Steelhead Resources

[Aiptasia]

I'm looking for recommendations on books or good online resources to get me started with winter steelhead on the west coast.

 

I'm starting to plan a trip, and I want to know what I'm getting into. Any help is appreciated!

[Villageidiot]

Getting to know run timing is huge. Especially for winter fish. They spend little time in the rivers, and usually dont venture very far up them. Poking around on google is a good way to find run/sizes and timing if you look hard enough and know how to read a scientific report. Typically studies on a population are done at the height of the their season, and it can really help you clue in on what system/when to find them. The most important thing for steelhead is finding a system with "good" numbers of fish.

 

As far as other resources, i dont think one can actually learn where steelhead hold from a book. Theres also so many other variables at play, especially with winters. Water conditions being one of them. Low and Clear... not good. After a big rain while the river is clearing up and dropping... good. Little things will play into your success. I would not travel to any hatchery based systems (Lower Mainland, vedder, Stamp, etc.) Simply just not worth the experience and hatchery fish seem to be less receptive to swung flies, and less aggressive. Although there are more fish around... and generally much busier rivers. Properly swinging a fly is a whole other thing. Winter fish usually require getting deep... sometimes not entirely necessary. Water temperature is another thing to look at for success in swinging a fly.

 

All that being said, if you've got the cash, i would probably spend a week with a guide in the terrace/kitimat area around Late March/April. You'll get into fish, and more than likely shorten your learning curve by about 5 years if you ask a lot of questions. The fish will do the rest. Vancouver Island gets fish earlier but is so much harder to figure out on your own. Also not very much classic water on the Van Isle systems.

 

I'll throw in that steelhead will surprise the hell out of you. Everything i've mentioned is not the be all and end all of steelheading. They do some funny things some times.

[Dangus]

Some good advice above. Funny about steelhead surprising you. My last trip in the lml the only fish I hooked swinging was in a spot I said to myself "nah, there's barely any holding water...oh hell, what do I have to lose." Must've been the First good swing through the dinner table sized bucket...

When you say westcoast, any particular region?

 

Sleuth through other forums (Bcfr)...should give you an idea of run times for most of the lower mainland stuff anyways. Not too many secrets left there.

Dec hogan's "a passion for steelhead" is a good read and covers a lot of the basics.

YouTube videos are also helpful for a lot of the different aspects.

 

 

If you have any specific questions about the lower mainland and Squamish areas send me a message. That's where I've done the majority of my swinging.

 

Cheers

B

[SilverDoctor]

If it's your first time hire a good very knowable guide, you will learn much more than in any books ever published.

[Aiptasia]

Getting to know run timing is huge. Especially for winter fish. They spend little time in the rivers, and usually dont venture very far up them. Poking around on google is a good way to find run/sizes and timing if you look hard enough and know how to read a scientific report. Typically studies on a population are done at the height of the their season, and it can really help you clue in on what system/when to find them. The most important thing for steelhead is finding a system with "good" numbers of fish.

 

As far as other resources, i dont think one can actually learn where steelhead hold from a book. Theres also so many other variables at play, especially with winters. Water conditions being one of them. Low and Clear... not good. After a big rain while the river is clearing up and dropping... good. Little things will play into your success. I would not travel to any hatchery based systems (Lower Mainland, vedder, Stamp, etc.) Simply just not worth the experience and hatchery fish seem to be less receptive to swung flies, and less aggressive. Although there are more fish around... and generally much busier rivers. Properly swinging a fly is a whole other thing. Winter fish usually require getting deep... sometimes not entirely necessary. Water temperature is another thing to look at for success in swinging a fly.

 

All that being said, if you've got the cash, i would probably spend a week with a guide in the terrace/kitimat area around Late March/April. You'll get into fish, and more than likely shorten your learning curve by about 5 years if you ask a lot of questions. The fish will do the rest. Vancouver Island gets fish earlier but is so much harder to figure out on your own. Also not very much classic water on the Van Isle systems.

 

I'll throw in that steelhead will surprise the hell out of you. Everything i've mentioned is not the be all and end all of steelheading. They do some funny things some times.

 

Thanks for the great info! It's much appreciated. Unfortunately I'm one of those stubborn types who likes to try first and fail before I go into guides. Or maybe that's what I tell myself because I can't really afford a guide. Ahh the grad school life.

 

I never would have thought to look at scientific reports on run data. Thanks for this, makes a lot of sense and I will definitely look into it. Also, interesting that hatchery fish are less aggressive, I wonder why this is. Again, great info - it's appreciated.

 

Some good advice above. Funny about steelhead surprising you. My last trip in the lml the only fish I hooked swinging was in a spot I said to myself "nah, there's barely any holding water...oh hell, what do I have to lose." Must've been the First good swing through the dinner table sized bucket...

When you say westcoast, any particular region?

 

Sleuth through other forums (Bcfr)...should give you an idea of run times for most of the lower mainland stuff anyways. Not too many secrets left there.

Dec hogan's "a passion for steelhead" is a good read and covers a lot of the basics.

YouTube videos are also helpful for a lot of the different aspects.

 

 

If you have any specific questions about the lower mainland and Squamish areas send me a message. That's where I've done the majority of my swinging.

 

Cheers

B

 

Thanks for the book, I'll check it out. I do like youtube videos but often find it's consuming to sift through the garbage before you find the gems. But, there are always gems.

 

If it's you first time hire a good very knowable guide, you will learn much more than in any books ever published.

 

This is definitely true, and has been the difference for me on the Bow. Good guides are worth every penny. Unfortunately, I just need to save my pennies.

[Villageidiot]

You can absolutely do DIY. I did my first trip DIY, and hooked and landed my first within 30 minutes stepping into the first run, and then hooked and landed my second 10 minutes after. When the fish are there and conditions are good, they are easier to hook than just about every other salmonid i can think of. Landing them is another story. My success came from hitting a river, after a huge rain, and it was dropping and clearing. This was in the fall and keep in mind that summer run fish are different than winters/spring. It also came from fishing a system that had fish... ie... the skeena.

 

I found that coming from a serious trout fishing background, it really truly helped figure out steelhead. They sit in very similar places you'd expect to find rainbows, they dont always sit in those long "featureless" tailouts most people focus on. They sit in pocket water, pools, seams... all of which are better suited to single hand nymphing/streamer fishing. Where a spey rod truly shines is covering those long broad tailouts and fresh run fish, and if you find yourself staring at a tailout, watch closely for any deflections/upwelling you might see. Sometimes they're hard to pick out in coloured water, but if you start focusing on the areas where these fish can rest, and sit out of the main current, you'll immediately start hooking more steelhead.

 

If I can offer one more piece of advice to you, do not focus/spend too much time on those deep tank pools, that you'd expect to find fish like cutties/bulls in canyon water. While yes, steelhead will sit there, they can be almost impossible to coax with a swung fly, or any fly for that matter. Focus where that pool shallows up, and immediately down stream before the next set of fast water, fresh/aggressive fish will sit in these tailouts before moving in, and settling into the pools.

[monger]

Careful...I think it is classified as an addiction....you can't just go once

[bcubed]

Careful...I think it is classified as an addiction....you can't just go once

Definitely the Lays chips of fly fishing... bet ya can't stop at just one

[SilverDoctor]

Oh come on the first hit is free, after that you wake up in some sleazy motel room in Terrace, drooling from the effects of swinging with a Blue Charm and sleeping next to your favourite Spey rod. It all goes downhill from there, soon you'll be dreaming about fighting that silver bullet with Hardy reels and Bamboo spey rods, Plyleaders, Scandi casting and Perry Pokes. These are the signs of severe addiction.

 

Please send funds for to the SilverDoctor Steelhead Addiction fund.

So that I can do Seelheading.

[Dangus]

The problem with learning/swinging on winter fish is that you can do the right thing, in the right places all day and still not get a touch. It's very difficult to do any Learning when you don't have positive feedback. It'll often leave you questioning everything, including your life.

If you are that type of person (read: sucker for punishment, masochist) that only gains more drive through failure, Id warn you not to start, as the winter steelhead game will consume you and only gets worse after you get a tug or hook up ha.

 

Let's look at a few scenarios that will likely play out for you.

 

Swing. Step. Swing. Step...8 hours later. swing...WHAM

You lose all composure, almost drop your rod, do a bassmaster hookset. She gone. Immense psychological suffering ensues.

 

Swing.step. Swing. Step. 8 hours later. Tap...tap tap tap...silence, which is only broken by a f bomb or three.

Walk back up, go through again. Change flies, go through again. Let it rest, )go through again. Immense psychological suffering ensues.

 

Last but not least, my favourite scenario.

 

Swing. Step. Swing. step...8 hours later. Swing. Step. Swing step. Darkness falls. Immense psychological suffering ensues.

 

But it's great! Honest!

[Villageidiot]

The problem with learning/swinging on winter fish is that you can do the right thing, in the right places all day and still not get a touch. It's very difficult to do any Learning when you don't have positive feedback. It'll often leave you questioning everything, including your life.

If you are that type of person (read: sucker for punishment, masochist) that only gains more drive through failure, Id warn you not to start, as the winter steelhead game will consume you and only gets worse after you get a tug or hook up ha.

 

Let's look at a few scenarios that will likely play out for you.

 

Swing. Step. Swing. Step...8 hours later. swing...WHAM

You lose all composure, almost drop your rod, do a bassmaster hookset. She gone. Immense psychological suffering ensues.

 

Swing.step. Swing. Step. 8 hours later. Tap...tap tap tap...silence, which is only broken by a f bomb or three.

Walk back up, go through again. Change flies, go through again. Let it rest, )go through again. Immense psychological suffering ensues.

 

Last but not least, my favourite scenario.

 

Swing. Step. Swing. step...8 hours later. Swing. Step. Swing step. Darkness falls. Immense psychological suffering ensues.

 

But it's great! Honest!

This is too good. This fall I pretty much went through exactly that. Hooked up 3 fish, compared to a dozen last year. On the slowest of days i lost my *hit, swore I'd never come back, mostly due to crowding and centre pinners plugging every run available and sticking every fish before 7am every day i was there.

 

Guess where I can't wait to fish again.... A lot of my fishing plans for the season now revolves around steelheading. Gone is the, "man i can't wait to hit the green drake hatch for cutts, or the golden stones". Now its more like "Oooh, this river gets fish in july, gotta try and get in there" Constantly looking for more possibilities for year round steelhead opportunities.

[troutlover]

I saved a good part of my days off for steelhead this year and went for 2 weeks. I caught a lot of fish and checked a few things off the bucket list like biggest and dry fly. However a few things happened this trip that really spoiled the experience. Im not going to go into details but i left the Skeena this year regretting that i had only fished with my good friend the Bow about a dozen times to save days for the Skeena. I resolved that this new year i was going to lay off and next year ill only go for a quick 5 day trip and focus on the Alberta waters i love........ COLD SNAP. Tying flies and looking at pictures and Video.....bad experiences have now faded and all i can think about is how can i get the maximum amount of days in on the Skeena next year....... Im ruined..... Have fun.

[bcubed]

Swing.step. Swing. Step. 8 hours later. Tap...tap tap tap...silence, which is only broken by a f bomb or three.

Walk back up, go through again. Change flies, go through again. Let it rest, )go through again. Immense psychological suffering ensues.

 

 

You haven't lived, until you've lived through the steely-mindf**k... 11 days into one really starts to make you wonder why the hell you're bothering with it

[Dangus]

This is too good. This fall I pretty much went through exactly that. Hooked up 3 fish, compared to a dozen last year. On the slowest of days i lost my *hit, swore I'd never come back, mostly due to crowding and centre pinners plugging every run available and sticking every fish before 7am every day i was there.

 

Guess where I can't wait to fish again.... A lot of my fishing plans for the season now revolves around steelheading. Gone is the, "man i can't wait to hit the green drake hatch for cutts, or the golden stones". Now its more like "Oooh, this river gets fish in july, gotta try and get in there" Constantly looking for more possibilities for year round steelhead opportunities.

I wish there were more fly-only spots for steelhead. I can think of only one lml summer-run fishery and then the lower vedder in late spring.

It's really painful to swing behind gear guys lobbing roe or a jig or swinging spoons. You can only be so lucky to find a guy that's slightly clueless and leaves you a bit of water. I Just leave if I see the angler surgically dissecting the run. Then there are the fence posts and low-holers to contend with.

As far as I'm concerned, for summer/fall fish, it really should be fly only. Or at least while the water temps are warmer and the fish are frisky.

 

Anyways back to angler resources. Few informative videos from sage posted to the moldy chum page right now. Not winter fish specific, but swinging in general.

[Villageidiot]

I wish there were more fly-only spots for steelhead. I can think of only one lml summer-run fishery and then the lower vedder in late spring.

It's really painful to swing behind gear guys lobbing roe or a jig or swinging spoons. You can only be so lucky to find a guy that's slightly clueless and leaves you a bit of water. I Just leave if I see the angler surgically dissecting the run. Then there are the fence posts and low-holers to contend with.

As far as I'm concerned, for summer/fall fish, it really should be fly only. Or at least while the water temps are warmer and the fish are frisky.

 

Anyways back to angler resources. Few informative videos from sage posted to the moldy chum page right now. Not winter fish specific, but swinging in general.

 

It would be tough to implement regs like that. Although I do believe fly anglers are slowly becoming the majority of steelhead fisherman because its the "in" thing to do. We as fly anglers don't own the fish or the resources, so I feel like any proposal to change things to fly only would be met with severe backlash from locals. I can guarantee that more anglers in terrace who use the watersheds on a regular basis compared to we, the travelling steelheaders, are probably more than likely gear guys. Certainly couldn't hurt to alternate months/ or biweekly fly only etc, or even dedicate one or two systems or even beats, to be fly only. But you'll still see anglers and pressure flock to those systems because anyone with a fly rod would go there just like you and I would.

 

If you're going to make it fly only in the summer/fall, then you would also have to make it dry line only. The fish move far to take flies, and i'll fully admit to fishing tips, in conditions that i probably could've been fishing dries, they simply are not necessary. The only restriction I could see that would put everyone at a fair level would be a weight restriction for gear and fly, that way, those that choose to centre pin can't bonk their gooey bobs and chain of size 5 splits shots off the nose of the maybe, less "aggressive" steelhead. Similar restrictions to fly gear could also be put in place limitations on length/density of sink tips, weight of flies so guys can't floss the fish that simply aren't players. Spoon anglers would still clean up, but even then spoons could be limited to a weight/size. At least with spoons the angler has to know how to swing through productive water, where as centre pins/float fishers just plumb the runs and will literally hook anything in the vicinity when they can get so deep.

 

I mean, surely many CO's probably already have pocket scales at home in BC.... wouldn't take much to bring the things along, and weigh some gear.

[Aiptasia]

I found that coming from a serious trout fishing background, it really truly helped figure out steelhead. They sit in very similar places you'd expect to find rainbows, they dont always sit in those long "featureless" tailouts most people focus on. They sit in pocket water, pools, seams... all of which are better suited to single hand nymphing/streamer fishing. Where a spey rod truly shines is covering those long broad tailouts and fresh run fish, and if you find yourself staring at a tailout, watch closely for any deflections/upwelling you might see. Sometimes they're hard to pick out in coloured water, but if you start focusing on the areas where these fish can rest, and sit out of the main current, you'll immediately start hooking more steelhead.

 

If I can offer one more piece of advice to you, do not focus/spend too much time on those deep tank pools, that you'd expect to find fish like cutties/bulls in canyon water. While yes, steelhead will sit there, they can be almost impossible to coax with a swung fly, or any fly for that matter. Focus where that pool shallows up, and immediately down stream before the next set of fast water, fresh/aggressive fish will sit in these tailouts before moving in, and settling into the pools.

All good information. Appreciated!

 

 

Anyways back to angler resources. Few informative videos from sage posted to the moldy chum page right now. Not winter fish specific, but swinging in general.

 

Cool thanks!

 

Also, to respond to everyone who say it's a bad addiction. I guess it's a good thing I don't have an addictive personality!

 

Oh wait. I just started planning for an additional steelhead trip and I haven't even got one yet. Guess I'm probably screwed.

[Dangus]

 

around 8:55. If you're ever feeling down. Validating to say the least ha

[bcubed]

Setting the hook tends to help

[Dangus]

He did. A lot of guys swear by waiting for the fish to take a few pulls of line and just raise the rod tip.

[monger]

Setting the hook does seem to help stick the point in...

[bcubed]

He did. A lot of guys swear by waiting for the fish to take a few pulls of line and just raise the rod tip.

That was no hook set... he gently lifted the rod up (between runs too). I let fish take a pull of line but then I hit them hard, low and to the bank. I've lost way too many when doing the just a raised tip as it doesn't get the hook in there. Watched it again, the next fish he does the same thing and same result...I'd way rather miss a fish on a hard hookset, then that!

 

Here's a hook set..

[monger]

Zactily!

[Dangus]

I'm just going out on a limb here. I'd be willing to bet that He's found that technique successful. The guy has guided steelhead for years and probably has more experience than most of the board.

If you think about it, You have a 8+ plus fish going in the opposite direction, any resistance and I think it's own weight hangs itself 9 times out of 10. Letting it take line like that is allowing the fish to turn after it's taken the fly so the hook locks in behind the maxilla. It's not sinking through bone in the jaw really.

Coincidently, the last winter fish I hooked was the one that stayed on the line The longest and I used this same approach.

Either way, it's steelheading. Everyone has their beliefs..all of which work 100 percent of the time 60 percent of the time.

[bcubed]

personally, i like the engagement of a hookset. At least then i know that it's my fault if the hook pulls away..the slow pull and no hookset has lead to too many falling off for me to continue that. I have had a LOT of steelhead that don't grab, turn and go. Lots of them come up, grab, and then sit on it. No hookset = no hookup on those fish

[Dangus]

Well, let's just hug it out.