What bait to use for winter steelhead?

[my2labs]

Like Roger said, keep a journal of where you fish land river levels etc

I need to do this!

 

[sambone]

Typically the Alsea fishes better than the Slaw. It also drops and clears quicker. The fish numbers have been down though in recent years. Then again so are they in most places. It also can be insanely crowded, I would avoid the top of the hatchery stretch. It is no secret that there is plenty of bank space down river at Clemens park. I love fishing that river but seldom do due to the crowds.
Like Roger said, keep a journal of where you fish and river levels etc. It will help a lot in years to come.

Yeah i was planning on checkinng out a couple spots near the hatchery and clemens park tomorrow. Hopefully its not overly crowded. Will be my first ever shot at fishing for steelhead

 

[my2labs]

Yeah i was planning on checkinng out a couple spots near the hatchery and clemens park tomorrow. Hopefully its not overly crowded. Will be my first ever shot at fishing for steelhead

Good luck!

 

[hobster]

Yeah i was planning on checkinng out a couple spots near the hatchery and clemens park tomorrow. Hopefully its not overly crowded. Will be my first ever shot at fishing for steelhead

honestly I think it will be way too blown out to fish. If I remember correctly the Alsea fishes best around 5 ft to 6. Going to be much higher tomorrow, looks like the rivers around here won’t be fishable for a while, maybe Friday morning if we’re lucky. I’m not discouraging you to go cause it’s always worth a shot, but it will be tough.

 

[hobster]

I need to do this!

It’s pretty awesome, I have a detailed journal where I keep track of just about everything except water temperature which I should. It definitely helps a lot, plus it’s fun to look back at the past years to see how you did.

 

[sambone]

Yeah i was planning on checkinng out a couple spots near the hatchery and clemens park tomorrow. Hopefully its not overly crowded. Will be my first ever shot at fishing for steelhead

Yeah ive just been wanting to go for a while and tomorrow is one of the drier days this week. Figured id just see what its like out there. Part of the reason i chose the alsea too, feel like the river is narrower and clears up much faster when it dries out so it would probably at least be better than the siuslaw.

 

[sambone]

honestly I think it will be way too blown out to fish. If I remember correctly the Alsea fishes best around 5 ft to 6. Going to be much higher tomorrow, looks like the rivers around here won’t be fishable for a while, maybe Friday morning if we’re lucky. I’m not discouraging you to go cause it’s always worth a shot, but it will be tough.

Yeah it was really slow today, pretty humbling fishing for steelhead for the first time. Lots of technique involved and a lot of factors that play into catching fish. Ill have to stick at it and try different spots.

 

[jamisonace]

10 is the max I use. Mostly pline 8# all year. I will use 10# cxx for plug fishing but 10lb Maxima is my mainline for side drifting or drift fishing. I only use braid if on my bobber rods.

 

[Admin]

Yeah it was really slow today, pretty humbling fishing for steelhead for the first time. Lots of technique involved and a lot of factors that play into catching fish. Ill have to stick at it and try different spots.

Recipe of catching fish is simple - present something that will attract a fish in a spot that is holding that fish.
People spend too much time trying to figure out what rod to use, what reel, what line, what to put on the end of that line... But they don't understand, that 90% of water is empty & only 10% is holding fish. So learn how to read water first. When you will learn how to read water, it's possible that you will not ask the question "What bait should I use?" anymore. Next time take pictures of that spots you decided to fish and post here.

 

[my2labs]

Recipe of catching fish is simple - present something that will attract a fish in a spot that is holding that fish.
People spend too much time trying to figure out what rod to use, what reel, what line, what to put on the end of that line... But they don't understand, that 90% of water is empty & only 10% is holding fish. So learn how to read water first. When you will learn how to read water, it's possible that you will not ask the question "What bait should I use?" anymore. Next time take pictures of that spots you decided to fish and post here.

very well said Anatoliy.

 

[sambone]

Recipe of catching fish is simple - present something that will attract a fish in a spot that is holding that fish.
People spend too much time trying to figure out what rod to use, what reel, what line, what to put on the end of that line... But they don't understand, that 90% of water is empty & only 10% is holding fish. So learn how to read water first. When you will learn how to read water, it's possible that you will not ask the question "What bait should I use?" anymore. Next time take pictures of that spots you decided to fish and post here.

Well i fished at 2 spots that i know for sure are really popular at alsea. There was only like 2 people at the hole by the bridge close to the hatchery and theres a pretty popular hole that you access from the highway across from clemens park. Need to work on my presentation for sure, but i think the fishing was slow. Lots of people out didn't see anyone catch anything.

 

[Admin]

Any updates on your winter steelhead fishing journey?

 

[sambone]

I only went out once lol. Ive been working a lot and the rivers seem like theyve been blown out most the time so far this season. I wish i lived closer to the rivers too, im a couple hours away. I want to try more though.

 

[Admin]

I only went out once lol.

 

[sambone]

@Anatoliy Ill end up doing a lot more fishing this year with the salmon/steelhead tag. Just been working 7 days a week and its kinda annoying for me to drive out there unless i get some days off. Hopefully the summer runs are alright on the mckenzie /willamette because that would work much better for me lol