Can anyone give a first time steelhead fisherman some tips/advice to get started? Type of rod,line size,tackle/bait,time /water temp? I’m looking to try this spring but have little knowledge on this subject any help or information would be greatly appreciated.
i haven’t been in a bunch of years, but i can start the ball rolling and the rest can update you. most of the fish are not eating as they are spawning, but they pick up the eggs and place them back in the correct places for hatching.
so you drift yarn tied to imitate eggs thru the runs and wait to feel the pick up. to me it was WAY lighter than even the lightest walleye nip.
we used 7-9′ graphite fly rods with manual reels filled with maxima 10# or 12#. green for camo, but tuffness was very important. About 12-18″ above the fly, usually orange, we crimped splits to adjust for the current. the fly had to pass RIGHT IN FRONT of the fish to get a ‘strike’. I mean ONE INCH.
if i remember correctly, we tied the flies on #6 egg hooks. could easily be wrong on that.
after the fish picked up the ‘egg’, you had just an instant to set the hook b4 the fish realized it was not a real egg. i never really got the feel. my sets were dominantly accidental.
now after the hook set, get ready for a serious run. we used extended fighting butts so we could get our thumbs on the reel to act as a variable drag. pretty critical.
2-3 runs later, i found it was very helpful if you had a knowledgeable hand on the net. i knocked most of my fish off trying to net them myself.
so after 5 seasons, i went back to trolling and learned michigan and superior and did well there.
i’d attach pics, but those are all in the acetate days…
good luck and wear chest waders and don’t fish the lowest pool unless you want to end up as fish food…
WARNING STEELHEADING CAN BECOME ADDICTING.!! I went up to the North Shore many years ago, to try my hand at Steelheading. Well I hooked 3 and landed one, but I got hooked way more than the fish did.! I became a Steelhead junky for the next 20 plus years. Good Luck I hope you hook into a few, and become a junky to… …rrr Ps Its that time of year for the Spring run to start. I would check with the bait shops up there to see what is happening NOW.
So to float a egg sack under say a thill float on spinning gear in a river might work or will it snag up to much/ Is there a commercial replica for eggs that works well or is yarn the key? Would marine general in duluth be the best source of info/gear? Thanks for the information keep it coming.
Just so you are aware, any fish that does not have a clipped adipose fin, pectoral fin or mandible clip cannot be kept. The only type of steelhead you can keep are the loopers, most of which are clipped in one fashion or another.
Marine General is always a solid source for info. Two Harbors has a bait shop buried way back in the bowels of an industrial park, but what the name is or the phone number is beyond me. As Randy suggested, now would be a good time to consider going.
Minnesota Steelheader is a really good resource to get you started…As others have mentioned, steelheading can become addictive so watch out. Steelheading is really where I learned to fish. I did it a lot more when I lived in Duluth. Now I make a trip to the Brule for opener and a long weekend in Canada for my steelhead trips. I still have a soft spot for the N.Shore though. A lot of great memories as I have fished every river multiple times from Duluth to the boarder (except one or two which are on private property).
Best advice I can give is try and go with someone who is more experienced and knows the rivers. This will really cut down on the learning curve.
You will for sure want some waders to start off with so you can fish most of the river. The set up is typically a float (bobber) with a hook with either a spawn sac or an egg pattern fly. Also you will need some split shot to add to the line to get the hook down in front of the steelhead’s face. The distance between the bobber and the hook should be deep enough to barely tap on the rocks but not so deep where you get snagged up every drift.
There is another set up you can use to save you some hooks if you do get snagged. You take the main line with the bobber on it and tie a three way barrel swivel onto it. Then attach about 8-12 inches onto one side of the 3 way barrel swivel. Then on the last spot tie about 6 inches of line to it and use that to add slip shot. So that way if you do get hung up you’ll usually be able to snap off the end with the split shot.
As for a dift all you have to do is throw up stream a little ways and watch your bobber float by you and then make sure you end the drift by letting it go past you and almost get pushed up on to the shore. You would be surprised how many fish are caught on the end of the dift. There are many other techniques people use. Use the one you like best and good luck!! they are a lot of fun 
I have had decent luck drifting a 1/16 oz jig and a small plastic under a float. Playing around with different colors and profiles is key to this method, I have a favorite color for every stream I fish. Space split shot up the line as mentioned. Keeping the jig bouncing at the bottom without snagging is paramount. A 8-1/2′ to 10′ med/light spinning rod with 8# mono is what I use.
How do you guys manage to time this? As I understand it, the fish wait for a plume of warm water to hit the lake that lets them know there was enough rain to get the rivers really flowing. Then they run up, spawn, and get back out. Nothing like Brule here fall run fish stay in the river all winter. How do you get there when the fish are actually in the river? Since I’m in the Cities and need at least a day’s warning for the Boss it’s even tougher.
SR
How do you guys manage to time this? As I understand it, the fish wait for a plume of warm water to hit the lake that lets them know there was enough rain to get the rivers really flowing. Then they run up, spawn, and get back out. Nothing like Brule here fall run fish stay in the river all winter. How do you get there when the fish are actually in the river? Since I’m in the Cities and need at least a day’s warning for the Boss it’s even tougher.
SR
Timing steelhead runs are very difficult to do…often times when you hear about a good report its all over. I know some of my favorite streams near the boarder typically have a 3 to 5 day window of prime fishing. Wait until a good report and the prime fishing is more than likely over with.
My favorite as is report if I know I will be fishing soon is high dirty water that is dropping, high 30s water temps with only a few fish around. That usually means fish should be coming. They like low to mid 40s water temps and clearing water.
As for the the Brule, we target large, deep, over wintering holes on opener. Most years, a good percentage of our fish are over wintered fish. Fall run fish are very difficult to time because of low water. Been very hit or miss for me over the years. I spend my Falls chasing P2 walleyes now….more consistent.
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