Recently my timing has been nothing short of terrible. It seems every time I have an opportunity to get out on the water its been ripping high and off color at best. With a busy schedule you don’t sit at home and wish things would drop into shape and pout about it…You just load up and hit it. One thing you can count on is that you will be fishing harder than ever and don’t expect the big numbers that I have been spoiled with over the last few years. But with some major effort, different styles of fishing, and totally different water you will still get them. The last few trips the traditional steelhead methods have been set aside and a completely new strategy has been on the menu. I sorta felt like a bass fisherman casting to the within inches of the bank to soft water,boulders, and down wood. Covering every inch of soft water I can find that normally would be past over for traditional steelhead water using plugs, and sidedrifting. The fact is if you want to be successful you need to adapt to the conditions and pull it all out. Think like a fish. In high water I’m going to rest behind boulders, root wads, and for darn sure im going to cut the corners into the soft water. because as a fish migrating upstream in heavy current I know I’m going to be moving fast and not holding. I’m not looking at offerings in transition water,but I will strike if you throw something at me while I rest for a minute behind structure or in soft pocket water. I’m not going to be in these places very long either because instinctively I know I have someplace to be and some business to take care of. So you better be rapid-firing those casts non-stop and everywhere to find me. I have found this super hard fishing to be soooo rewarding! You feel good when you get to the take out and all the other anglers that passed you and tried to race you to the next hole are kicking the sand confused why they didn’t come up with anything. 1. Slow down and think like a steelhead. 2. Fish hard and non-traditional. 3. Cover as much water as you can to find them, because they won’t come to you. This is a very short piece but in the video you will notice a small boulder underwater near the bank making a noticeable ripple in the run. Normally this spot is way to shallow to hold fish but today it had a nice buck resting behind it inches from the bank.
01/06/2010
Summer Pig!!!! In December???
Steve hit this massive summer steelhead recently while trying for some winter steel action. What a monster and still has some girth to it considering how late in the year it is. Nice job Steve! He and Tom were tossing bobber and jigs from a driftboat on a well-known side drifting sled river somewhere in the Northwest. I heard the sled guys started paying serious attention to your techniques after witnessing this fish being landed. I like your style Steve! Lets get out this week and wack some steel…
