Hey guys,

You all know it's getting close to Steel Head time. For the pas two years I have been wanting to try it. I never have but it looks like so much fun.

Now I know very little about it besides you need a long rod and for bait you use those floating flies. I know you stand in the river and cast up stream and let it float down stream.

I would like to know more. What can you tell me about technique, Gear? ect...I don't know anyone close by so I am going to have to learn on my own.

I use an 8-1/2' grafite Garcia steelhead rod,reel is spooled with 8lb.Depending on what the current is like,I attach a 3 way swievel to the main line witha dropper line 0f 6lb(for splitshot and a leader line of up to 4' with an egg hooh and use tied spawn bags for bait.Slip bobbers with an ice jig and wax worms works also...try spinners and small diving body baits.My best day last year was 13 hook ups with 3 landed,2 really nice hens(released) and one male used for the smoker....was tough to keep fish on in the current where I was fishing.

Depends on what stretch of river and how deep the river is. I have in the last few years become fond of the slip bobber/spawn technique.

My rod is a 9 1/2 im6 gander mountain rod in medium action. Reel is also a Gander Mountain reel with anti-reverse. Spool it with 6 pound test then a swivel for a bobber stop and 4 pound below that. I stagger the split shot down the line starting 2 foot above the hook. Hook I use is either a #8 or #10 octopus dependent on the size of spawn sac. I use a high visibility bobber just big enough to hold the weight and bait but still floats about half above the water.

If you want to learn how to tie spawn, I got plenty of salmon spawn that you can have.

Sorry so quick, but I got to get the kid to school.

First of all, it really depends on what type of steelheading you're planning on doin. I see you're in SH, I live in Roseville. There's quite a few nice holes in the ***** River that regularly produce steelies when a spinner is pulled through them. For that, a medium action 7-8 ft. spinning rod with a nice reel in the 2500 class such as a Shimano Stradic or a Diawa Laguna spooled with 6-8 lb. PLine would be my weapon of choice. This rig is also very effective for pier casting. Now for surf fishing I use a 10 1/2 ft med-light action spinning rod with a Diawa Laguna 3500 spooled with 10 lb. Trilene XL. this line goes through the eye of a 2-3 pyramid sinker and is then tied to a barrel swivel, from the barrel swivel I attach a 3-4 ft flourocarbon leader with a #6 or 8 red circle/octopus hook which is then baited with a home tied spawn sac(around 10 eggs per sac), in the sacs we tie we generally add a good amount of floats(8-10 per sac). And remember, the fresher the eggs the better. If you can get local fresh, uncured eggs all the better, those seem to work best. Now for drift fishing I use a 10 1/2 or 11 ft light action rod with a 2500 class Shimano Stradic or Diawa Laguna spooled with 6 lb PLine tied to a barrel swivel and leaving a 3-4 inch tag hanging off, onto this split shot will be added(how much depends on how deep the river is and how fast it's moving, you want your weight to just drag along the bottom getting stopped here and there as it drifts down the river) , if they get snagged up in rocks they will slide right off and you save the rest of your rig. Now onto the barrel swivel I tie a 3-4 foot flourocarbon 6 lb leader with either a #6 or #8 egg hook or circle/octopus hook for spawnsac drifting or the fly of choice. The "egg sucking leech" has always been a good goto, same as brown stoneflies, single egg paterns are a good bet too.

Thanks for all the info guys.

Sounds like a lot of stuff to take into account.

I will admit that I really don't understand any of this as far as rigging the rigging goes. I guess I will have to watch some videos to get a picture.

I know exactly where to for the Steel Heads. All the guys that fish around here toss a span sac upstream and let it drift down but I don't know what type of rig they are using.

I've used a standard rod, 5'6", open face reel with 6 lb. line, a split shot, or pencil lead sinker, depending on what I have, small size 4-8 aberdeen or baitholder hooks, and some leafworms or nightcrawlers. I've used spawn too, but they seem to like worms just as well.

A longer rod is a definite plus in a fast moving stream, but the other gear is just icing on the cake.

Thanks. All good info here but I have not yet read anything on technique. I was watching these guys last year and they would cast upstream then they would let out line, pull some in, let line out , pull some in until their span was downstream. I would like to know more about this. What type of action/tricks/techniques are there?

I put on just enough lead to feel it bouncing the bottom as it drifts down. Cast up at 45 or less and let drift down to 45. You have to gage it for the river, current, line diameter and such, but within a few casts you should have it down for the stretch you're fishing. If you cast up at too much of an angle it will get stuck in rocks or you'll have slack which will prevent you from detecting bites or keep the line from floating down just right.

I don't reel in at all until it gets down to 45, then I lift it and pull it in quick. It helps to keep the rod angled up slightly or level and straight out in front of you.

If you get hung up, raise the rod as high as possible and pull it good and tight, then quickly release the bail, the snapping action will sometimes loosen the snag. If that doesn't work, walk up stream with the line somewhat loose, then reel it in and tug. if that don't work, just wrap it around your hand and snap it by pulling straight back without bending the rod. As rubbnsmoke already mentioned, it pays to have a lighter leader line on the sinker as it's what usually hangs. I rarely do that though, but it's a good idea to have a slightly heavier mainline than sinker and hook leaders depending on your rig. That way you're not dumping endless yards of tangled line into the river.

One thing i will say in regards to safety is watch your step, rocks are slippery, current can sweep you away, and holes seem to pop up out of nowhere. I try to be prepared to dump my waders if I get swept down, hasn't happened to me yet, but I've seen it happen to others and although it looks funny, I doubt it's much fun.

The biggest mistake I see people making is casting too far upstream, more than 45 degrees and allowing the line to drift way too far downstream. Once the line gets past 90 it gets harder to maintain bottom and detect bites. People tend to want to hold their rod too high as well. 45 degree is a good all around number to remember for everything.

Oh yeah, and when you get a fish on say so, lol. "Fish on!"

Ive always fished like Shroomer does using nothing more than my Bass Rods.Growing up in the sticks we caught everything on them only changing the line size if we got into Kings.I used to watch my Dad catch Steelies on 10lb line and a Bass Rod many,many times.Depending on depth and obstacles he would use a bobber too.If you use split shot on a dropper and catch a snag it slips off or the lighter line breaks when pulled on.But bouncing the spawn or letting it roll on bottom is a great teqnique done right.
Yooper

I've seen guys use bobbers and waxworms with real good success when no one else was catching. I tried it and had no luck, but it was working real good for them. I've watched em do it with Browns and steelies. They were using what i consider an ice fishing rig, small bobber and a teardrop.