Winter Steelhead In Transition

Steelhead do respond to the flash and thump of metal in cold water when they won’t respond to flies or bait, however. After fishing through a pool with bait one late January day, I skirted an ice shelf, made my way up the bank, and began to leave, when I heard a tiny disturbance among the normal sounds of the flow. I turned to see big rings widening across the pool. I slipped back into the river, around the ice shelf, and flipped a blue-silver 1/6-ounce Little Cleo to the far bank. I held the rod low and let the spoon swing through the water where the fish broached. The little spoon was crushed by a 10-pound hen, which came reluctantly to the ice-laden bank.

Depending on the river, its size and strength of flow, spoons and spinners in the 1/6- to 1/2-ounce range are required in most midwestern rivers, while heavier baits work better in most western streams. Many highly adept spinner jockeys demand that a specific blade size be used for steelhead in winter (generally they agree that larger size #4 and #5 blades are better), no matter the size, depth, or level of the river. They then match the weight of the spinner’s body to the flow to achieve the proper “swing.” For me, the perfect swing is more important, and I don’t care if I’m using a size #1 blade or a size #5, so I try everything until I believe the spinner is gliding along just above bottom when allowed to swing. Cast across the current (short casts first), hold the rod down, and the current grabs more line. If the lure doesn’t touch bottom, hold the rod a little higher and try again.

Holding the rod tip high allows the bait to sink deeper, a good tactic when making long casts over deep pools. A moderately long rod of 81⁄2 to 10 feet provides better control of the line and, ultimately, the depth of the swing. Keep changing the weight of the package by changing the size of the spoon or spinner, to match the flow perfectly. Monofilament catches more current than braided line, keeping metal baits higher in the water column. Choose clear or green-tinted 6- to 10-pound monofilament. Make it something tough, like Maxima Ultragreen or Ande Premium. But 10- to 30-pound Berkley FireLine casts farther on large rivers, and allows a metal bait to plunge deeper into those “bottomless” pools. Either way, tie the main line directly to a small SPRO snap swivel, making it easy to change lures and adjust for depth.

Float-fishing with long rods (12 to 14 feet), light, sensitive floats, fluorocarbon leaders, and light jigs produces more fish than metal most days, especially when coupled with fresh bait. When the size and color of the package are right, the package presented properly, and the bait prime, nothing can outfish a float rig. Jigs work better in cold water because steelhead won’t move far to take bait. They might run 10 feet or more to hit a spinner, but more fish take fresh bait, over the course of the day, when it’s placed right on their nose. A jig delivers it there. Nobody really knows where a bare hook is going, half the time. It could be to the left of the float as easily as it could be off to the right, which is fine in cool-to-warm water. In cold water, it pays to know precisely where the bait is.