winter steelhead

Soon the Northwest winter rains will start to fall. With those rain showers come the trophy of all steelhead, the mighty Northwest winter steelhead. Water conditions and the way in which you fish for these beast can make or break a day of fishing. High water and low clarity can make finding fish difficult. I have found that side drifting and other conventional methods don't work as well during rising waters. I learned as a kid that plunking with roe and a heavy weight works the best at this time. After the rain stops and the water levels start to fall, that's when having a boat becomes handy. Side drifting bait when when river levels are falling can make for a great day of fishing. The amount of weight used during presentation is key and comes with experience and boat control. Roe, yarn, sand-shrimp, night crawlers and pink plastic worms are all great baits for this method. Long periods without rain can cause some rivers to become clear. Steelhead are smart and get spooked easy, clear water doesn't help. Boat traffic and pressure can keep these fish from biting. Sneak tactics some times are needed. Long cast of flys either from a fly rod or spinning set up have worked well for me at these times. What ever you do have fun, share the river and if your not catching fish keep trying.