| Felix,
Having fished for these wily fish for years and fished most of the
steelhead rivers in Wa and Ore, I will try to help. But, you should
realize, fishing for steelhead can be very cold, tiring, and
disappointing during this time of year. If you ever catch one,
though, it will be well worth it. I don't know if you've fished
for bass before, but one of these "chromeheads" will fight ten times
a bass. They jump, run and literally fly over the water for a fight
like you've never seen. Quite an experience!!
Enough of that. If you're fishing from the bank, the common hookup
is 10-12# line to a swivel. From the swivel run two lines. One
about six inches and the other about a yard to your hook. Your
hook should be tied with an "egg loop" tie. If you don't know how
to do this, you can buy them pre-tied at any tackle shop in Wa.
Red, Orange, or Green yarn is usually tied through the egg loop
to allow you to open the hoop and it also attracts the fish. You
then have the choice of several baits, from salmon eggs to artificial
lures such as okie drifters, corkies, etc. Again, the local tackle
shop will tell you what they're hitting on.
As for the other line from the swivel, you thread it through hollow
pencil lead and squeeze both ends of the lead with pliers to hold
it on the line. As you can see, it is quite a "gimmick" sport.
You need pliers, a roll of lead and all the rest of the stuff.
As for technic... You cast to the top of the riffles and let the
setup drift down through the hole. Allow the lead to bump on the
bottom all the time. After a while you will get to feel the difference
between the lead hitting the bottom and an actual steelhead hit.
As all trout they don't hit too hard (most of the time), so don't
feel too bad if you yank many times and there is nothing there.
You will know when there is one on because he will yank back so
strong it will scare you. From then on it's you and him. A final
note...Watch your drag. He will take line and he should, so let
him run and tire before you land him. You can tell because he will
show you his side a lot. Their tops are green and sides are silver
so when you see a lot of silver that means he's tired. If he comes
to you and all you see is his top, he's not tired yet and not ready
to be landed. He's still "green" is the local phrase.
Good luck and tell me which river you're fishing. I may have fished
it and could help you on where not to go.
Ken
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