# never fished steelhead before



## steely74 (Feb 9, 2010)

ausable_steelhead said:


> I would actually recommend drift fishing for a beginner. Bobber fishing can be technical and probably a bit intimidating to a rookie .


Yeah I agree learning how to control line and the different rigging options can take a little time. Not to mention learning the river.

I've never really tried drift fishing/ bottom bouncing. I do know once when I couldn't get fish to go while float fishing I seen a guy do pretty good drifting. This was right when I got my pin so I never really took the time to learn more about it. Kinda wish I did it would have been nice to learn a new skill.


----------



## Multispeciestamer (Jan 27, 2010)

steely74 said:


> Yeah I agree learning how to control line and the different rigging options can take a little time. Not to mention learning the river.
> 
> I've never really tried drift fishing/ bottom bouncing. I do know once when I couldn't get fish to go while float fishing I seen a guy do pretty good drifting. This was right when I got my pin so I never really took the time to learn more about it. Kinda wish I did it would have been nice to learn a new skill.


 Come up to the Joe ill give you a crash course.


----------



## limpinglogan (Sep 23, 2009)

I was in the same boat last year. I wanted to get into steelhead fishing but didn't know how to do it.

I read every thing I could on here and tried to teach my self...I got some of the basics down and I cought a few fish this spring.

I went out with a guide in December (Thousandcasts from this board) and I learned a ton more and I got some confidence in what I was doing which helped a lot for when I was trying to stick with a certian technique aftwards. 

I still have a lot to learn but I cuaght a fair amount of fish the last few weeks so I feel like I am on the right track. 

If a guide is not 'teaching you' just ask lots of questions...I doubt very many guides are not going to answer questions.


----------



## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

Roger That said:


> ^ Listen to that guy, not me.


Why's that? What you stated is good info, what I stated was merely a suggestion. It's good to know both methods. Float fishing is more difficult, so it will more than likely overwhelm a newer person.



steely74 said:


> Yeah I agree learning how to control line and the different rigging options can take a little time. Not to mention learning the river.
> 
> I've never really tried drift fishing/ bottom bouncing. I do know once when I couldn't get fish to go while float fishing I seen a guy do pretty good drifting. This was right when I got my pin so I never really took the time to learn more about it. Kinda wish I did it would have been nice to learn a new skill.


I learned that first, and taught myself bobbers later. There is one hole on the AS, that got me into bobber fishing. I caught the bulk of my fall fish in the NW on bobbers this fall, but once I started heading NE, I was bottom bouncing a lot more and had a ball. Like one of the good fisherman on the site here-Fishndude-always says, nothing better than a good biter bottom bouncing.


----------



## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

If you can catch a perch or bluegill you can catch a steelhead. Read up and don't be afraid to ask. Don't be afraid to go where lots of guys fish and watch. You can learn alot from watching. Keep in mind when river fishing no two rivers are the same. What works well in one river may not work well in another river. If you are not hooking up change places and/or methods. The first steelhead that I caught was landed by Fred Bear 1974 in the Rifle River.


----------



## bobo21 (Jan 7, 2009)

i have been trying for three years now and have only had a few on, lost by not setting that hook hard enough. but i keep trying , thinking about hiring a guide to learn some more see what i do wrong or right. 16 foot jon is a wonderfullthing.


----------



## steely74 (Feb 9, 2010)

Multispeciestamer said:


> Come up to the Joe ill give you a crash course.


Thanks for the offer bro. That's one of the places I have seen it used successfully.


----------



## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

Bobber fishing and drift fishing--I enjoy both and they also have different applications. 

Drift fishing is certainly the more "intimate" of the two since it puts you in direct contact with the fish when it hits. Gotta love it when you feel that tug! On the flip side, it limits where you can fish effectively.

That's where bobber fishing comes in...it opens up water that you can't effectively drift fish and it opens up more area for you to cover. It's a great thing to see that bobber just vanish in the blink of an eye and feeling that head shake when you set the hook. 

You can't drift fish everywhere--some water is too slow for it, too snaggy, etc. Factor in Zebra mussels and all that and you can have a miserable day if the only thing you have in your arsenal is some sinkers and some hooks. Then again, you can't fish something like a wobble glow under a bobber and have it work the way it was intended. 

Ideally, you need to have both at your disposal. Most of the time, I bobber fish--even the same holes I used to drift fish. That said, sometimes I like to just break out the drift rods and feel that tug. Requires me fishing different water, but that's the whole point--being able to fish different water during different conditions. 

It's no different than using cranks and skein for salmon. Both work at different times and you need both in order to be a more successful salmon fisherman. Same goes for steelhead and the drift fishing v. bobber debate. 

As for a guide, if you communicate that your purpose for booking a trip is to learn more and become a better steelhead fisherman, then that's what the guide should focus on. It does you no good to just say, "cast there," without explaining "why" you're being pointed to a certain area. If you're starting out "green" and want a crash course, then you should be taken to an area where both drift fishing and bobber fishing are not only covered, but practiced. Some people want to learn all they can in a day and some just want to catch fish without caring about the how's and why--the guide you choose should be adaptable to both. At the end of the day, you should have a better understanding of certain things, then it's up to you to get out there and keep working on what you learned. Ask questions--lots of questions.


----------



## riverbob (Jan 11, 2011)

thousandcasts said:


> Bobber fishing and drift fishing--I enjoy both and they also have different applications.
> 
> Drift fishing is certainly the more "intimate" of the two since it puts you in direct contact with the fish when it hits. Gotta love it when you feel that tug! On the flip side, it limits where you can fish effectively.
> 
> That's where bobber fishing comes in...it opens up water that you can't effectively drift fish and it opens up more area for you to cover. It's a great thing to see that bobber just vanish in the blink of an eye and feeling that head shake when you set the hook.. Ask questions--lots of questions.


well said


----------



## steely74 (Feb 9, 2010)

Yeah the pin ruined a lot of other fishing for me. Except for pier and harbor fishing. That's how I mix it up. Haven't fished hardware for steelhead in a long time. Usually I do in the summer, sometimes I can get them to go on hardware when they wont hit bait. I used to fish hardware in spring as well.


----------



## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

steely74 said:


> Yeah the pin ruined a lot of other fishing for me. Except for pier and harbor fishing. That's how I mix it up. Haven't fished hardware for steelhead in a long time. Usually I do in the summer, sometimes I can get them to go on hardware when they wont hit bait. I used to fish hardware in spring as well.


I'm sorry, but that pin ***** is way overrated. It works well obviously, but the guys who shun everything else for a pin are fools. I won't be caught dead with one, even if I get smoked in the process. I like how a lot even use them on small rivers where a spinning rod will get a drift just as good or even better. Just depends on the dude I guess. This isn't directed at you specifically.


----------



## limige (Sep 2, 2005)

I'm with AS on this one. Pinning works, sure but you can do pretty much the same thing easier with a spin rod. Silly to invest so much into something so limited...
But hey some people are really bored and have too much money I guess.


----------



## steely74 (Feb 9, 2010)

I don't own a rig I paid over 200$ for including backing, line rigging ready to fish. I got a good deal on a reel and couldnt pass it up. 200$ is less than what guys spend on a quality spin fishing setup. Just as in any other type of fishing pinning can be as expensive or as inexpensive as you make it. Not everyone runs GLX rods and Kingpins. I joked about it in another thread some newbies feel like they have to start out with those just to "look cool". 

I do see why A_S doesn't like pinning. I have a friend who hates pins also. He got a Bob James and hated it so much he practically gave that thing away. Its not for everyone. It just seems like the band wagon thing now. Everyone brags about how much they spent on their pin and or rod.

Holy Crap just realized this is my 700th post. Dam I've been doing a lot of yapping on here LOL!


----------



## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

limige said:


> I'm with AS on this one. Pinning works, sure but you can do pretty much the same thing easier with a spin rod. Silly to invest so much into something so limited...
> But hey some people are really bored and have too much money I guess.


I have been toying with the notion of buying a pin for a while and still am. The BIG advantage with a pin is float fishing bigger waters. You can get by with a spinning outfit and still catch fish, but the process is easier with a pin (fished with pins before). The one factor that has held me back in buying one is that if I hike in somewhere and bring the pin I can't change tactics. Can't bottom bounce or throw hardware. Things I like to do when the situation calls for it. If I get a pin it's going to have to be a Hale, which is also a limiting factor right now due to my thin wallet at the present time. :lol:


----------



## oldsalt mi (Oct 5, 2010)

Well guy you have really out done yourselfs here I can thank you guy enough!!

I have some more questions for you guys?

1. I have alot of bass crankbaits deep and shallow running. Will they work and what would work the best?

2. And what kind of hardware (I got that saying from you guys) should I look to add?

3. What are some must haves for these willey steelhead?

4. What is pin fishing?


----------



## diztortion (Sep 6, 2009)

oldsalt mi said:


> Well guy you have really out done yourselfs here I can thank you guy enough!!
> 
> I have some more questions for you guys?
> 
> ...


Bass cranks will work. I remember I bought a crap load of Strike King cranks. They were on sale for $1.50/pop. Lost 'em all to steelhead one fall.










I like throwing spoons and covering water. Generally 1/3oz - 2/5oz will work. When the water is colder I do better on smaller sized spoons, even down to a 1/4oz.


----------



## limpinglogan (Sep 23, 2009)

While smallmouth bass fishing this year I cuaght a steelhead on a shakey head rubber worm and I cuaght one on a bass jig. I also lost one that I hooked on a bass jig.

I also caught one while 'steelhead fishing' using what most people would consider a bass/walleye crank bait.

Tieing on bass lures is probably not the smartest thing to use while steelhead fishing but sometimes they are not that picky and will eat any thing.


----------



## ausable_steelhead (Sep 30, 2002)

oldsalt mi said:


> 2. And what kind of hardware (I got that saying from you guys) should I look to add?


I mostly use 2/3oz Cleos, 1/2oz KO Wobblers, and 1/4oz Hot n Tots. I also run 2/5oz Cleos for shallower water, and like stated by Diztortion, 1/4oz work well. I do all my fishing from shore, but casting these baits works too. You'll know when one decides to commit.....just a few examples of river fish caught on hardware:


----------



## thousandcasts (Jan 22, 2002)

Trout King said:


> I have been toying with the notion of buying a pin for a while and still am. The BIG advantage with a pin is float fishing bigger waters. You can get by with a spinning outfit and still catch fish, but the process is easier with a pin (fished with pins before). :


Uh...my baitcasters with the 6.2:1 ratio and smooth as silk drag systems would like to have a word with you.


----------



## Trout King (May 1, 2002)

thousandcasts said:


> Uh...my baitcasters with the 6.2:1 ratio and smooth as silk drag systems would like to have a word with you.


Thought about that also...what model/style of baitcasters would yo recommend? I figured this way I could go back and forth between bait and hardware as needed. 

Oldsalt: Spinners in size 2-4 can be very attractive to steelies also. Hardware is a great way to find fall fish if the pods are spread out.


----------

