might be pleasantly surprised. The more you learn, the greater your experience, the more apt you’ll be to fish difficult conditions with at least some success – taking advantage of the time you have.

 

As you do start to hit a few different creeks you’ll probably notice that each stream has it’s own ‘personality’. Aside from general classification (creek, stream, river), and as much as “fish are fish are fish”, I’ve found that every body of water fishes a little differently than the last, generally. Put your time in, and you will start to pick up on subtle and unique characteristics that will help give you an extra edge.

 

From my experience, if I'm fishing a creek "cold" (meaning, it's the first time I've fished it at all, or in a while), I'll at least have some idea what areas to target and how, given whatever conditions.

Experience is the best teacher, and every experience teaches you something. Get out there and experience it! Keep an open mind and go with what you know.

And remember to enjoy yourself - you're fishin'!

[Guest ThisPlaceSucks]

lots of good ideas here. throw a few crappie tubes in your arsenal. (i've done very well in dirty water with a clown colour on more than one occassion)...

and nothing elicits more vicious strikes than pink wormin' it but be warned, a 6" pink worm may also shut down a pool as often as it elicits hits.

truth be told, most of my fish still come on roe.

[Rich]

[MJL]

 

But Rich he said for float fishing

 

But I totally agree. For hardware, Jointed raps as well as the jointed thundersticks can be deadly in rivers. Steelhead just smash them. Mike, if you're in the Cobourg/Port Hope area anytime soon, see if you can hunt down Henry Lee. He makes hand-craftted wooden lures that work very well.

[BillM]

lots of good ideas here. throw a few crappie tubes in your arsenal. (i've done very well in dirty water with a clown colour on more than one occassion)...

and nothing elicits more vicious strikes than pink wormin' it but be warned, a 6" pink worm may also shut down a pool as often as it elicits hits.

truth be told, most of my fish still come on roe.

 

Love throwing crappie tubes and similar in the spring!

[Rich]

But Rich he said for float fishing

 

But I totally agree. For hardware, Jointed raps as well as the jointed thundersticks can be deadly in rivers. Steelhead just smash them. Mike, if you're in the Cobourg/Port Hope area anytime soon, see if you can hunt down Henry Lee. He makes hand-craftted wooden lures that work very well.

 

My bad! Sassy shads are great little float fishing baits.. better yet a Gulp Minnow or Goby.

 

And yah MJL I love the jerkbaits.. jointed are good for straight runs & long casts, but the other jerkbaits are great too. The only steelheading I enjoy actually, is with a jerkbait. It's like river fishing for smallies, same deal. Twitch, twitch around that logjam.. and out darts a silver beast! Sure beats a bobber (sorry "float", for those trout pros)

[BiggFish]

Hey Folks,

 

I have to agree with my buddy Rich, Jerkbaits and jointed cranks are what I throw and the steelhead just smash them where i fish.

 

Some days I get 3 or 4 in less then half hour and all on orange and black or silver and black 4 inch Rapala Husky Jerks, oh yeah and the blue and silver also.

 

Only two more weeks in Southern Ontario before it is on.

 

Chad

[Dozer]

Plastics, a fishng buddy of mine really got me into them. At this point I'm sure nearly every sngle plastic bait on the market could potentially catch a 'bow.