I want to do some steelhead fishing

[Stickerbush]

thats awesome, congrats on a first combat steely! I checked out that spot and it was pretty crowded but not too bad, although it was mid day so not as busy. Tryin to figure out where to go next time

[trippledigitss]

Thanks man. That cracker bar is a good spot, on the highway side just below the mouth of the Sultan. I hooked a nice one there a couple years ago on my 1st cast with a new rvrfshr spoon. It was running back & forth and shot across the river spooling me out. I was very "new" and had a whole lot of drag on and it was still pulling it. So I decided to put my thumb on the spool.....       Dont need to tell you how that turned out since this one was my "first"! 

[Stickerbush]

UPDATE, fished again this morning. Lets just say I was at the populated spots... fish were bieng caught, just not by me  jig/bobber as well as drift fishing with corkies. Water was low, clear and really cold. Does anyone carry a thermometer with them fishing or check temps beforehand? I think it definately changes the way to fish. Gotta grab some more gear, any reccomendations on floats, jigs or other misc steelhead gear?

[trippledigitss]

UPDATE, fished again this morning. Lets just say I was at the populated spots... fish were bieng caught, just not by me  jig/bobber as well as drift fishing with corkies. Water was low, clear and really cold. Does anyone carry a thermometer with them fishing or check temps beforehand? I think it definately changes the way to fish. Gotta grab some more gear, any reccomendations on floats, jigs or other misc steelhead gear?

I have a digital stream thermometer in my tackle bag and I used to check temps with it all the time and adjust my strategy based on info from Bill Herzog's Drift Fishing & Spoon Fishing for Steelhead books. But I never do it anymore and cant even remember what he says to do at certain temps.

[allen]

I dunno about temps.  I used to do it all the time & kept a log.  Didn't seem to matter that much.  Caught them ( & was skunked) in all temp ranges.  Still fish the same way, just the old fashioned pulling plugs & drifting corkies & yarn with or without bait.

Allen

[trippledigitss]

I dunno about temps.  I used to do it all the time & kept a log.  Didn't seem to matter that much.  Caught them ( & was skunked) in all temp ranges.  Still fish the same way, just the old fashioned pulling plugs & drifting corkies & yarn with or without bait.

Allen

[Rickitt]

SOO just moved up here from TX and fished reiter a hand full of times with no luck! Fished the famous Reiter battleground today and pulled out 2 chum and a couple summer runs but no steel daddy yet! I was happy  lol..I was wondering if there are any other LESS crowded spots in that area? With that said YES i got the steelhead fever and wont stop lol

[trippledigitss]

SOO just moved up here from TX and fished reiter a hand full of times with no luck! Fished the famous Reiter battleground today and pulled out 2 chum and a couple summer runs but no steel daddy yet! I was happy  lol..I was wondering if there are any other LESS crowded spots in that area? With that said YES i got the steelhead fever and wont stop lol

So was it pretty busy up there today? (as usual)  I was going to head there this morning but when my alarm went I off I changed my mind! Did you see many other fish caught? How did the water look, higher & colored up? Thanks for any info.

You can fish down at the cracker bar, on the Sky just below the mouth of the Sultan. You pass it on the way to reiter, right at that bridge  over the Sultan river and next to the RR bridge - you see the parking lot on the left if you are heading east. A lot less people but I dont know if its better than Reiter. The far side across from the road is shallow and gradually gets deeper. The road side has big rocks and a deep slot, I like there better, especially for coho. That side you have to cross over private property - unless you walk along the river from the parking/launch area - and they want you to pay a buck into the little box but $1 is not a big deal. Unless you have a boat, I dont know of too many bank areas where its not crowded and good fishing - and if they do exist I dont think many people will tell us about them!   

[trippledigitss]

Oh, or you can fish at the Cable hole which is about a 1/2mi down stream from the hatchery across from the gravel pit. Park at Reiter and walk down the little trail right by the gate. There is less people down there but usually a few guys.

[Rickitt]

Ill have to check that out! Seen maybe 6-7 fish caught all day but spent most the day up the river fishing. I have been to the bridge your taking about but havent been to the spot down river yet, have to hit that tomorrow.

Alot of people there? hahaha..Sorry not laughing at you lol It was PACKED!!!! I hate that place but I keep going back because i have that "feeling" that my big one is right behind this one certain rock. I know, i know its prolly never gonna happen but he'll be there tomorrow lol

[Rickitt]

Whats the deal with silvers? or summer run silvers? Caught 2 today and when i pulled um in the guy next to me said i couldnt keep them. Is that true? They were both missing the back fin and looked very healthy.

Sorry for all the question but im pretty dumb when it comes to fishing in the NW lol

[trippledigitss]

Ill have to check that out! Seen maybe 6-7 fish caught all day but spent most the day up the river fishing. I have been to the bridge your taking about but havent been to the spot down river yet, have to hit that tomorrow.

Alot of people there? hahaha..Sorry not laughing at you lol It was PACKED!!!! I hate that place but I keep going back because i have that "feeling" that my big one is right behind this one certain rock. I know, i know its prolly never gonna happen but he'll be there tomorrow lol

Yeah, packed, thats Reiter Ponds alright. You may have better luck on a weekday but still see 10+ people up there. And someone will come on here and prove me wrong but I dont think there any "big" ones up there, all 6-8# cookie cutters and maybe a 10-12# er now & then. AS far as silvers, are you certain they were coho? I didnt think there were any up there this late at all, and there's no way they are left over from aug-sept-oct. I dont think so at least. If so it new to me, maybe someone else knows more. I think its even pretty late for chum and darn late for a king too, but I've never seen a king up that far either.