Post by: Wolfdog2314 on December 28, 2018, 03:17:29 PM
I haven’t fished for anything in general in years. A buddy took me out the other day and taught me a float and jig set up. No bites.
Super new to steelhead fishing, if any one has some tips, tricks, pictures, or reports post em up!
Post by: huntnphool on December 28, 2018, 03:24:48 PM
Anyone out fishing for em?
I haven’t fished for anything in general in years. A buddy took me out the other day and taught me a float and jig set up. No bites.
Super new to steelhead fishing, if any one has some tips, tricks, pictures, or reports post em up!
Where did you go?
I pity you if you ever catch one.
Post by: SkookumHntr on December 28, 2018, 03:26:08 PM
Post by: Wolfdog2314 on December 28, 2018, 03:48:59 PM
Anyone out fishing for em?
I haven’t fished for anything in general in years. A buddy took me out the other day and taught me a float and jig set up. No bites.
Super new to steelhead fishing, if any one has some tips, tricks, pictures, or reports post em up!
Where did you go?
I pity you if you ever catch one.
SW wa, A buddy of mine has riverfront property on a local river. . I live 10 mins from the N fork of the Lewis that I’ll start on too. Along with the E fork
I hear a guy can get pretty “hooked” on it when they start catching. I’m gonna go just about every day I’m not duck hunting.
Post by: Wolfdog2314 on December 28, 2018, 03:50:26 PM
If your new to steelheading don't overlook casting spinners, They always work! winters, summers it don't matter, if you find a biter he will crush a spinner, and cover a lot of water! #4 Blue body silver blade bluefox is a winner! Good luck!
I found a great spot I’d like to throw spinners in. My pole is set up with braid line. So what I think a lot of guys do is lug two setups around to be able to switch it up without having to re rig everything or use the wrong line??
Post by: BLR 243 on December 28, 2018, 04:44:58 PM
Post by: Boss .300 winmag on December 28, 2018, 04:51:09 PM
what are steelhead ?
These.
Post by: huntnphool on December 28, 2018, 04:54:23 PM
what are steelhead ?
Along the same lines as bigfoot, chupacabra, talking M&M's and Santa to Wolfdog right now. :chuckle:
Post by: Wolfdog2314 on December 28, 2018, 05:31:29 PM
Post by: tlbradford on December 28, 2018, 05:37:38 PM
Anyone out fishing for em?
I haven’t fished for anything in general in years. A buddy took me out the other day and taught me a float and jig set up. No bites.
Super new to steelhead fishing, if any one has some tips, tricks, pictures, or reports post em up!
The trick is to get something down near the bottom, but don't get hung up. Personally I never used spinners for winter steelhead. In an effort to get down near the bottom I used weight and spin-n-glows. All time best bait is fresh egg clusters. If I am fishing small enough water I will run plugs into every small hole I can reach and move through the system quickly.
Post by: castie2504 on December 28, 2018, 05:48:12 PM
:chuckle:
Post by: Wolfdog2314 on December 28, 2018, 07:03:29 PM
No, but thank you. I understand this will take a bunch of patience and time on the water. What intrigues me is the idea of working a lot of water and hiking back in to spots that are (hopefully) untouched by the majority of people. Navigating private property will be a pain I can see.
All advice taken, thanks!
Post by: Rimrock hunter on December 28, 2018, 07:12:53 PM
Post by: fishnfur on December 28, 2018, 07:33:28 PM
If you want to catch hatchery steelhead, I'd focus on the Cowlitz with eggs under a spin-n-glo or similar. Spoons and spinners are nice if you get tired of loosing gear. Check out http://www.steelheadstalkers.com/video_rigs.htm for videos on other rigs. If you want a nice day on a gorgeous river, the Kalama fits the bill nicely - all of 'em can get crowded, as does the Lewis, but it beats sitting on the couch or working in the yard. Check the creel reports on WDFW website for up to date numbers that may point you to better fishing on other waters.
Good luck.
Post by: castie2504 on December 28, 2018, 07:46:54 PM
Haha well thanks for all the encouraging words :bash:
No, but thank you. I understand this will take a bunch of patience and time on the water. What intrigues me is the idea of working a lot of water and hiking back in to spots that are (hopefully) untouched by the majority of people. Navigating private property will be a pain I can see.
All advice taken, thanks!
All kidding aside, it took me years to hook my first steelie as I started at about 12 with minimal guidance. As a young’n I started out by fishing with a 1/2 ounce in line weight to swivel and the. An 18-24” leader with a small corky and a 1/0 hook tipped with a worm. I struggled mightily with this setup because I knew not that the steelhead bite is ever so light. I probably had so many bites that I never set the hook on because of the lack of experience. As I gained experience I learned what a bite on that setup looked, but more importantly felt like so I became a much better steelie angler. This setup worked best for me when the water was slow and deep. I would fish the top of the run or towards the tail out where the current would give the worm some action. Next, I learned to use the bobber and jig tipped with coon shrimp. This was my favorite method for a long time. The float setup was a small weighted slip bobber on main line with a movable bobber stop to the swivel and then 36” leader to a 1/4 or 3/8 ounce marabou jig (pink, black, red or chartreuse) tipped with shrimp. This technique allows you to cover more water quickly and adjust to depth easily. Also I used small spinners when the water was low and warm and targeted the deep, slow moving water or shallow areas with cover. My favorite colors were brass and silver. I have also caught them on eggs an float setup. In my experience steelie stems to be leader shy so I went with lighter gear. Usually 12 or 15 pound braid with 8 pound leader. So finally after a few years of watching me struggle an uncle of mine gave me some basic pointers. A little afterward I finally hooked up! It was an awesome feeling I will never forget.
Every river system is different and has its own method that produces fish so get on the water as much as possible and talk to the locals to see what the prefered tactic is in your area. Also, don’t be afraid to throw something different than everyone else is on the water. I once was at a popular hole in a southeast WA river where there were 5?other fishermen were float and jig fishing. No one had any luck all day. Then I saw an ol’ wise fishermen show up, take a few minutes to see what everyone was doing then tie on a small black wiggle wart in the current anchored by a 3 ounce ball weight. 10 minutes later I was netting his fish.
Best of luck!
Post by: BigGoonTuna on December 28, 2018, 08:24:00 PM
I've never fished the Coweeman, but there are better rivers around for sure (IMO). WDFW quit stocking hatchery fish on the Coweeman about 5 or so years ago, so it is essentially a run of wild stock and probably a few leftover hatchery fish, plus strays from the Cowlitz.not so, it still gets stocked by the state. The damned shame of it is that there was the option to make it or the little green(a river with public access and a good hatchery run) a wild fish sanctuary, and they chose to shut down the green and keep planting the coweeman, which has nearly no access. I think somebody in the dept has property there...
Post by: lokidog on December 28, 2018, 08:48:55 PM
If your new to steelheading don't overlook casting spinners, They always work! winters, summers it don't matter, if you find a biter he will crush a spinner, and cover a lot of water! #4 Blue body silver blade bluefox is a winner! Good luck!
I found a great spot I’d like to throw spinners in. My pole is set up with braid line. So what I think a lot of guys do is lug two setups around to be able to switch it up without having to re rig everything or use the wrong line??
Why change line? I had a nice pone slam a spinner I tossed through the fish we could see after trying for over an hour to get them to bite anything else. Unfortunately, I lost it. Here's a tip, if everyone is throwing floats, don't toss a spinner through them, or be careful to time things to not mess everyone up. ;-)
Post by: huntnphool on December 28, 2018, 08:49:09 PM
Post by: PolarBear on December 28, 2018, 09:09:12 PM
(https://beta-static.photobucket.com/images/v103/Polrbear/940822_10208590710949741_8802569449843946006_n_zpsv2znhtyq.jpg)
(https://beta-static.photobucket.com/images/v103/Polrbear/0/252a8f46-502f-4a2c-8d38-e5d7cd693b87-original.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
(https://beta-static.photobucket.com/images/v103/Polrbear/0/6ae249f2-bf94-483f-a6ff-c5a52897e85a-original.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
Post by: HntnFsh on December 29, 2018, 06:58:11 AM
I've never fished the Coweeman, but there are better rivers around for sure (IMO). WDFW quit stocking hatchery fish on the Coweeman about 5 or so years ago, so it is essentially a run of wild stock and probably a few leftover hatchery fish, plus strays from the Cowlitz.not so, it still gets stocked by the state. The damned shame of it is that there was the option to make it or the little green(a river with public access and a good hatchery run) a wild fish sanctuary, and they chose to shut down the green and keep planting the coweeman, which has nearly no access. I think somebody in the dept has property there...
Ahh.. the old gene pool debacle! What a joke. And what was the deal, they only needed 1 gene pool river per region and this region got like 3. I think they were all on rivers with hatcheries. Hmmm wonder why!
Post by: dc on December 29, 2018, 07:15:32 AM
I'll be hitting some Grays Harbor rivers starting on the 11th. Mostly side drifting yarnies and possibly a jig or 2 under a float.
(https://beta-static.photobucket.com/images/v103/Polrbear/940822_10208590710949741_8802569449843946006_n_zpsv2znhtyq.jpg)
(https://beta-static.photobucket.com/images/v103/Polrbear/0/252a8f46-502f-4a2c-8d38-e5d7cd693b87-original.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
(https://beta-static.photobucket.com/images/v103/Polrbear/0/6ae249f2-bf94-483f-a6ff-c5a52897e85a-original.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds)
Post by: Blacklab on December 29, 2018, 09:00:11 AM
Post by: Jason on December 29, 2018, 09:27:23 AM
I’m gonna wait just a little longer. At least another week or two. Low #s over bonnie now. When those start comming up and consistant is when I’m gettin after them :twocents: GL All 😉🥃Same here on waiting a little longer. Lately I have been replacing jigs that didn’t make it home last year and I’m also trying different slip weight setups for running my yarn balls and corkies.
Post by: Wolfdog2314 on January 02, 2019, 02:15:36 PM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on January 02, 2019, 02:31:26 PM
Post by: tlbradford on January 02, 2019, 02:32:59 PM
GOT ONE! It was wild and had to go back. 12-14 pounder. That was a blast!
:tup:
Post by: Wolfdog2314 on January 02, 2019, 04:47:34 PM
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Post by: boneaddict on January 02, 2019, 04:56:19 PM
Post by: Skyvalhunter on January 02, 2019, 05:36:51 PM
Post by: jstone on January 02, 2019, 05:41:12 PM
Post by: huntnphool on January 02, 2019, 11:52:44 PM
Post by: HntnFsh on January 03, 2019, 12:15:13 PM
What’s it usually cost for a guide
$175- $225
Post by: Seahawk12 on January 03, 2019, 01:03:44 PM
Post by: Wolfdog2314 on January 03, 2019, 02:26:40 PM
Post by: WAcoueshunter on January 03, 2019, 02:29:35 PM
Thanks all, my brother caught two today. Another wild and a hatchery. Score is 2-1. He’s brand new like me!
That's fantastic, well done! Watch out, next thing you know you'll be sneaking out at lunchtime to make a few casts. :tup:
Post by: Wolfdog2314 on January 04, 2019, 12:48:09 PM
Dropped some coin on some Korkers and Frogg Togg waders today.
Stupid fishing :bash: