Steelhead Bonanza
Look for steelhead in August through November along Highway 95 between Iron Gate Reservoir and Weitchpec. The fish concentrations move up- and downriver as the season progresses, so it’s a good idea to move until you find concentrations of fish. For a more remote experience, some anglers take Pine Creek Road down from Weitchpec and fish the Johnson’s Bar area, or put a boat in at Johnson’s Bar and float downstream to Klamath Glen.
Local contacts. Klamath River Lodge, (707) 444-5555; The Fly Shop, (800) 669-3474; The Eureka Fly Shop, (707) 444-2000; Peggy’s Palace of Pleasure (bed and breakfast), (707) 482-7905.
Western Steelhead Techniques
Wet-fly swing. To make a basic wet-fly presentation, cast straight across-stream or quartering downstream and then mend upstream as needed to slow the progress of the fly through the faster currents typically found toward the center of the river. As the fly approaches the softer water near shore, you may need to mend downstream or lead the fly with your rod tip to maintain fly speed and keep from hanging on bottom.
The key to the swing is fly speed. A good rule of thumb is that your fly should move across the river only as fast as or slower than the current. In cold water, lethargic steelhead will react best on a deep, slowly moving fly. In warmer water with fresh, aggressive fish, you may have to move the fly actively to get some interest. You can make this presentation with sinking-tip lines or floating lines and wet flies like a Purple Woolly Bugger or Green-butt Skunk.
As with all traditional steelhead presentations, take one or two steps downstream after each cast. This ensures that you show your fly to as many fish as possible and helps maintain an orderly progression if there is more than one angler fishing the same pool.
Greased line. While fly speed is important, fly position is what sets a greased-line presentation apart from a wet-fly swing. In this presentation, which descends from our Atlantic salmon-fishing heritage, the fly is kept broadside to the fish—sideways in the current—by using a series of downstream mends and/or a riffle hitch to attach the fly. To riffle-hitch your fly, tie the fly on as usual, then make two overhand knots behind the hook eye so the line extends from the side and below the hook shank. The combination of the riffle hitch and the downstream mends creates an enticing presentation near the surface or in the surface film. You will often see the white of a steelhead’s mouth as it closes on your fly. Don’t strike when you see the fish. Let the fish turn on the fly and then lift. Use unweighted flies like a Silver Hilton or Steelhead Muddler. Because the fly typically moves faster with this technique than with the wet-fly swing, greased-line presentations are best used when fresh fish are in the river and water temperatures are above 45 degrees F.
Dry and waking flies. Pacific steelhead sometimes take dead-drifted dry flies like trout, but a more effective way to search the water is to wake or skate your fly across the surface so that it creates a V-wake behind it. A riffle hitch will make heavily hackled dry flies, such as the Royal Wulff or Sofa Pillow, wake at the surface, but patterns like the Waller Waker or Lambroughton Skater are specially designed to skate and make a commotion so you don’t need the hitch.
As with the wet-fly swing, cast across-stream and mend the line to either speed up or slow down the fly, depending on the river current, temperature, and the mood of the fish. An interesting variation is to quarter your cast upstream for a short dead-drift, then skate the fly below you when the line becomes tight.[For animated graphics showing these steelhead tactics, visit www.flyfisherman.com/toc/. The Editors.]
GREAT LAKES FALL STEELHEAD
I am not sure what my favorite thing about fall steelhead fishing is. There is the obvious answer that the fish are incredibly hot and beautiful. A chrome fish with transparent fins screaming off 60 or 80 yards of line is obviously a great rush, but there is something else that is harder to describe. I think it has to do with the time of year. In the Great Lakes, there is almost always a slight bite to the fall air. The leaves are turning and the snow is never far away. I’m not sure who came up with the term “poser,” but I know they didn’t get the idea while fall steelheading.
In Great Lakes tributaries, fall steelhead start to arrive in mid October, but most of the fish show up in early November. This means days of fishing in the snow or at least consistently cooler weather. The big lakes create their own weather patterns and this seldom means a warming trend. I think the adverse conditions are what makes fall steelhead such a prize. Of course it can also be sunny and 60 degrees F., but for some reason those are not the days you remember.
Egg Banquet
Some fall steelhead migrate into the rivers at the same time as Chinook salmon and they feed voraciously on salmon eggs. I have seen steelhead move 6 feet horizontally to pick up a salmon egg. If there are salmon actively spawning, steelhead will stay close to the spawning areas, picking up as many eggs as possible. When the salmon finish spawning, around the end of October, the steelhead take up new positions.
Fall steelhead always look for a secure depth with moderate current flows. This can vary from river to river, but in wadeable rivers this means 2- to 5-foot-deep runs. In bigger rivers it’s generally 4 to 8 feet. This is only a starting point. In one Erie tributary I fished last fall, I had trouble finding water over 3 feet deep. When I did finally find a run that was about 4 feet deep with a darker bottom, I found about 100 fish stacked in a single pool.
The longer steelhead stay in the river, the deeper and slower the water they desire. There does seem to be a limit to how deep the fish will hold; luckily, 6 to 8 feet seems to be about the limit, even in the middle of winter.
Steelhead hold in moderate current flows, usually areas with a sand or small gravel substrate. Understanding and identifying substrates is critical to locating steelhead anywhere. Steelhead are particular about what they lie over, because the bottom or substrate indicates the current flow. If a run has a heavy gravel or stone bottom, it generally means the current has pushed the smaller substrate away. These bottoms generally look brighter than other parts of the run. Fall steelhead anglers should locate areas where sand or gravel is collecting, generally at the back or middle of the run. This type of substrate creates the dark-looking water steelhead love to hide in.
If a run consists of heavier rock, it often means the current is too heavy. Exceptions to this rule are if the rocks on the bottom are big enough to break the hydraulics of the river and create slower holding areas along the bottom. These fish are not in the river to expend energy; they are looking for water that allows them to hold while using as little energy as possible.
Fall steelhead are aggressive feeders when they first enter the river, so this is the best time for anglers who want to use traditional wet-fly swing presentations. Leeches, minnows, and sculpin patterns all work well in the early part of the season. As the water cools and drops into the low 40s and colder, you need to get the fly much closer to the fish. At this time of year, nymphing with an indicator system and dead-drifting the pattern right to the fish is most productive. Steelhead that move 6 feet to pick up a single egg in early November may not move 6 inches in December.
Flies and Tackle
I choose my rod weight and length based on the size of the river and the style of fishing I am going to do that day. You need a heavier, longer rod in larger rivers for better long-distance line control. A 91/2 foot, 8-weight is probably the best all-around steelhead rod.
Egg patterns account for more fall steelhead than all other patterns combined. I like small (#10) eggs in the fall; some people use as small as #16. My favorite fall color is a baby-blue egg, with Oregon cheese my second choice. Steelhead also see a good number of nymphs as well as smaller sculpin and baitfish trying to cash in on the increased amount of food dislodged when salmon are spawning. Caddis, stoneflies, and medium-sized mayfly imitations like a Pheasant-tail Nymph are a must this time of year.
For the last four years I have been fishing a smaller version of my Mysis shrimp pattern called the Antron Bug. The new version is half an inch long and more closely imitates an actual Mysis. This new design has become my most productive pattern.
On a 5-day trip last fall the Antron Bug outfished egg patterns seven to one. I was fishing a two-fly system and moved the Antron Bug from the upper to the lower position fly constantly to see if that was the reason for the incredible success. It was not. The fish simply love this little fly.
Copyright © 2012 Intermedia Outdoors
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