The Steelhead Angler

Luhr Jensen developed the Luhr Jensen Hot Shot Side Planer several years ago. Using it gets your lure out in the river where the big ones are hiding. I got on the internet and ordered a couple of the Luhr Jensen Hot Shot Side Planers so I would have them the next time I was on the river. When they showed up, I still was not convinced that this was going to work. It seemed to me that although the unit is quite simple, there were many things that could go wrong. However, I was going to be just sitting around anyways right.

The instructions that come with the unit are easy enough to follow. I should thank the people at Luhr Jensen for taking the time to put together a very thorough instruction package. They not only explain how to set up the unit they give you a few pointers as to how and where to use them effectively.

The first time setting it up took me quit awhile or at least it seemed that way. You first have to put the unit together as it comes in three pieces. You have the main float body, the side arm, and the rudder. There are actually two rudders one for heavy current and one for lighter currents. You need to slip the arm onto the body so that it is pointing away from you and decide which rudder you will need depending on the river current.

Once you have the unit together you need to setup your line. You thread your line through the eye in the trigger arm and then through the eye in the bottom of the unit. You then slip on a bead onto your line making sure the bead is bigger then the eye at the back of the side planer and then tie on a swivel. This keeps the side planer from slipping down your line and slapping the steelhead in the face once you hook one.

Since I have been using these for a couple of seasons now instead of a bead I have been using a spin-glow float it is just a little something extra to get the steelheads attention. The final touch is the Hot Shot use about a three-foot leader and it is a good idea to use a leader that is lighter weight then your main line. It will keep you from losing everything should you happen to snag up or the steelhead makes a sudden run and breaks you off.

Once you have everything setup strip thirty to forty feet of line through your side planer. How much line you strip out is going to determine how deep you will be fishing. There is a tab on the front of your side plane wrap your line around this tab four times and set the trip arm to the opposite side of the rudder. This is the tricky part you need to keep you line free from tangling yet not let the current take your hot shot down stream. Keep tension from your rod tip to the trigger arm and place it the river. The current will now start taking the hot shot side planer out into the river. If you keep enough tension on the side planer, it will move across the river and pull the hot shot behind it. Once you reach the trough you want to fish you can set you rod in a rod holder sit back, relax, and wait for a steelhead to come swimming by.

I like to use a medium to a medium heavy Steelhead rod with this setup it will give you the power you need for a good hook set. It will also help in keeping your line up out of the river between the side planer and the tip of your rod.

Plastic worms are very popular in British Columbia and they are beginning to catch on here in the U.S.This technique uses the same type of plastic worms that bass anglers have been using for quit some time now. Plastic worms in bubble gum, pink, oranges and reds are a very effective steelhead fishing bait. You can find some that are impregnated with sea salt those are my preference when I am choosing a plastic worm for steelhead bait.

These worms, usually fished with a bobber similar to jig fishing. You cast your offering upstream and let it float down naturally through the water. You fish the same type of water as with jig fishing. Concentrate on seams and pockets you believe to be holding fish. As with jig, fishing the ripples on the water causes the soft plastic worm to flutter and wiggle. This life like action is often just too much for a steelhead to resist.

Depth is critical when setting your bobber stop. Setting your bobber stop so that your weight is just off the bottom may take a couple of cast. When fishing a hole that you are not sure of the depth it is better to start set to high and then lower 12 to 18 inches with each cast. Once you float starts to bounce you know you are to deep reel in and raise your float about 12 inches and you are ready to fish. You will want your bait to be just above the fish’s nose.

Plastics can also be fished using the drift fishing method.
The trick here is adding just enough weight so you bounce off the bottom while drifting. I believe many anglers use about twice as much weight as they should. This will not only end up getting them snagged more often, it does not allow the bait to be presented in a natural way. They do end up catching a few steelhead however; they would do much better if they used less weight. If you feel your weight dragging the bottom, it is too much you want it to bounce. You should feel a tap, tap pause tap, tap pause when drift fishing.

This technique is affective on STEELHEAD, SALMON & TROUT

Drift fishing is easy, fun and effective. Many anglers have used the technique over the years. This technique only gains in popularity as more and more streams across the country are supporting trout, steelhead and salmon runs. Whether a beginner or a more experienced angler, this article will help, you become even more successful using the drift fishing method of fishing.

One of the most important, things you can do to improve your fishing success, is to maintain razor sharp hooks on your lures at all times. A fine-toothed file such as Luhr Jensen’s Sharp Hook File^TM is the absolute best hook-sharpening tool available. You hold it parallel to the hook point and with gentle, one-way strokes; remove a small amount of metal on at least two sides of the point. This will create a point with a razor-like cutting edge. Keep the file clean and dry and occasionally spray it with a non-corrosive lubricant such as WD-40. Sharp Hook Files^TM are available in 5 1/2′ x 3/4″ or 4 1/4″ x 5/8″ sizes.
© Luhr Jensen & Sons, Inc.

Typical drift fishing waters consist of a series of pools and rapids, with the pools (drifts) holding feeding, resting or migrating fish. Drifting lures through these pool areas, with the drift fishing technique, will often produce excellent results. The basic drift fishing technique consists of casting across and upstream, and then allowing your drift bobber and accompanying sinker to drift naturally downstream in the current, the sinker gently bouncing along the bottom. When your lure has drifted back near the bank, it is reeled in and another cast and drift made.

Buoyant drift bobbers simulate fish egg clusters, shrimp or other natural baits. Corkies, Sammie’s, and Spin-n-glows are some of the more common ones used. Their success is attributed to their color, action and buoyancy as they are drifted naturally along the bottom through fish-holding water.

There are scores of ways to add weight ahead of a drift bobber. Pencil lead, either solid or hollow core, is the most popular and has proved both economical and easy to use.

Some examples are depicted below:

Solid pencil lead is best fastened to your line using a Lead Cinch^TM, which consists of a three-way swivel and a length of surgical tubing. Your main line is tied to one end of the swivel, leader and bobber to the other end and a section of pencil lead inserted into the Lead Cinch^TM (surgical tubing). If the lead becomes snagged, it will pull away from the tubing and your drift bobber and tubing can be retrieved.

LEAD CINCH^TM: Surgical tubing and swivel rig for holding and attaching solid pencil lead. It comes ready to tie on and is available in three different diameters to fit all popular lead sizes.

LEAD TIP: Your pencil lead should always hang straight, as a bent or crooked piece of lead will often result in twisting or tangling of your line.

One of the big tricks to successful drift fishing is to select just the right amount of weight for the water you are fishing. A weight that is too heavy will snag easily while one that is too light will not keep your drift bobber near the bottom where the fish are. The ideal weight is one that results in a tap-tap-skip action as it makes regular contact with the bottom and then rises a bit before hitting again.

Experienced drift anglers usually start working an unknown drift with a 2 1/2- to 3-inch piece of pencil lead. After making a drift or two, they know if they need to shorten it or lengthen it until the drift feels just right with that tap-tap-skip action.

Hollow pencil lead is best fastened by crimping it to a short leader dropped from a barrel swivel as shown in the illustrations. If this lead becomes snagged, a sharp pull will free the lead from the drop leader and your drift bobber, leader and swivel can normally be retrieved.

Pencil lead comes in coils or long sections so you can cut off the desired amount. Most lead available through sport shops comes in diameters of 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4 inch.

Successful drift fishing requires that your line be close to the bottom. Hence, it is important to use a heavier line than you would ordinarily select for lake fishing, as it will have to take the added bottom-scraping abrasion that comes with drifting. We recommend that you use a premium quality, monofilament line, such as Trilene XT® or Berkley® Big Game.

There are three instinctive reasons a fish bites a drift bobber: It is either hungry, protecting its territory or curious. Although strikes can be hard, they are often almost undetectable especially for the novice angler. Some fish will only lightly mouth a bobber and this kind of “take” is very difficult to discern from the lure’s ordinary bottom tapping. Many fish are lost or not hooked simply because the angler just cannot detect these soft pickups. There are, however, two things you can do which will help you seize these light-biters: Use razor-sharp hooks and add some yarn below your bobber.

Sharp hooks are critical no matter what kind of fishing you do, but they become even more important when trying to hook light-biting fish while drift fishing. A fish will have a great deal of difficulty getting a razor-sharp hook out if its mouth without it sinking in somewhere. Once a sharp point catches, every move the fish makes to expel it will only drive it deeper and you will feel a harder “hit” as the fish attempts to throw it.

Yarn is your second edge for hooking light-biters. The addition of a tuft of colorful yarn just ahead of your hook and below the drift bobber will add color and contrast to your lure; it will also make it very difficult for a fish to spit out the hook. Once taken, the yarn tangles in the fish’s teeth and every effort to get rid of the lure will send another signal to you to set the hook.

Drift anglers use yarn to give their lures added appeal and color. By tying a tuft on the hook itself, or just below the bobber so as not to interfere with its action, you will often increase a bobber’s effectiveness. As indicated earlier, yarn also can catch in the teeth of fish, allowing you extra time to feel the “set” and set the hook.