Getting started in steelhead fishing can be a lot to handle and grasp from the different gear, rods beads, rig options, floats, etc, and then showing up to the river and being able to find and catch fish. My previous article ( Steelhead Float Fishing 101) covered all the gear and options you need to be set up correctly to catch fish on your water in various conditions. This article will be highly focused on finding steelhead and getting them to bite.
You have all the gear, your rods are rigged up properly and it’s time to hit the river. You drop your boat in the water or get your waders on and go walking down to the river bank ready to start fishing. You’re on the water but now you have realized you don’t know where you should be fishing and if you’re fishing good water, you don’t know if you're fishing it correctly. Anybody who has started their steelhead journey at this point, and I assure you there are plenty, can attest to the fact that it’s a frustrating feeling. We will first cover where you should be fishing to help you get in front of fish as they have to be there to catch them.
Teaching someone how to read water without a visual of the river can be very tough, especially considering every river system is different. However, I have fished almost every kind of water you might find steelhead in and there is a basic model that will help you get in front of fish. Steelhead aren’t going to be in slack or still water, but most likely they aren’t going to be in the fastest, racing part of the river either. Fish are no different than people in the sense that they don’t want to work any harder than they have to to get the result they want. That being said, we are looking for water that breaks up the current for them and makes it easier for them to sit in the current and wait for food or rest. So what does that look like?
Any kind of wood or rock in the water, is enough to break up or redirect some water to cause a current break. You know you have found some sort of break in the current when you see what we call a “seam”. You will see a bubble line, some thick and heavy and sometimes light with nothing more than a faint bubble line. The fish will be in or around the seam, either the front, right down the gut and often behind it. The general rule that I follow that puts many extra fish in the boat is “if it looks fishy, fish it” it’s not always the textbook perfect looking water that produces fish. Start towards the front of the seam and work your back.
Once you are in the right spot and in front of fish you have to target them effectively to catch them. When it comes to beads start with a color or if double bead rigs are legal where you fish start with two colors mentioned in the first 101 article, keep adjusting your float deeper until you start dragging or hitting bottom. A big mistake people make is when they find bottom and start dragging they make too large of an adjustment. This is when it becomes a game of inches to get your bait as close to the bottom as possible while drifting clean, the same game applies to spawn bags. Don’t be afraid of snags! If you’re finding some snags you are likely on the right track. If you get snagged somewhere in the run that doesn’t mean you are too deep, it just means there is a snag there. Start in the front of the seam and work your farther back.
Hopefully this has you on the right track and prepared to successfully target steelhead in the river. Below are some related articles to help you find and catch more fish. Good Luck!
John Wielinga
269-277-9293
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https://www.getbentguideservicemi.com/post/steelheadfishinginhighdirtywater https://www.getbentguideservicemi.com/post/what-is-the-best-rod-for-float-fishing-steelhead
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