# Big M Fall Steelhead



## Ojh

rippin lip said:


> I fished Saturday too. 5 hookups and none to the boat. All bright dime fish!!! While fighting one of the fish, had a boat motoring up and running over top of it. The boat then proceeded to anchor 50 yards up from me, what do you do besides shake your head? Decided to load the boat around 1 because the boat parade was getting rather busy! While I was trying to load the boat I had to educate around 10 salmon snaggers that high bridge launch was a boat launch first and a fishing platform second. Can’t wait for the Solitude of winter fishing the big man.


I had one boat run into me! I was anchored, casting, with plenty of water all around me and here comes this couple in a jon boat driving straight into me. I could see the panic in the guys eyes as he just locked up, the girlfriend in front turned to say something and he just couldn't turn the tiller, he did slow down so the jolt wasn't as severe as it could have been. I figured he'll be getting a lifetime of abuse from the girl so I didn't say anything to them, just a look.


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## Steve

Ojh said:


> I had one boat run into me! I was anchored, casting, with plenty of water all around me and here comes this couple in a jon boat driving straight into me. I could see the panic in the guys eyes as he just locked up, the girlfriend in front turned to say something and he just couldn't turn the tiller, he did slow down so the jolt wasn't as severe as it could have been. I figured he'll be getting a lifetime of abuse from the girl so I didn't say anything to them, just a look.


That is scary. Literally nothing you can do but watch. Any damage to your boat?


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## riverbob

Ojh said:


> I had one boat run into me! I was anchored, casting, with plenty of water all around me and here comes this couple in a jon boat driving straight into me. I could see the panic in the guys eyes as he just locked up, the girlfriend in front turned to say something and he just couldn't turn the tiller, he did slow down so the jolt wasn't as severe as it could have been. I figured he'll be getting a lifetime of abuse from the girl so I didn't say anything to them, just a look.


 that can b scary,, i've been rammed a few times by scull's (row boats) twice by a 8 man crew + a blind coxie (the driver/steerer) lucky no one drown


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## Ojh

Steve said:


> That is scary. Literally nothing you can do but watch. Any damage to your boat?


Not really, scuffed the paint up. I actually felt sorry for the guy, she will never, ever, let him forget that, they went on down around the island below me (the island down below Bear Creek) and I could hear her over the motor.


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## brian0013

rippin lip said:


> I fished Saturday too. 5 hookups and none to the boat. All bright dime fish!!! While fighting one of the fish, had a boat motoring up and running over top of it. The boat then proceeded to anchor 50 yards up from me, what do you do besides shake your head? Decided to load the boat around 1 because the boat parade was getting rather busy! While I was trying to load the boat I had to educate around 10 salmon snaggers that high bridge launch was a boat launch first and a fishing platform second. Can’t wait for the Solitude of winter fishing the big man.


Lmao we always have to tell people at tippy your going to get sprayed with the jet if ya don’t give us room


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## OH-YEAH!!!

Ojh said:


> I had one boat run into me! I was anchored, casting, with plenty of water all around me and here comes this couple in a jon boat driving straight into me. I could see the panic in the guys eyes as he just locked up, the girlfriend in front turned to say something and he just couldn't turn the tiller, he did slow down so the jolt wasn't as severe as it could have been. I figured he'll be getting a lifetime of abuse from the girl so I didn't say anything to them, just a look.


I helped an angler with an injury case. He was in a guide’s jet boat when it was struck by another angler. Bad finger injury. We prevailed after 1 year of litigation.


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## Fishndude

I was on the Big Man a few days last week. Got a Skipper, and a nice 11# male that gave me everything I look for in a Steelhead fight. 

Soooooo many boats, and guides. Saturday morning we counted 17 rigs parked at Tippy. Tippy was full every day, as was Rainbow. There were a few spaces at Bear, and High Bridge, but a lot of rigs, too. And quite a few boats are parked at Matsons. Stealthcraft power drifters, with 40 hs Merc jets must have been on sale at some point, because they were probably _*half*_ of the boats we saw. Nice rigs. 

Not a lot of Steelhead were being caught. Lots of wind with gusts to 30+ mph a couple days. Lots of leaves coming down. Kings are getting toward the end of their spawn. Water is cooling off. It snowed hard, briefly, Friday morning. Nights were frosty. The first push of Steelhead hit the river the first week of October, and there should be another one, soon. The rain this week should pull Steelhead into the river, and get the Kings through the end of the main part of their spawn. Cohos should be spawning real soon.

Also checked out a couple smaller rivers, nearby. The Little River is so low. SOOOO low. But there are Kings doing their thing, and a very few Steelhead around. Tons of Steelhead Parr, so if you use spawn, tie big bags. Bear had Kings spawning, as did Pine Creek. Lots of dead, and post-spawn Kings in the tribs.


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## riverbob

nice report


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## Steve

Do any of you use Pautzke bait like this to tie your own bags? 
https://pautzke.com/product/pautzke-balls-o-fire-salmon-eggs-premium/

If so what color works best for fall steelies?


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## fishinfever

Great report Fishndude!
Thanks for taking the time and allowing us to enjoy your outing, too.
Good luck, FF


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## Bob Hunter

Steve said:


> Do any of you use Pautzke bait like this to tie your own bags?
> https://pautzke.com/product/pautzke-balls-o-fire-salmon-eggs-premium/
> 
> If so what color works best for fall steelies?


Use beads Steve.


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## AdamBradley

I second bobs advice. The right color and size bead is about the best thing to float or roll bottom with in the the fall. Might take a bit of trial and error on color, but they will let you know when you got it.


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## Ojh

Lots of different beads out there, hard/soft; small/large; textured/smooth; colored/natural. Any preferances? what do you start the day with and whats the 1st thing you change?
I like the soft bead slipped over a knot in the line so it looks like the nucleus of an egg.


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## Steve

Ojh said:


> Lots of different beads out there, hard/soft; small/large; textured/smooth; colored/natural. Any preferances? what do you start the day with and whats the 1st thing you change?
> I like the soft bead slipped over a knot in the line so it looks like the nucleus of an egg.


I have most of them. Hard/soft, 8mm, 10mm. Just don't know where to start with the fall steelies. Have some idea what to do in the spring.....


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## Brado

I would start with 8mm if I was fishing behind salmon spawning. But last weekend it was 10mm down in the lower river. I was also running a longer leader then normal and walking the dog with my float down a run.


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## Aidan Zubak

What size hooks do you guys run with your beads? I've heard everything from 2-10. I'm planning on buying some Gamakatsu octopus hooks this weekend


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## Steve

Aidan Zubak said:


> What size hooks do you guys run with your beads? I've heard everything from 2-10. I'm planning on buying some Gamakatsu octopus hooks this weekend


I think I have mainly size 4-8, with 6 being the most common one I use. Depends on the size of the bead you want to run.


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## Ojh

Steve said:


> I think I have mainly size 4-8, with 6 being the most common one I use. Depends on the size of the bead you want to run.


You have a 'trailer' hook on your rig?


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## Steve

Ojh said:


> You have a 'trailer' hook on your rig?


If you are asking if I run one or two beads, I have rigs for both. Not sure which is most effective. I don't have two hooks on a one egg rig.


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## Bob Hunter

Steve said:


> I have most of them. Hard/soft, 8mm, 10mm. Just don't know where to start with the fall steelies. Have some idea what to do in the spring.....


10mm acrylic beads, oranges, chartreuses, and dead egg patterns.


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## Shoeman

Steve said:


> Ah, now that I see them, I know exactly what you are talking about.


Don’t buy any! I have at least 500 of them


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## PunyTrout

Shoeman said:


> Don’t buy any! I have at least 500 of them




I'll trade you a couple dozen VMC #4 bait hooks for a couple dozen corkies...


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## Ojh

How they rigged?


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## Shoeman

PunyTrout said:


> I'll trade you a couple dozen VMC #4 bait hooks for a couple dozen corkies...


What color and size are you looking for? 

A good friend was a rep for Worden/ Yakima


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## PunyTrout

Shoeman said:


> What color and size are you looking for?



Surprise me. I think I still have a handful sitting in a pier/river box from around 1998... haven't used them since.

I should give them a try.


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## Shoeman

I should have most of the colors from size 10-14, with a few of the bigger ones and some spin and glows.

We stopped fishing the bottom with bouncing Bettys when the zebras kept nicking the leader.


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## Fishndude

Beef up that line, and leader, and have at it.


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## jatc

Green or orange corky above a #6 hook with a half crawler on it has put a lot of river Steelers on the bank for me over the years. Especially in the Fall.


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## nighttime

Favorite corkie and wobble glo color. Been a while since I’ve fished ether one but always love tipping them with wax worms


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## toto

Man haven't fished wobble glows in a long time, frankly forgot about them. I'll have to go back to that this year, they'll hit them pretty hard if I remember right.


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## Fishndude

I like a Clown pattern Corkie. I've gotten bit on that a lot over the years. I also used to fish Skams with glow wobble-glos in Summer. At first I thought I was lining fish, but after catching a bunch that literally swallowed the wobble-glos, I became a believer. But I haven't fished for Skams in quite a while.


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## Bob Hunter

Fishndude said:


> I like a Clown pattern Corkie. I've gotten bit on that a lot over the years. I also used to fish Skams with glow wobble-glos in Summer. At first I thought I was lining fish, but after catching a bunch that literally swallowed the wobble-glos, I became a believer. But I haven't fished for Skams in quite a while.


That’s my favorite one to, or the half and half orange/chartreuse, I’ve also done decent with the white one with pink dots.


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## jmaddog8807

rippin lip said:


> This is What I like to run when using beads for line, weight, and hooks.
> View attachment 590969
> View attachment 590971
> View attachment 590967


Do you run split show below that weight or is that the only weight you’re using?


Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


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## Bob Hunter

W


jmaddog8807 said:


> Do you run split show below that weight or is that the only weight you’re using?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Michigan Sportsman


When i rig like that, its the only weight I’m using.


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## Erik

My favorite corkies are watermelon/fire tiger with gold sparkleys. 
I like corkies for drifting wigglers. That is to say when I get lucky enough to find some wigglers. Hard to get them these days. 


My fishing trip to the east side wasn't stellar. At least the day started out nice. 










If you never got up at 3am. Drove 3 hours to get to the river before sunrise. Fished all day dawn to dusk, mostly in the rain. Then, after 3000 casts and not a single bite. You lost the one and only fish you hooked the entire day, and you had him all the way to the net when he popped your leader? Well... all I can say is, "you dont know what it like to be me" 

I'll be back again next weekend


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## Fishndude

Thanks for the story, Erik. Get some new leader this week.


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## hhlhoward

jatc said:


> Green or orange corky above a #6 hook with a half crawler on it has put a lot of river Steelers on the bank for me over the years. Especially in the Fall.


How are you tying up the corkie? If you don't use a splitshot then won't it just come to the surface?


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## jatc

I put a snap swivel above a small bead on the main line and then tie on a small barrel swivel. I usually use a pencil sinker attached to the snap swivel. Then I tie a chunk of three foot leader (usually 6# Maxima) to the barrel and feed the corky onto it. Add two small beads and tie on a number six hook for the crawler.

I use pretty much the same rig for wobble glos too, other than I tie on a number ten treble and don’t use a crawler.


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## riverbob

hhlhoward said:


> How are you tying up the corkie? If you don't use a splitshot then won't it just come to the surface?


 i bottom bounce for steel, to keep my corkie above/away from my hook, i use a bobber stop n bead (witch comes with the stop) the current slides the corkie down to the stop, witch is 3 or 4 inches above my hook


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## hhlhoward

T


jatc said:


> I put a snap swivel above a small bead on the main line and then tie on a small barrel swivel. I usually use a pencil sinker attached to the snap swivel. Then I tie a chunk of three foot leader (usually 6# Maxima) to the barrel and feed the corky onto it. Add two small beads and tie on a number six hook for the crawler.
> 
> I use pretty much the same rig for wobble glos too, other than I tie on a number ten treble and don’t use a crawler.


Thanks I think I can picture in my head to give it a go.


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## riverbob

riverbob said:


> makes since, so it's the luck of the catch,,,, thanks


 :idea:,,,,,,:Modified_,,,,rotest_e,,,,,,,,,, maybe a sashibo/meat probe, like they use to check tuna


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## Erik

The spring cohos we get in st joe are bright orange meat. They are so yummy in the spring. I could eat them "every days of the week" 
The fall Ho's? Not so much. They taste like dirt. Even the ones I catch off the peir. Always wondered why. Just assumed it was due to them being adults nearing the spawn. 

I hit the lower Big M yesterday, fri. Fished hard all day dawn till dark. Been trying to learn some new places. I managed 2 hook ups but lost both of them. Both steelies. Was fun though. One of them was jumping clear out of the water before I could even react. I felt it jerk hard and started to lift my rod and before I could set the hook it was leaping 2 ft out of the water.


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## jeepgod

The folks mentioning the fish who eat bugs have more orange flesh than their counterparts are correct. Insects provide more Carotine that provide the orange tint in meat. That is also how you can differentiate between most plants and resident fish (some times) in the trout streams. It is a fact of nature.


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## B.Jarvinen

Worst Opening Day ever. Can’t fish at all, anywhere.


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## Aidan Zubak

B.Jarvinen said:


> Worst Opening Day ever. Can’t fish at all, anywhere.


Are you talking about the new COVID restrictions? Did it mention fishing?


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## 6Speed

Aidan Zubak said:


> Are you talking about the new COVID restrictions? Did it mention fishing?


Ice fishing is cancelled...


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## B.Jarvinen

Windstorm. Beach, piers totally not-fishable. I had wet lines for maybe 15 minutes early and that was it. Even the harbor was filling up with sand water. 

Streams always have plenty of dead Ash trees nearby. Not something I want to be around, today. 

I love fishing in the rain. 

Normally this is one of my favorite days to fish Steelhead and few weather combinations can stop me. Today did.


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## TroutFishingBear

a diet of crayfish and scuds or freshwater shrimp produce the best, brightest orange/red trout filets for any species.

when I was younger, we used to say stocked vs. wild as well (stocked = white/pale yellow, wild = pink to red/orange). Found out that was not the case. used to catch some wild ones that ate more chubs or suckers, they did not eat well. Stocked ones that were in another fishery for 6 months+ and ate crawfish almost exclusively were fantastic table fair.


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## jeepgod

That may be correct as the exoskeletons of many crustaceans have more Carotine than many of your insects due to size and thickness. It takes a lot of insects to get their fill so they opt for minnows and other things so the crustaceans probably do give them a nice shot of Carotine.




TroutFishingBear said:


> a diet of crayfish and scuds or freshwater shrimp produce the best, brightest orange/red trout filets for any species.
> 
> when I was younger, we used to say stocked vs. wild as well (stocked = white/pale yellow, wild = pink to red/orange). Found out that was not the case. used to catch some wild ones that ate more chubs or suckers, they did not eat well. Stocked ones that were in another fishery for 6 months+ and ate crawfish almost exclusively were fantastic table fair.


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## jeepgod

Not sure why the salmon and other species have orange flesh when they do not seem to target insects in the open water but it may just be absorbed from other fish or something. Interesting.


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## salmon_slayer06

north beach was fishable Sunday morning.


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## Ojh

Very interesting stuff, its fun to learn.
Thanks, Oj


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## Erik

Had a good day on the river friday. Weather was perfect. Not crowded. The Lord must have been smiling on me 
Got to fight a couple fish that I lost. Again.... mman thats been my MO this season. I think I loose too many fish! Course maybe I say the same thing every year IDK. Just seems worse this year. 
Did net this colored up buck. My biggest one this fall so far. 34inches long.
He put up one hell of a fight. Every time I would get him up close soon as I would start to dip the net he would lunge back down under my boat. I've lost several fish this year due to them jerking real hard right next to the boat. So I've been trying to be really careful how much pressure I'm putting on them right next to the boat like that.


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## riverwart

Erik said:


> Had a good day on the river friday. Weather was perfect. Not crowded. The Lord must have been smiling on me
> Got to fight a couple fish that I lost. Again.... mman thats been my MO this season. I think I loose too many fish! Course maybe I say the same thing every year IDK. Just seems worse this year.
> Did net this colored up buck. My biggest one this fall so far. 34inches long.
> He put up one hell of a fight. Every time I would get him up close soon as I would start to dip the net he would lunge back down under my boat. I've lost several fish this year due to them jerking real hard right next to the boat. So I've been trying to be really careful how much pressure I'm putting on them right next to the boat like that.
> 
> View attachment 606095


Nice fish, far better catch rate than mine is sitting here in the kitchen. Keep posting, love reading the the reports.


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## Steve

Erik said:


> Had a good day on the river friday. Weather was perfect. Not crowded. The Lord must have been smiling on me
> Got to fight a couple fish that I lost. Again.... mman thats been my MO this season. I think I loose too many fish! Course maybe I say the same thing every year IDK. Just seems worse this year.
> Did net this colored up buck. My biggest one this fall so far. 34inches long.
> He put up one hell of a fight. Every time I would get him up close soon as I would start to dip the net he would lunge back down under my boat. I've lost several fish this year due to them jerking real hard right next to the boat. So I've been trying to be really careful how much pressure I'm putting on them right next to the boat like that.
> 
> View attachment 606095


Beautiful fish.


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## Matt3ddsteel

Erik said:


> Had a good day on the river friday. Weather was perfect. Not crowded. The Lord must have been smiling on me
> Got to fight a couple fish that I lost. Again.... mman thats been my MO this season. I think I loose too many fish! Course maybe I say the same thing every year IDK. Just seems worse this year.
> Did net this colored up buck. My biggest one this fall so far. 34inches long.
> He put up one hell of a fight. Every time I would get him up close soon as I would start to dip the net he would lunge back down under my boat. I've lost several fish this year due to them jerking real hard right next to the boat. So I've been trying to be really careful how much pressure I'm putting on them right next to the boat like that.
> 
> View attachment 606095


What did you get him on?


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## Erik

Steelhead eggs I had in the freezer from last winter.


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## riverbob

Erik said:


> Had a good day on the river friday
> 
> View attachment 606095


,, nice fish,,,,,,,, i had a good day yesterday also, along with the steel i caught, i also got 3 channel cats, the biggest cat was in the low teens, also got about 1/2 doz. gobies, seem like every thing was putting on the feed bag before winter


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## Matt3ddsteel

Caught this hen on the third drift this morning.


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## toto

Erik said:


> Had a good day on the river friday. Weather was perfect. Not crowded. The Lord must have been smiling on me
> Got to fight a couple fish that I lost. Again.... mman thats been my MO this season. I think I loose too many fish! Course maybe I say the same thing every year IDK. Just seems worse this year.
> Did net this colored up buck. My biggest one this fall so far. 34inches long.
> He put up one hell of a fight. Every time I would get him up close soon as I would start to dip the net he would lunge back down under my boat. I've lost several fish this year due to them jerking real hard right next to the boat. So I've been trying to be really careful how much pressure I'm putting on them right next to the boat like that.
> 
> View attachment 606095


Nice fish and hear ya on losing the battle, it happens. One thing to remember the shorter the line, the more the tension. If you get too much tension it will just pull the hook right out. So, you are right on releasing some pressure as it gets closer to the boat.


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## Steve

Shoeman said:


> Don’t buy any! I have at least 500 of them


Was actually just going to order some


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## Shoeman

Don't!

I'll put some together and stick them in the mail.


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## Steve

Shoeman said:


> Don't!
> 
> I'll put some together and stick them in the mail.


Thanks. Seems like I need some of these in my arsenal.


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## Shoeman

Steve said:


> Thanks. Seems like I need some of these in my arsenal.



So any preference in color/size?


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## Steve

Shoeman said:


> So any preference in color/size?
> 
> View attachment 610789
> 
> 
> View attachment 610791


The colors that work


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## Bob Hunter

Shoeman said:


> So any preference in color/size?
> 
> View attachment 610789
> 
> 
> View attachment 610791


I always used the clown, peach, and white with pink dots.


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## Shoeman

Gold, silver, fire tiger, pearl clown (probably my best) and one year that metallic green took most of the fish. Then the brown trout with a crawler.


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## Steve

Shoeman said:


> Gold, silver, fire tiger, pearl clown (probably my best) and one year that metallic green took most of the fish. Then the brown trout with a crawler.


It puzzles me that the color of these even makes a difference since it is not what the fish actually strike at.


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## Shoeman

That and size! :lol:

In the lower river we'd go big, at the dams smaller unless it's cranking. Bright days, metallic unless stained.


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## Steve

Shoeman said:


> That and size! :lol:
> 
> In the lower river we'd go big, at the dams smaller unless it's cranking. Bright days, metallic unless stained.


The size part makes a whole lot more sense since you are trying to match it to the depth and current.


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## Ojh

Steve said:


> The size part makes a whole lot more sense since you are trying to match it to the depth and current.


There you go, trying to get all scientific an everything.


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## Shoeman

Steve said:


> The size part makes a whole lot more sense since you are trying to match it to the depth and current.



Going out this weekend 

Enough to snag-up every cast for years.....lol










And still have enough for another few decades!


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## Steve

Shoeman said:


> Going out this weekend
> 
> Enough to snag-up every cast for years.....lol
> 
> View attachment 615831
> 
> 
> And still have enough for another few decades!


Looking forward to finding some wood to put them in.


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## B.Jarvinen

the new Dublin Store has a nifty selection of those in the small sizes, and for sale individually rather than little packages of 5 or however Yakima offers them. first time I found them for sale retail like that.


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## Matt3ddsteel

Shoeman said:


> Going out this weekend
> 
> Enough to snag-up every cast for years.....lol
> 
> View attachment 615831
> 
> 
> And still have enough for another few decades!


 Seeing that bag brings back some memories. I caught my first steelhead on a peach wobble glo back in 96 on the manistee. Most everyone used those things back then.


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## SJC

I still use them from time to time. Mainly in dirty water to make my offering a little more noticeable. I always pin mine a bit from the hook, like a bead. Makes for better hook ups. They come in handy if you want to fish the pier or surf and don't have any floater bags on hand. I can remember when they were actually made out of cork. I never used to buy many corkies, wobble glows, spinnies, cheaters, oakies, etc. You could pick them by the hundreds on the Ausable, if you knew where to look.


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## B.Jarvinen

Just like the big bag of J-Plugs my Dad still has from walking the beach in the spring. 

I was happy to find the little corkies for use at the shore, actually.


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## toto

Steve said:


> It puzzles me that the color of these even makes a difference since it is not what the fish actually strike at.


It is odd that color can make a difference, the other part is figuring out which color works which day. All you can do is pay attention to cloud cover that day, was it dark outside, was the sun out etc. If you hook up pretty regular on one color on those days, make a note of it and start your next day accordingly.


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## ausable_steelhead

I still use them and they still catch fish. Glow peach, glow green, glow white, chart, orange-scale and pearl are my favorites for steelhead. Glow peach is my first choice, but recently...they’ve ruined the color. Just glow orange now, with no peach hue to it.

We used to really bang the kings on them with a chunk of fresh skein or a big spawn bag at the mouth of the Au Sable. I also use them with success on river walleye.


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## jmaddog8807

Man, when I first started fishin the AS as a youngster, I didn't realize people didn't use them lol. Always use to use those with bags or waxies. Hardly ever use them anymore as I feel like I'm always trying to bobber fish. Got the afternoon off today and going to switch it back to the way I was brought up and bottom bounce today.


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## SJC

jmaddog8807 said:


> Man, when I first started fishin the AS as a youngster, I didn't realize people didn't use them lol. Always use to use those with bags or waxies. Hardly ever use them anymore as I feel like I'm always trying to bobber fish. Got the afternoon off today and going to switch it back to the way I was brought up and bottom bounce today.


They work with a bobber, too...


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## jmaddog8807

Went 0/1 yesterday in three hours. Cold out there, but had the river all to myself. Pretty cool with snow coming down yesterday. Felt good to get out.


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## Bob Hunter

jmaddog8807 said:


> Went 0/1 yesterday in three hours. Cold out there, but had the river all to myself. Pretty cool with snow coming down yesterday. Felt good to get out.


It was really good last week for the 3 days I was there, especially right before the front came through on Friday.


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## Bob Hunter

jmaddog8807 said:


> Went 0/1 yesterday in three hours. Cold out there, but had the river all to myself. Pretty cool with snow coming down yesterday. Felt good to get out.


Since the snow on Friday, it’s been really slow from what I’ve heard.


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## jmaddog8807

Bob Hunter said:


> Since the snow on Friday, it’s been really slow from what I’ve heard.


Yea, I didn't even get a bite other than the one hook up and to be honest, I think I just drifted into the fish because it never hit it like you'd think, and I lost it within 30 seconds. It was a beast though. Just had to jump to tease me lol.


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## Bob Hunter

jmaddog8807 said:


> Yea, I didn't even get a bite other than the one hook up and to be honest, I think I just drifted into the fish because it never hit it like you'd think, and I lost it within 30 seconds. It was a beast though. Just had to jump to tease me lol.


Pretty typical fishing after a big front rolls through, and the water temperature drops. The fish are there, they just need some time to get comfortable again.


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## riverman

Time to get the box of k-13’s out!!


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## salmon_slayer06

new moon best steelhead bite usually. yesterday today tomorrow should be good.


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## Bob Hunter

salmon_slayer06 said:


> new moon best steelhead bite usually. yesterday today tomorrow should be good.


Its been dreadfully slow since last Friday. I’ve been in touch with some guides, and it’s not been good.


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## salmon_slayer06

river temps hitting 36 lake is 40 I believe. good to see river clearing out this is when the late season beach pier ramps up again.


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## Ojh

Where are the fish in their spawning cycle? They getting ready, on the beds or have laid the eggs and heading back to bigger waters? Do they all drop eggs at the same time?


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## AdamBradley

Won’t spawn til late winter/early spring once water heads back to 40 degrees or so.


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## MoJoRisin'

they spawn all the way into april and into may. Us pier rats still get prespawn fish into early April. Usually males in April but sometimes we get surprised by a bonus ripe female.


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