New to steelhead fishing

[PolarBear]

I must have hit the nail on the head, eh thane? A little hypersensitive, eh thane? 

[huntnnw]

nope. hypocritcal self you are

[PolarBear]

Pot, meet kettle. 

[PolarBear]

Duckgtr, as someone who actually lives near you and fishes the Skook, I sent you a PM.

[BigGoonTuna]

i also fish it, and will be living in downtown rainier once the house i just bought is finished being remodeled.  let me know if you want to hook up sometime.

[Bofire]

Hello Duckgtr, welcome.  I have fished the Skook for 35 years or so. You can see from this post one of the problems.
I fished drift fishing for years and still do. it works, I also use bobbers and jigs or bait, it works. It is hard to get spots to fish there sometimes unless you will walk. I also use spoons they work too.
Where on the Skook are you looking, right below the dam? Good Luck, I fish there a lot, PM me if you want to talk about it.
Carl

[M_ray]

On the drift setup..only way I will fish them..I cannot stand bobber fishing and wont do it

I used to be like that, and definitely the best way IMO when you feel the pick up! The only thing I would use otherwise was an occasional spoon for summer runs.  But I realized that I was missing out on a bunch of water and a bunch of fish ... there is water you just cant get a drift in that you can reach with a bobber and there are also rivers or certain drifts that are so rocky you waste more time tying up than you do fishing (sol duc) and If we stick with the OP a bobber is the best way for a newby to get started and find some success ...  drift fishing will take time to perfect not only to feel the pick up but also to learn how to read water 

Best advice my Uncle gave to me when I started steelheading at age 11 ... "fish where the fish are"    Good Luck! 

[Duckgtr]

Thank you for the replies. I wont be goin fishin again until I get the annual license in april. Bofire I appreciate the offer and will end up picking your brain a little. At first I tried at the end of the field and then went back down the road and fished before the hatchery

[Blackjaw]

M_ray is right. The more tools in your tool box, the better off you will be (learn a lot of different techniques). One thing to mention is if you walk into a hole and every one is drift fishing, set up for drift fishing and the same with bobber fishing. It is a lot easier to get along with people when everyone is doing the same thing.

[Duckgtr]

That's what one of the guys I met told me to. Don't want to be the guy float fishin while everyone is drifting and learn a little River fishin etiquette like down stream man casts first

[PolarBear]

Duckkgtr, BigGoonTuna, I live in Rainier (out of town in the farming district) as well, pour lead, tie jigs, pour plastic worms, artificial salmon eggs and am a master (or so I am told) at the yarn ball.  If you guys need some of these feel free to pm me and I will be happy to hook you up.  I have gone to all artificials for the past several years and find that I do just as well, sometimes better and spend a lot less time having to re-bait.  As mentioned above, the more tools in your arsenal makes you a  more rounded angler. 

[SkookumHntr]

figure out how to fish a roe bead under a float, im sure you can google the set up.  You can thank me later

[BigGoonTuna]

i may have to get in touch with you for some jig heads, my supply has been running low, but i've been stretching it out by being too busy to fish lately!

[Duckgtr]

Just picked up my first rod today Berkley Air IM8 9 foot medium action spinning for 8-14 pound line. Pretty stoked hopefully ill get to try it out this weekend, may have to hit you up to for some jigs as wheel

[Cap.Silver]

the most popular is SMJ2 jig and SMJ34 color ,also eagle claw in flo pink . You should have some