Winter Steelhead In Transition

Incremental changes in jig size often become critical. Last winter my partner caught the first 5 crimson-banded brutes from a pool thick with steelhead. Comparing our rigs, I found them to be identical right down to the color, but her jig weighed 1/16 ounce, while mine was a 1/32. I tied on a new jig and the float traveled less than 10 feet on the next drift before jetting under. After 10 more drifts, we both had 5 fish for the morning. I want to use the lightest jig I can get away with, and sometimes this prejudice works against me. Heavier jigs keep the bait down in the strike zone and keep the bait from sidling off-track in cross currents. With a slightly heavier jig, depth is affected less when mending line. Suddenly I’m using more 1/8- and 1/4-ounce jigs in winter.

Slow the float down more in winter, even when fishing below spawning riffles. Cast across the current and keep the line upstream of the float and off the water as much as possible. Hold the float up more. Make it pause. In winter, my lead length between float and jig is often longer than the depth of the river where I’m fishing, because I pause the bait so often. If the jig-and-bait hangs in their faces longer, they tend to bite more often. Just letting the float drift at current speed seldom works better. The jig-and-bait should be drifting ahead of (downstream of) the float and rigging, and the float should be moving slower than the surrounding current. The current is faster near the surface than it is near bottom, and you want the bait moving slower than the current surrounding it, too.

Water levels tend to be low in winter, and clarity tends to be high. Use an 8-pound floating line like Raven Mono or Siglon F when float-fishing, for easier mending, and terminate the rig with a quality 6-pound fluorocarbon, like Raven, Maxima, or Red Wing. The key elements involved in tricking low, coldwater steel involve lighter line, brightly-colored baits in small packages (stir them up, but don’t offer more than they can swallow), dull colors in slightly larger packages, or the flash and thump of metal baits. A 3-inch finesse-style worm in red, orange, white, pink, or natural is a good substitute for salmon eggs. Nose-hook it and let it dangle. Small baits and plastics generally work best, while metal lures should be larger-than-usual, in an odd reversal of the status quo.

No matter which method you choose, patience is required to angle for ghosts. When winter steelhead pale into phantoms in transition, develop a game plan to cover the right water quickly and systematically.