The Steelhead Angler

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I thought I would write a quick post today about steelhead fishing at Riggins Idaho.A good friend of mine and fishing partner for over thirty five years called last night to let me know how the steelhead fishing report was on the Salmon River at Riggins.

With the weather as warm as it has been over the last two weeks I thought that the steelhead may be holding up in the river some where. Once again I was wrong according to his report. He fished just below Riggins at the mouth of Race Creek. Which is one of his favorite steelhead hole during the early fall run. After fishing for a little over six hours he hooked four steelhead and was able to land two of them.

They are were what is known as A-run fish the small of the steelhead and the first to arrive here in Idaho. These A-Run fish usually weigh in the 5 to 7 pound range with an average length of about 26 inches. According to what he told me however they were very aggressive fish, jumping and making several good runs on him before he either landed them or they threw the hook.

Four Steelhead in six hours. Sounds like it is time to make trip down to Riggins.

By the way I hear that they are doing very well on the Clearwater too. The upper section of the River remains catch and release only until the 15th of October remember that if you are planning a trip up there.

See you on the River!

This article describes the basics of freshwater Steelhead and salmon fishing for the beginning angler. River drift fishing is probably the most common method used for steelhead and salmon. As and drift fishing salmon are very similar you can apply them when steelhead drifting and salmon drift fishing. It is intended only as a beginning, and is not meant to cover every aspect of salmon drift fishing, or steelhead drift fishing. After you get your feet wet, you can and should constantly search for additional information to improve your abilities and skills.

Freshwater salmon fishing and steelhead fishing can be done from the shore or a boat, and the drift fishing method described can be used either way. Boat fishing affords anglers some opportunities not available to the shore anglers.

Steelhead Drift Fishing And Salmon Drift Fishing:

These techniques will work well when either drift fishing for steelhead or drift fishing for salmon. Drift fishing is a common method used to catch both steelhead and salmon. The angler casts their line upstream, you then let the line drift down through the run or pool. Once your line reaches the end of the drift you then reel in the line to start the drifting process over again. Drift fishing is normally done from the shore or an anchored boat.

Generally, the idea is to have enough weight for your setup to bounce along the bottom, touching every foot or two. Ideally, it will drift at approximately the same speed the current is moving. More weight will slow down the speed at which your bait drifts downstream, and less weight will speed up the drift.

The best strategy is to work the entire run from close to the shore and working your way out with each following cast. Once you have covered all the water, you can reach from where you are standing move down a couple of steps and repeat the process. If you get a hit or catch a steelhead or salmon try to make a mental note of where you caste and where the fish hit. Steelhead and salmon use what are called runs so if you catch one it is likely that you will be able to catch more at the same location.

Figure 1. Diagram showing standard strategy for drift fishing a run or drift on a river.

When fishing in crowded conditions, you may simply have to work your way into a line of anglers and fish right where you are, without moving. Cast upstream at a 30-45 degree angle and let your bait bounce along until you reach a 45-30 degree angle downstream. Reel in and do it again. Your goal is to bounce your offering along the bottom until a fish picks it up with its mouth.

Beginning anglers often have trouble telling when a fish picks up the hook or when their gear has caught on a rock. Over time, you will develop a feel for the difference and learn when to set the hook and when to gently coax the gear off of the rocks. You should always remember that when in doubt, set the hook.

Typical drift fishing gear:

• For a good steelhead drift rod or salmon drift rod you will need a 8 ½ or 9 foot rod rated for 10-30 pound line.
• As for a drift fishing reel either a bait casting reel or a spinning reel will work I prefer a bait casting reel on large rivers and a spinning reel on smaller rivers and streams.
• For larger fish, like chinook salmon, use 20-25 pound line. Depending on where you are fishing you may need even heavier line.
• For steelhead drift fishing, you will be using 10-15 pound line most of the time.

You will find there is an endless variety of weights, lures, floats, and/or baits that anglers can use while drift fishing for salmon, and an even larger variety when drift fishing for steelhead.

A standard setup for drift fishing:

One example of a steelhead drift fishing rig using standard salmon drift fishing gear:

Before you head out drifting for steelhead please visit our shop at Steelhead Anglerwhere you will find all the steelhead gear and salmon gear you need. We have a number of way in which you can pay for your fishing tackle paypal, check or credit cards are accepted by most of our vendors with paypal being preferred by many.

Here it is the middle of September and I believe many of us are awaiting the steelhead to arrive in our favorite river. Well there is good news they are nearly here and the numbers right now are looking good too. As of September 14, 2008 nearly 48,000 Steelhead have crossed Lower Granite Dam, which is the last dam they cross before entering Idaho. Compared to 23,000 for the same time last year the numbers look very good. Over the next couple of weeks steelhead fish will be picking up here in Idaho and with some rain forecast for later this week the steelhead will really start to move.

Steelhead anglers are doing well on the lower Snake River and the Lower Clearwater rivers all ready with catch rates in the 6 to 8 hours per steelhead caught. Those are good catch rates for the first part of the steelhead season. With over 2,000 fish per day crossing over Lower Granite Dam it will not be long before fishing gets very hot.

I have heard of a couple of steelhead being hooked on the salmon river near Riggins. Although I have not been able to confirm this I do know that Bass anglers usually catch a few steelhead every year during the early fall. I would imagine that that is what is happening now.

The late summer early fall bass fishing on the salmon river does produce some nice small mouths every year and it is not fished as hard as other spots here in Idaho. So if you want to get out this weekend take along some bass gear as well. Bass jigs work very well for the steelhead as many of you know.

I guess it is time to get out my gear and get it ready for what at this point looks to be an exciting year. Hope to see you on the River shortly.

Being able to See your target is a tremendous advantage when steelhead fishing.  A good Fishfinder is the one tool you need on your next steelhead fishing expedition.  With a Fishfinder, you will know exactly where you are most likely to make the perfect catch.  Knowing exactly where the steelhead is laying will give you more time catching and less time searching for steelhead.

You want a Fishfinder designed to give you fast and clear information when you need it.  The Fishfinder needs to have excellent shallow water performance.  You will want one that is very capable of locating steelhead in deep water as well.  A dual-beam transducer is a good option.  These normally have user-selectable views going from narrow to wide.  This will help you see more fish in shallow water this is also very important when searching for steelhead. 

There are a number of Fishfinder manufactures out there today.  Some of the better-known brands are Lowrance, Humminbird, and Garmin to mention a few.  There are many other as well these were some that I have used over the years and I am familiar with is all.

Once you find the right fishfinder for you become as familiar as possible with how it works and what it is telling you.  I have seen a number of steelhead anglers using fish locators that were not sure how they worked.  They could have done just a well locating steelhead staying home and reading a comic book.

For those of use that do not have a boat we can jump into when ever we go fishing Humminbird has come out with a fishfinder just for us.

Humminbird SmartCast RF-35 Wrist Mount Fishfinder designed to be worn on your wrist.  It is just like a watch for the ultimate in portability.  The Humminbird SmartCast RF-5 Wrist Mount Fishfinder features the Advanced Remote Sonar Sensor (RSS).  It has the wireless technology to provide precise information about bottom contour.  It will even give you depth and water surface temperature.  You wear it like a watch and get precise readouts easily.  They are viewable on the 1.25”, 48V x 32H LCD screen.  While the screen size does seem a little small once you get use to the size, it does provide you with some amazing information.

Using a Fishfinder will have you spending more time fishing productive water and less time search for that mystical steelhead.  You will have an informed advantage among the other steelhead anglers.  The pay off will be better steelhead fish stories than ever before.

When fishing for steelhead in large bodies of water pulling plugs is a deadly steelhead fishing technique. This technique works well throughout the season and is one that I prefer when the water temperatures fall and the steelhead become sluggish. You are able to keep this plug waving around in front of them longer and encouraging a strike. In order for this to work for you, it is important that you know where their holding spots are or at least what a holding spot would look like. You could spend the day drifting your plug through nothing but open water if you are not familiar with steelheads habits and knowing where they like to hold is necessary in order for pulling plugs to be successful.

Some of the popular plugs here in Oregon, Washington and Idaho include:
• Hotshots,
• Wiggle Warts,
• Tadpollys,
• Kwikfish,
• Flatfish,

Just about any bass plug that dives from six to fifteen feet and is available in good steelhead colors will work for steelhead. Hotshots and Wiggle Warts would be my first choice if you were just starting out or on a tight budget.

Some of my favorite colors are red, blue/silver, chartreuse/silver, red/white, and bright blue. The angler should have several colors to use throughout the day, as different colors seem to be preferred at times by that crazy steelhead.

Plugs are commonly used from a jetsled or driftboat. However, side plane drifters are also becoming popular throughout the area. You begin at the top or upstream portion of steelhead holding water and backing down slowly trying to keep the plug in the steelhead face. Usually they will get irritated when the rattling plug is near pushing them out of where they want to be and they will slam it violently.

Pulling plugs is a very exciting way to spend the day on the river and when the fish are active, it will keep you in suspense waiting for one of those violent strikes that are so common when fishing this way. If you ever have a chance, I recommend giving pulling a pug a try.

Steelhead fishing in Oregon, Washington and Idaho has some of the finest steelhead fishing found anywhere in the world.  The abundant rivers and rainfall that frequent the Pacific Northwest coast provides for ideal steelhead and salmon fishing opportunities.  Just about any time of year, a steelhead angler can find an opportunity to pursue steelhead.  Idaho thanks to the Snake, Clearwater, and Salmon Rivers offers the angler fishing opportunities from August through the end of April. 

Steelheads are the most sought after game fish here in the Northwest and possibly the world.  There are some excellent runs of native fish that angler can fish for along the coastline.  These native fish are on a catch and release basis only however. 

     Most rivers in Oregon and Washington have both Summer Steelhead and Winter Steelhead.  The summer run fish begin arriving in the spring and stay in the rivers until the next winter when they spawn and head back to the ocean.  These summer fish are very aggressive and will take lures, flies, bait and most anything, that is presented to them.  The summer steelhead when they come back into the rivers are aggressive feeders and they actually revert back to the behaviors of a big rainbow trout as they live in the rivers for many months before actually spawning. 

Fishing for these fish can be very exciting as they are very acrobatic and jump frequently and are very strong fighting fish.  The summer fish are a very colorful fish with similar markings to a trout.  One exception is the metallic looking head and the big red stripe down the side.  Steelheads are also much bigger than a trout.  Winter Steelhead begin coming into the rivers in the late fall usually with the first good rainfall.  The first to arrive are the hatchery fish, which traditionally begin to show around thanksgiving on some rivers with the bulk of the runs occurring from Christmas to mid January. 

The native fish usually come in later beginning in February and continuing until April or so.  These winter fish are chrome bright as they enter the rivers and will be a dark blue on the back with bright silver white sides. 

The winter steelheads are not as aggressive biters as the summer fish and can be quite challenging to catch.  These fish are coming in to spawn and they usually do this quickly after entering the fresh water.  Because they do begin to discolor quickly and begin there spawning activity almost immediately after entering there home rivers it is very important to be on the river in the right spot at the right time with the right river conditions to be able to catch a beautiful chrome bright winter steelhead.  It is a very good idea to go with someone that knows the river well or hire a guide if you wish to have good success on the winter fish.