Fishing in the rain?

[maxwyatt]

Total newb question here. After fishing low and clear water the last two outings, I'm looking forward to the prospect of the river levels rising a bit. Flows are pretty high right now, but it looks like the Alsea may be down to a good level by Friday. However, the forecast is still for 80% chance of rain that day. Does the rain have much effect on how willing the fish are to take a lure? How does it effect the choice of jigs/lures? Thanks for helping a new steelheader out.

 

[C_Run]

You're right. The predicted levels look fine by Friday if that pans out. I can't comment on the choice of lures . I like fishing in the rain because there are usually less people and you wouldn't need to be as stealthy as you were during the low and clear days you fished lately. So don you rain gear and keep your line in the water and let us know how it went.

 

[markasd]

Get the goods on raingear and fish on!

 

[maxwyatt]

I'll let you all know how things go on Friday. BTW, how quickly do the fish usually move up the river once the level starts dropping? I'm trying to gauge how far down stream I should start fishing. I'm coming from the valley so generally I start at Clemens and work my way down, but could just as easily start farther downstream. Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[hobster]

With my experiences fish bite great in the rain, as long as the river level is not on the rise. I think they feel more secure, rain breaks up the water surface and provides a sort of screen. Fishing should turn on big time this weekend, I imagine the Alsea will be a madhouse on Friday! Get there early or for the afternoon bite when a lot of people have left already.
Fish are on the move as soon as the water starts rising, they usually just don't bite. They move less the more the water drops to a low level, but there will be plenty moving until the water clears. At this point in the run there will be fish all throughout the system all the way to the hatchery. Fresh fish might be lower down, but they come up quick. Clemens is a great place to start, if it was me i'd spend the day there and hike around looking for holes. Good luck!

 

[maxwyatt]

I have Friday off and I'm hoping to beat the weekend rush so I plan to start early. I guess we'll see if that works.

 

[maxwyatt]

Fished from 9-3 today from Clemens to the end of the trail and back again. Nothing. Not even a bite. I tried every jig I had, three different spinners, pink works, and and even tried drifting a spin and glo. I left two bobbers in the trees. Still beats being in the office. River was still height at 8ft, but water was pretty clear. Seems like conditions were pretty good. I must be doing something wrong. I haven't had a single bite in the last three outings.

 

[hobster]

Hang in there man, winter steelheading can be tough. Every year I go a few days without a bite and start to doubt myself even after years of fishing for them, and almost every steelheader I know can attest to that. Rivers are still high, Alsea was slowly rising all day yesterday. Keep at it, you'll have success.

 

[maxwyatt]

Hang in there man, winter steelheading can be tough. Every year I go a few days without a bite and start to doubt myself even after years of fishing for them, and almost every steelheader I know can attest to that. Rivers are still high, Alsea was slowly rising all day yesterday. Keep at it, you'll have success.

I'll hang in there. I think my biggest mistake yesterday was fishing too long in one area. The river started rising again, but it should come down a bit tomorrow. Hopefully, I'll have another shot on Monday.