Steelhead Drift fishing Gear and Set-ups
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
Steelhead Drift fishing Gear and Set-ups
Drift fishing is the most common method used for steelhead; it is also one of the more difficult to master. You need to have the right gear, know what type of water steelhead hold in, and the hardest part is learning the difference between bouncing over rocks and a steelhead strike.
Over the years, I have been asked how you know when you have a hit while drift fishing for Steelhead. The true answer is you never really know for sure! When bouncing along the bottom of the river every time you bump a rock it feels something like a strike. There is a difference but until you feel it, it is hard to explain.
Some times your line will just stop this is always a good sign that there is a steelhead taking your line. Other times you will feel your line and it feels like it’s rolling over gravel (this happens quit often when the water is cold) This to is a good sign that you are having a steelhead strike. There are times when a steelhead will leave no doubt they have taken your line as they nearly jerk the rod out of your hand. Most of the time however it is just a slight difference in the feel of the line and the longer you fish for steelhead the better you become at feeling these minor differences.
There are times where you will not feel anything at all and this probably happens more then any of us know. I like to watch my line where it meets the water most of the time it leaves a small wake much like a miniature boat. However, watching this when a steelhead is toying with your bait it will look like this wake is swaying back and forth in the same spot whenever I see this I will set the hook and more time then not it will be a steelhead.
There are times when you will be watching your line as it drifts through the hole and you notice that the speed at which it was drifting has slowed this to, is a sign that you need to set the hook. I believe that when this happens the steelhead has been following you lure down stream and has just decided to pick it up to see what it is.
The bottom line is you never really know if it is a Steelhead strike or just bumping down the river. The best advice I can give is if you feel something different set the hook, if your line stops set the hook, if your line is not drifting as fast as it was set the hook, and when in doubt set the hook!!!
Let us look at what you need to start drift fishing:
The Rod
Your Fishing rod needs to be sensitive enough to give you a good feel of the bottom as you bounce over rocks and gravel, and at the same time it needs to be strong enough to give you a good hook set when you have 30 to 50 yards of line strung out across the river. Your rod choice will be the most important piece to the drift fishing equation so choose wisely.
Here are some things to consider when you are selecting your Rod:
- What’s the size of lure or bait you will be using (heavy, light, ultra light?)
- The type of reel you will be using on rod (spinning reel, or bait casting)
- What is rod made from (graphite, fiberglass ) these will determine the feeling and strength of your rod
- Rod action this is the bend in the rod (Fast, Medium, Slow).
- What size of line you plan on using (2 lb, 6 lb, 10 lb, 15 lb, 30 lb test)
- The length of rod, if your casting from the beach or open area and need to make long cast you will want a longer rod 8 feet or longer, if you are going to be fishing from a boat or where there is a lot of brush you may want 7 foot or shorter. This will determine what type of reel you use to keep a good balance of your rod.
- What type of warranty does it have (Rods do break when fishing these large fish)
The Reel
The reel needs to match your rod having a well-balanced rod is the key. My personal preference is a bait casting reel (some fisherman call these levelwind) they do take some getting use to, however, they are very effective when drift fishing, the bait casting reel will allow you to release line while maintaining control and you can follow the drift longer. You will need to get to and stay where the fish are holding.
The spinning reel works well for drift fishing also and is preferred when casting light lures or fishing along banks with heavy brush. Do not think that you have to use a baitcasting reel in order to catch steelhead. I often find myself switching to a spinning reel under many conditions.
Choosing a Reel :
- Make sure it matches the style of fishing you intend on doing
- The amount of line the reel can hold (if you are fishing big water you will want more line)
- The type of line you are going to use (braided lines can cut into the metal of a reel) - (newer reels use titanium for the new lines).
- Look for a quality manufacturer as your reel will be tested by these big fish
- Make sure the drag system works smoothly
Line
The line you use should match the rod, reel and the conditions you will be fishing. The Rule here is that the clearer the water is the lighter the line you want to use. I have gone as light as 4 lb test when fishing in clear slow moving pools but you need to have a rod matched to this. Normally you will want to use line in the 10 to 15 pound test range.
Braided or mono lines, will be more a matter of your personal preference.
Lures
This is where steelhead fishing gets tricky and experience comes into play. What you will be using will again depend on the water conditions, low and clear keep your lures and bait small and pale. If the rivers are up and murky, you will want to use a larger lure and dark and bright colors. Sometime just using a small piece of shrimp or a small cluster of eggs is what you will need. You can check with the locals and see what they are using for the conditions. As for the color of lures this is any bodies guess so make sure you have a good assortment to choose from as this changes continually even through out the day.
Bait
Steelheads use their excellent sense of smell as well as their eye site they also have an uncanny scents to detect movement. When the water is so muddy you cannot see any thing in the water, steelhead can find your bait by movement and smell. Some of the most common baits are shrimp, eggs, night crawlers, and sand shrimp. Some anglers combine these baits giving they feel this gives them a little edge over other anglers.
You are also going to need an assortment of Swivels, Hooks, Lead/weights, and Leaders.
There are hundreds of ways of tying your rig up and it seems that every steelhead angler has their own special way of tying up a rig. I will list a couple that you may want to use to get you started.
First the quickest and simplest
- slip a piece of surgical tubing about one and a half inches long onto your line
- then apply an appropriate amount of pencil lead into the tubing
- Now you can tie on your hook and lure using an appropriate knot. If you are using a hook with corky or bait us the bait-loop knot. If you are using a lure, use the cinch knot.
With the set up, it is easy to adjust, the distance from your weight to your hook, you simple slide the weight to the desired distance and you are read to go.
The next one will take a little more time to tie, although, it is used by many more anglers and perhaps is the most common method.
You will need a hook, weight, corky, and leader for this set up. You will find this set-up tied many different ways from using pencil lead, bank sinkers and slinkies. The principle remains the same regardless of the type of weight you use.
- Start by tying the swivel to the end of your line.
- Tie on or clip on the weight to the other end of the swivel. It is a good idea to use a lighter weight line for the sinker that way if it becomes snagged it will break off before your main line does and you will only have to replace your weight.
- Tie your hook on with the bait loop knot to your leader the leader should be somewhere between 18 to 30 inches long.
- Slip on your corky and then tie the leader to the same side of the swivel as the weight using a cinch knot.


Like I said you are going to find numerous ways of tying these set-ups, however, what I want to do here is give you a simple and effect way to get you started fishing.
In our next post we will be taking about where to use this method and how to fish it correctly until then have a great day.



























.












