What gives?

[ChezJfrey]

I read about waco and Kevinb having these epic days...and since I have now caught a couple, I was led to believe it would be all searun rainbows and unicorns from here on out. Right?

Water levels and clarity are near identical to the times I've hooked a few and even landed one, so I hit the same spots...no steel. Start hunting...hitting, riffles, slots, deep drifts, white water, pockets, frickin' anything that even remotely looks like something a fish would sit in...chucking, spoon and spinners of various sizes, colors, heck even drifted a couple of the deeper spots, nuthin'!

Where are my unicorns? LOL

But, all my steelhead hookups have been slight nudges to this point. Second cast of the day, at around 7:00 a.m., my copper spoon gets hammered. But it's no steelhead. Rather, this fat trout put up a heck of a fight...even stripped a couple inches off the drag. Fish was very pretty, and I felt compelled for a memoir it was just so striking. But alas, my photo doesn't do justice, since it's a bit of a trick to get the camera to the ready for a super-quick shot with a fish in the water



Perhaps I'm only allotted one or two hookups a day and I spent it early? LOL

 

[Kevinb5688]

If you want good advice for catching a lot of steelhead i can tell you.
Always fish the day or two after any storm ( rain, snow, whatever it is, as long as it dosent blow out). When the water is low or at its normal state fish will hold in pools and spots all over the river. Hit it just right after a big rain and now instead of having say 5 fish swim past you in 30 minutes you may have 50 fish. Think about how much better your chances are!
I alway fish the "perfect level" on the rise, and on the fall, and 90% of the time those are the epic days.

 

[ChezJfrey]

Things that make you go, hmmm...careful, you might get yourself in trouble doling out these 'secrets' LOL

I see what you're saying. In fact, I was hoping to hit the river last time, just on the fall, but got struck down with a cold, so had to bail.

So when you go out at these times, is it more a case of knowing a good spot where fish are likely to be/travel to and stick it out waiting for them to come to you, rather than hunting them down like you often need to when it's lower and they're holding?

 

[brandon4455]

i always seem to hike to find my fish..i never sat in one spot more then half an hour but that is hoping from run to run going after holding fish.. i honestly usually dont target fish that are on the move..i hate sitting in one spot. it's my ADHD. LOL nice cutty,thats a very pretty fish

 

[Keith]

It is STEELHEAD fishing... you mean you expect to get one everytime??? Must be nice!

 

[ChezJfrey]

It is STEELHEAD fishing... you mean you expect to get one everytime??? Must be nice!

Of course!

Yesterday, I was literally convinced, on every cast, that a fish would take the next one and sincerely baffled, wondering how it could be that I would reel in without so much as a tug...don't you? LOL

 

[dtikey]

It is STEELHEAD fishing... you mean you expect to get one everytime??? Must be nice!

I would hope that people who steelhead fish expect to get one everytime otherwise why waste your time.You must have confidence in what you are doing and where your going and that there is biters there because gas is to much $$$ to even leave the house if your not going to fish like every other time.

 

[Kevinb5688]

Know the river

Know the river

I know The river i fish the most like the back of my hand, when the water is low i go to 3 holding pools that fish sit in. I can usually pull a few out of each. When the water is a little high i fish shollow areas i wouldnt even look twice at under mormal flows. And when the water is perfect and fish are moving i rotate up stream and down on a small stretch. Catch whats there, move up catch whats there, then when it slows down move back to your first spot and do it again, by then fish have moved back in to the area. So its not really waiting for fish, your still moving. Just hitting the same 3,4, or 5 holes over and over again.
[\QUOTE]So when you go out at these times, is it more a case of knowing a good spot where fish are likely to be/travel to and stick it out waiting for them to come to you, rather than hunting them down like you often need to when it's lower and they're holding?[/QUOTE]

 

[18406ej]

Chez,

My last unicorn was about three years ago. I do apply all of the knowledge that I see here and read about in books, and do expect a steelhead every time that I go out... Still, I do enjoy each and every outing that I can afford. It is funny, but sometimes the best feeling about fishing is the anticipation when I am prepping my gear the night before.

 

[Modest_Man]

I felt like that yesterday, after reading all the reports and seeing how many people were out and I got skunked bad. Had a bad night thinking about the money I spent and time on the water and not improving because I had no results. Then today I woke up and went at it again, and caught three. In two hours. Which is more than double the amount I'd previously caught in my entire life...two.