# Why would a Steelhead eat THAT?!



## Michigan Trout Addict (Oct 28, 2015)

For those of us that continuously target steelhead, we find ourselves confused, and often question what makes a steelhead choose to feed, or not feed, on what we throw at them. 

I think this conversation can become extremely complex if we all really try to figure out the equation that should be used to determine what should or shouldn't work when a lure enters the water. We have our "favorite colors" and our "go-to lures" and the presentations that guarantee we "out-fish the competition." However, on any given day, an extremely experienced and notably "great" fisherman can be out-fished by a newcomer. Isn't this is interesting? This is the perfect testament to the fact that NONE of us know exactly what a fish will do/choose. We only hope that we can find patterns that tend to be consistent and allow us to improve our game. 

Is it "luck" to find the right lure or pattern on the right day at the right time? I suppose there is a bit of luck in finding the appropriate fish that will give you an opportunity at a great fight by feeding on what you have chosen. However, there are obviously some ways in which experience will help you to perform better than other fishermen consistently. Not always, but given a few times out, a noticeable difference should begin to appear.

So let's push aside all of our pride for a moment. Because I can think of 10 people I can confidently do better than (on a good day), but at least 30 who will, at the end of the day, have just as good of an opportunity, if not better to "Rail more steel" on the water. We are going to exclude some factors to reduce the complexity of the discussion at hand (perhaps we shouldn't because steelheading is exactly that, complex.). Disregard the numbers of fish in the system, how active the fish are feeding, what hatch is on, the fishing pressure, and what current weather system is in place, or what the forecast looks like. Let's disregard the moon phases, the flow rate of the water, the depth that your lure is sitting in the water column, the murky nature of the creek or river and whether or not the substrate that is turned up is clay-based, or if it's a silty-sandy bottom, or if the water rises and drops while only slightly staining the river. 

I'm speaking jigs under a float, but if you fish wobble glows at a dam, or beads under a float, this may apply to you as well.

Now, why bright pink with a purple eye? Why white with blue dots? 

Why firetiger? Nope, not the standard firetiger. This one has a red eye. I tried the standard for 50 runs in multiple seams of the same run, and not once did it get bumped. First cast with the red eye and it got smashed. 

"What does that look like?! What made that fish like this one so much better?! It's kind of subtle. It's kind of neat. IT'S SO FRUSTRATING! I'm just relieved I caught a steelhead! Not getting skunked today!" 

This moment of relief and instant gratification leaves us feeling like we are the greatest angler of all time. Haha! Isn't that so funny, how a moment ago we were a "doing it all wrong" and now we are puffing our chests in excitement and accomplishment? It's almost hilarious how quickly the feelings come and go. Only 25 minutes later, without a bite, we can get discouraged. However, *we tend to cling to what worked, and I think this is where some of us forget what caught us the fish in the first place. *I'll be the first to admit, that I love to default to what has worked for me in the past.

The Key: (This is my guess based on some trials have have put to the test, so please share if you have others!)

*Variability.* Don't be afraid to switch colors. If it's a great spot, keep trying it. Cut line, re-tie. Continue to use a guess-and-check method. Colors can affect the bite. I've fished a spot literally minutes after I have watched someone leave, and pulled a steelhead on the first cast. Now, this isn't a place to brag, I'm certain people have done the same to me. Don't give up on your location before you have given up on your lure. Now, I'm not saying that staying in the exact spot all day will catch you a fish by switching lures. However, it may. I have made it a rule of thumb over the past year to switch colors every time I feel like maybe there aren't any fish in a hole. I try to test 5 colors per hole and move on. It's insane how many more fish I have caught. Especially in areas I would have otherwise passed up.

I can't tell anyone why the fish that I catch bite on what they do, unless the bait was something similar to a macro-invertebrate of that particular water body, or if it mimicked a minnow of some sort. Many of the colors and presentations/patterns that I use are very interesting and don't seem to make sense. I would like to see what everyone thinks about some interesting colors they use. Is it something that catches the eye of the predator? Do you think it irritates them and they attack in a territorial manner? Do they see the color you place in front of them the way that we do? Scientists can't even agree from species to species on what the mind of a fish perceives (even if they agree that fish see colors) on the spectrum of visible light, and with some interesting factors added like "scattering" of light, and absorption of colors based on light wavelengths, I don't think any of us can do more than speculate.

What's your weird color!? I'm interested.

~FUEL MY ADDICTION~


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

Well , it's dated but at one time a variant of blue (color changing along jigs body from dark to light) and similar pattern pink to red/red to pink were my go to's depending on light levels.
Depth,drift speed /presentation factored , but the spot within the spot of a run did too.
How a presentation traversed from a current into a tail-out combined with fish activity level was critical this time of year , but at other times keeping an offering in the run was more important. 
While color matters , perhaps the clean handed retie and fresh tipping /sweetening of hook related too when a jig change resulted in a take.


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

Steelhead will bite on just about anything that shows up in the water if they are hungry. Funny thing about steelhead is that state wide fishermen including myself catch about 80% of their steelhead on spawn or a spawn imitation. If you check stomach contents you rarely find any spawn. I think that visibility is 90% of the game when it comes to steelhead. One day I got to a river and it was so high and muddy I was about to go home. Just for kicks I threw out a hook with a big orange yarn ball on it about the size of a golf ball. I reeled it in slow and bang fish on a nice buck steelhead. Scent is part of the game also. I have caught many steelhead night fishing when color has nothing to do why they strike.


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## toto (Feb 16, 2000)

Leaving out things like water temp, bottom composition and things along those lines. I've never been one to believe in moon phases, but it's hard to talk good steelheading without factoring those things in. Having said all that, one thing of mystery to me is why to do steelhead hit the colors they do, which I guess is the point here. I can remember one day about 5 maybe 6 years ago when I was up from Florida, I had a day that I went fishing by myself. I decided to go to one spot that I enjoy fishing and when I got there there were two guys fishing, one of them was fighting a fish and he turned around to tell me this would their limit and I would have it all to myself.

Once he landed his fish, we were talking and he asked if I had any orange lures, which I didn't, he reached in his box and handed me one as a "present", pretty nice of him. He told exactly where they were casting so I re-rigged and began to fish, now these guys were gone and I was all alone, which is nice anyways. To make a long story short, I had my 3 fish limit in 45 minutes, what I can't figure out is, why do they hit the orange like that? Nothing in nature is that color as far as I know, so on the surface, it doesn't make sense. The only thing I can think of is it makes them mad enough they just slam it. I've seen the same thing with summer runs. With spawn bags, either fishing the river, pier, or beach, I've had days where they'll only hit the chratruese, and some day they'll only hit hot pink, again, have no idea why.


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

The color has to be visible to the fish and stick out. White and yellow are good colors believe it or not black is a very good color in clear water.


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## Robert Holmes (Oct 13, 2008)

One of the best baits for steelhead in the spring in clear water is whole night crawlers hooked in the head with a very small sinker. Not much color there but they wiggle a lot. I have also done very well with them in the winter.


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## Michigan Trout Addict (Oct 28, 2015)

Robert Holmes said:


> One of the best baits for steelhead in the spring in clear water is whole night crawlers hooked in the head with a very small sinker. Not much color there but they wiggle a lot. I have also done very well with them in the winter.


nice! thanks for your responses! love hearing people's ideas!


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## flowie (Oct 26, 2015)

Tl;dr


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## Michigan Trout Addict (Oct 28, 2015)

flowie said:


> Tl;dr


I'll try to make the next one less wordy.

"Why do fish bite on the colors that they do?" Was that better?


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## flowie (Oct 26, 2015)

Because they do.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

flowie said:


> Because they do.


Is it actually color they bite ; or mass of perceived dimension?


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## Michigan Trout Addict (Oct 28, 2015)

flowie said:


> Because they do.


It must be nice to just know everything and not question anything. Thank you for your highly profound input.


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## SJC (Sep 3, 2002)

After 30+ years of steelhead fishing, I have came to the conclusion that they are one of the easiest fish to catch. Over the years my opinion of sea run rainbows has gone from magical, mystical beasts to the realization that they are no more magical or "smart" than a farm pond bluegill. After countless hours of fishing for these things, I changed my mind and the way I fish. One of the big light bulb moments that I recall was when I started teaching my kids how to fish. I was all into light line and perfect presentations. My idea was that everything HAD to be perfect. Anyway, I knew my young boys would not have the finesse required to consistently hook and land steel on the type of equipment I used, so I rigged my them up with Ugly Stick rods and 12#, in case they actually did find a dummy, they would have a chance. Guess what? The brats caught fish! After a few years they caught lots of fish. Even on high pressure rivers and behind veteran steelheaders. These guys are now literal fish vacuums and it's a bummer to be the guy that is stuck fishing behind them (usually me).

Don' over-think it! I think most steelhead are caught with something that looks and or smells like a bunch of cheap calories, or something that triggers a reflexive bite. This usually happens in the first few presentations. If it don't, I move or change lures. The best way to catch lots of steelhead is to figure out what they want then show it to lots of fish. I don't pretend to know why fish like one thing or another or why it sometimes changes day to day. I just try to figure out what THAT is as quick as possible and then do it over and over until it don't work no more. Don't waste the day messing with high pressured or spooked fish. Find some dummies! 

I have come to the realization that my favorite gamefish has a brain the size of a pea and I don't know exactly what makes it tick. I'm OK with that and have quit (for the most part) trying to figure it out...


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## Shoeman (Aug 26, 2000)

I opened a male once and found 3 frogs in his belly.


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## Waif (Oct 27, 2013)

I watched a hold over(?) in summer leave the mainstream to stir up small fish in a nearshore hole then ease back out into the deeper water.
Two or three times , and I'd pitch when ever it re-entered that small hole again.
Stir up the small fish again and leave.
Figured it was sorting for size or scent.
Having toyed nearby with offerings on suspicious browns and bows over the years and it taking multiple drifts at the right time to arouse any of them usually , after watching the large trout harass the small fish I offered a chub near active evening time to some previously earlier disinterested skulkers holding in a loose group .
What a chase scene! , with a large brown taking it /winning the scramble within a few feet of me as I barley managed to keep up slack from the very determined flight of a doomed chub.


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## flowie (Oct 26, 2015)

Michigan Trout Addict said:


> It must be nice to just know everything and not question anything. Thank you for your highly profound input.


Theres no need to obsess about it. They will go after a lot of stuff. They are curious and competitive. With steelhead When,Where and How are more important than What. Duh.


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## gotoith (Sep 25, 2005)

I like to call them opportunists. This is why they sit on the current seams and wait to ambush whatever comes along. My fall back bait when spawn is not working are salted minnows. They work very consistently in the fall winter or spring.


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## Fishndude (Feb 22, 2003)

I've cleaned Steelhead that had sticks, bottle caps, and cigarette butts in their stomachs. 

Why do Salmon, and Steelhead eat eggs from their own species? (sorry if I jumped your next post, MTA). My answer to that question, after fishing for them for 40+ years is, "Who cares? They just do." For me, it is enough to understand that they do, and then plan what I use to get bitten accordingly. I used to lose sleep over these questions, but that stopped a long time ago. 

By the way, I am 100% on board with what SJC said about the tackle he uses. If Steelhead are in a biting mood, you don't need light line to get bitten. Does light line get more bites at time? Sure, once in a while. I land a much higher percentage of fish when I use heavier tackle, so I really don't drop down to less than 8# leader anymore. Likewise, I don't have a lot of use for hooks smaller than #8 for Steelhead, and I really don't like using 8's much.


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## Far Beyond Driven (Jan 23, 2006)

Nothing like seeing the white mouth on a big buck open up as he comes ripping out from a log jam to take a magnum wiggle wart, 15' off the rod tip, and 10' from your noisy two stroke that's pushing you up river. Shy, spooky? Not always.


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## REG (Oct 25, 2002)

Holy crap, you got the jonesin' real bad.....


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