# Jigs for steelhead / "the bug bite"



## BDuff1234 (Jan 18, 2016)

I'm looking to learn the skill of using bugs for steelhead. Just looking for some advice on what works best for you all or what your experience has taught you in this regard. 

Mulling around some ideas, what type of jig do you normally use for this method? Plain jig or ice fishing jig? Any preference on color that has outproduced the rest in your experience? Any particular type of bug that has worked better for you over the rest? Live bugs vs gulp baits? 

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated, again just looking to learn some new methods and create some discussion. I will be trying some of the listed options above in the next couple weeks and will report back my results, but any insider info on the best options to start with are always helpful!


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## rbarta (Aug 20, 2011)

Tube jigs tipped with wax worms, my go to colors are black&pink, orange, pink&white in that order for productivity. Similar with spawn fishing you will get confidence in one color and tend to fish that more. I started using jammin jigs good to note the smaller sizes have very light wire hooks something to keep in mind if using more than 6lb leader. Another brand to try are Aero jigs in the 1/16 or 1/32 ounce they have strong Gamakatsu hooks, these are a round head jig with colored hackle tied onto the hook normally fish these with wax worms as well. Hope this helps and you are able to get some fish on jigs this year


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

I like to run tube jigs with beefy hooks. Most store bought jigs tend to bend out on me, even when running a 6lb leader. I usually apply 2 or 3 waxies, butterworms produce fish also. I have run plastic bug imitations by Berkely gulp, but with less success than real meat. When I was just getting going "lil nippers" that you can pick up at Meijer actually caught a fair amount of fish, but the hooks on those suck too. Don't underestimate some hair jigs tipped with bugs. Sometimes a little fluff or "legs" make all the difference. PM member Troutguy26, he makes some pretty good jigs that have reliable hooks.


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## flyrodder46 (Dec 31, 2011)

Troutguy26 makes some fantastic jigs and floats, they are my go to in most cases. 

D


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## wyandot (Dec 5, 2013)

I'm a dyed in the wool jig and wax worm guy. it ain't fancy, but it's such a no brainer. Best advise I have is to come prepared with lots of colors as steelhead can be ultra picky about color.I also suggest to buy your waxies by the tub, those little containers only go so far if you fish much.


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## BDuff1234 (Jan 18, 2016)

Thank you for all of the replies! I really do appreciate it!



rbarta said:


> Another brand to try are Aero jigs in the 1/16 or 1/32 ounce they have strong Gamakatsu hooks, these are a round head jig with colored hackle tied onto the hook normally fish these with wax worms as well.


Thank you! I have seen the Aero jigs around and also Maxi jigs so I will have to give some of those a try sometime soon here.



Trout King said:


> PM member Troutguy26, he makes some pretty good jigs that have reliable hooks.


I will definitely keep that in mind when I no doubt start getting more serious with my jig collection for steelhead! Thank you!



wyandot said:


> I'm a dyed in the wool jig and wax worm guy. it ain't fancy, but it's such a no brainer. Best advise I have is to come prepared with lots of colors as steelhead can be ultra picky about color.I also suggest to buy your waxies by the tub, those little containers only go so far if you fish much.


When you (or anyone else) use the wax worms, do you prefer live or dead wax worms? I only ask as live ones are obviously harder to keep in large quantities as you would have to care for them a bit but I'm guessing they probably work a little better as they wiggle & move for a little bit after you put them on the hook and are fresher. But just curious as to what you guys use.


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

BDuff1234 said:


> When you (or anyone else) use the wax worms, do you prefer live or dead wax worms? I only ask as live ones are obviously harder to keep in large quantities as you would have to care for them a bit but I'm guessing they probably work a little better as they wiggle & move for a little bit after you put them on the hook and are fresher. But just curious as to what you guys use.


Waxworms usually don't wiggle too much when they are on a hook in cold water floating down the river. When you buy a tub they usually have about 500 worms in them. After a while some will inevitably start dying. I try to use the dead or dying first since it is a waste not to. If they turn brown I pick them out and they are rather soft and unusable. I guess as long as they have the waxworm color I put them on whether they are alive or dead. 

Don't be afraid to try mealworms and live or salted minnow on the jigs too.

Best of luck.


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## fishinfever (Feb 14, 2005)

flyrodder46 said:


> Troutguy26 makes some fantastic jigs and floats, they are my go to in most cases.
> 
> D


I agree 100%. Contact Troutguy26. He will make whatever colors you want and offer suggestions that WILL catch fish. Very durable jigs with strong hooks.
Good luck, FF


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## BDuff1234 (Jan 18, 2016)

Just reporting back to say thank you to everyone for the advice, tips and suggestions. 

I went out Friday morning about a half hour before the sun came up. Decided I was only going to fish with the jig and wax worm method to really get accustomed to the style and to give it my best effort. Was drifting a run/seam for a short while with no luck. There was only one other person fishing near me. He saw a couple steelhead surfacing just a little bit down from where I was running my drifts. He let me move down closer to where he was fishing and I switched to some heavier weight and a sturdier slip bobber and was able to cast out to where he saw them surfacing. Within 3 drifts I had a hookup! Ended up hooking 7 fish total that morning all on a jig with a wax worm! Had some trouble learning some line management techniques and how/when to set the hook (as this was the first time I've ever caught a steelhead on a float!) but after I got the hang of it I ended up landing 2 steelhead. Not a great ratio overall, had 2 break off and 3 throw the hook but the best numbers day I've ever had in my short steelhead career and was a thrilling day! Most of which I owe thanks to some of the suggestions and help I got here! Here is a picture of the bright fish I landed




  








IMG_1415




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BDuff1234


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Dec 10, 2017








One odd breakoff I had was one I have not seen before. The line broke off in the loop at the end of the knot. The rest of the knot was still fully intact when I brought it back up to see what happened. Right at the red arrow in this picture




  








Improved_clinch_knot




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BDuff1234


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Dec 10, 2017







. I have never seen that before, anyone else experience this before?


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## MickL (Dec 16, 2003)

BDuff1234 said:


> The line broke off in the loop at the end of the knot.


Might want to try the trilene knot.... has 2 loops thru the hook.


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## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

Nice work on the fish Duff.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

I've broken knots every way you can imagine. Anymore I like to beef up my tackle a bit, as I hate breaking fish off. I will add that fluorocarbon leader material seems to get brittle after about a year, and will break with much less pressure than it did when it was new. I had some knots break the way you are describing, before I started replacing my flouro leader every year. 

7 fish from 1 seam, for a newbie! That is impressive! Your learning curve just got a lot shorter. I like a floating line for float fishing, and currently am using Siglon FF for mainline. I buy it heavier than I usually would - I am running 15# at this time. Then a "shot leader" of 10# fluorocarbon, and then a "hook leader" of 6#, or 8# fluorocarbon. Floating mainline is really great for mending your line, as you float downstream.


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## wyandot (Dec 5, 2013)

Fishndude said:


> I've broken knots every way you can imagine. Anymore I like to beef up my tackle a bit, as I hate breaking fish off. I will add that fluorocarbon leader material seems to get brittle after about a year, and will break with much less pressure than it did when it was new. I had some knots break the way you are describing, before I started replacing my flouro leader every year.
> 
> 7 fish from 1 seam, for a newbie! That is impressive! Your learning curve just got a lot shorter. I like a floating line for float fishing, and currently am using Siglon FF for mainline. I buy it heavier than I usually would - I am running 15# at this time. Then a "shot leader" of 10# fluorocarbon, and then a "hook leader" of 6#, or 8# fluorocarbon. Floating mainline is really great for mending your line, as you float downstream.


I would try a different brand, no reason it should go bad after one season.


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## flyrodder46 (Dec 31, 2011)

Nice job BDuff, sounds like your learning curve is getting shortened up a bit. Nice fish.

As for where your leader knot broke, it is possible that there might have been a weak spot in the leader, or that there was a small nick in the eye of the hook, I have had leaders break like that before, it is very uncommon in my way of thinking, but possible.

I agree with Wyandot, I have leader material that is 3-4 years old and do not have a problem. The big thing with any mono is to keep it out of sunlight, and try to store it at room temp. as much as possible.

D


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## BDuff1234 (Jan 18, 2016)

Thank you all for your insight! I thought it was a pretty weird break off and was using 6# leader. I have some 8# leader as well that I use sometimes. There are so many unknown variables that have been pointed out here that could have been the reason, I will keep an eye on my stuff but will probably not change much because of it. However the trilene knot is a good suggestion for the double loop part!

Some floating mono line may have to be one of the next things on my list to try!

And thank you all again for the help and suggestions. I have a lot to learn and a lot of leg work to do but finding a place like this where I can learn from significantly more seasoned anglers and share my stories of success and failure alike, is just so great to have!


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## abbatoys (Sep 3, 2005)

Just another shout out to Troutguy 26.His jigs are top notch and when I bought mine I had him do an assortment. Sounds like you already have a hang of it with success.


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## BDuff1234 (Jan 18, 2016)

I have contacted troutguy26 and will be ordering some from him sometime soon and am pretty excited to get those. 

I also want to say thank you to all the members on this site who have given me advice as I've gotten back into my fishing pursuit a couple years ago. Particularly one piece of advice from member Waif. He said to learn my home river first before branching out to other rivers and streams. I didn't realize how good that advice was when he first gave it to me but now on the other side I realize that it is probably the best thing I could have heard at the time. It has allowed me to save a lot of time by only taking shorter trips to the tune of 25-35 minutes away to learn what I was doing right and wrong instead of driving 1-3 hours to learn the very same things. It has allowed me to fish more often in the mornings when I take days off from work, and that has allowed me to hone in on the long list of things that I was not doing right and to learn more tactics and skills to target (and actually catch) these powerful and beautiful steelhead. 

One last report to share based on this thread though. I went out Monday morning from just before sunrise until about 1pm. I ended up 4 for 6 on a jig and waxworm under a float! One of the 4 was my personal best steelhead! It was a hen that was 31 3/4" (which is 1/4" shy of a master angler award..) and had to be all of 10+ pounds easily (didn't have a scale).




  








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BDuff1234


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Dec 21, 2017








I also met some nice guys around me. One, named Jim, shared some smoked steelhead with me (which was really good, and thank you again!). Another, also named Jim, gave me a lot of helpful tips about the area and was nice to just chat with to pass some of the time in between catches. Weather was above freezing the whole time so it was a great day on the water for me!


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## tda513 (Oct 24, 2011)

Nice fish! With that length, and with the girth it has that fish was probably between 11-12 pounds.


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