low visibility
In high water like today what would work the best? Also with low visibility I want to have a short leader of about 2 feet?
-Add bigger bait
-High river, fish high in system?
-clear river will cause the fish to seek cover during the daylight hours and so will not move up river as rapidly
-Backtrolling in low visibility so the bait stays longer period of time in the strike zone
-Slowing down your bait allows the steelhead more opportunity to locate and intercept your offering?
-Fish edges meaning areas of current break, depth change, structure influence or light contrast (shading)
HIGH VISIBILITY
-Low river, fish low in system?
-this is the time for presentations at or near current speed
-Fishing at the speed of the current allows you to cover the most water in the shortest period of time
-When the upriver areas begin to get a little stale as the water drops, look to the lower to middle river holes for fish
-Fish edges meaning areas of current break, depth change, structure influence or light contrast (shading)
Steelhead Holding Water
"The Riffle"
- The spot at the end of a rapid where the water is usually moving very fast over exposed or barely submerged rocks
- Steelhead will seek out the protection of the riffle usually in only a few select conditions. A good time to fish this section of water is when the sun is shining directly on the water.
- Steelhead will migrate to the riffle in warm water conditions, 10' degrees-plus, because this water usually holds more oxygen.
"The pool"
- Fish will usually not hold in the deep pools but rather at their edges in the slots made between back-eddies and the main current
- There are two exceptions when the fish may use pools.
First when the water is very cold, ie just above freezing, the pools tend to be a bit warmer and the fish will migrate to these warmer spots.
Conversely when the water is very warm, higher than 18' degrees, the pools may contain cooler water and the fish will seek out this cooler water.
-Finally, during very low water conditions, the pools may contain the only "overhead cover" available for the fish to hide
"The tail out or break"
- is the section of water that starts after the back end of a pool where the river bottom is beginning to rise and ends just before the next riffle or rapid. This is one of the primary locations in which to look for fish. Steelhead tend to hold mostly in the tail-out sections of the water during overcast conditions. They like to stop in this relatively calm water after negotiating a strong riffle or rapids.
Other river sections
- Most of the these places will not hold any fish. Rapids where the water is moving violently over rocks or through narrow chutes seldom hold any fish because of a lack of resting places. Long stretches of water that have a smooth water surface and are shallow, usually less than three feet, almost never hold fish - an exception would be if there is an obstruction, ie large boulder or log in this type of water, it would be well worth trying. Shallow and very slow moving water almost never provides adequate cover for the fish.
-Often steelhead can be found in tailouts early in the morning
Author
Topic: How to fish for steel head questions (Read 6684 times)