How to Catch Your First Fly-Rod Steelhead - Part 3
We've Saved The Best For Last!
Probably the best part of this entire article is all about Reading the Water and How To Present the Fly, Hook The Fish and Land Him On the Bank.
Don't try to horse these fish around like a trout or you'll lose it!
-Michael
===========================
How to Catch Your First Fly-Rod Steelhead:
"READING THE WATER & PRESENTATION
The next step is getting into the river and identifying places where steelhead are most likely to hold, more commonly referred to as 'reading the water.' The better you are at reading water, the more fish you will hook.
Tail-outs on the downstream end of pools are classic steelhead-holding areas and are easy to work on a wet fly swing. But pocket water, especially boulder-strewn riffles between rapids, is also often productive. So are the cushions of 'soft' water upstream and downstream of large boulders and snags, especially those shadowed by overhanging trees.
The goal in swinging a fly is to present it in front of the fish, preferably broadside to the current. To do this, you usually need to take up position upstream of the lie and cast at a downstream angle to the holding water. The angle of presentation will vary, but 45 degrees downstream of your position is a good place to begin.
Feed the sink-tip along with a few feet of running line through the guides and let it hang downstream. Determine the amount of line you want to shoot with your cast, and gather that much line in loose coils in your non-casting hand. Roll cast to bring the tip to the surface, lift it off the water, execute a conventional backcast and shoot the slack on your forward cast. (Flyfishers most familiar with floating lines often forget that sink-tips must be brought to the surface with a roll cast before they can be cast conventionally.)
The moment your line lands on the water, toss a large upstream mend. This creates slack that allows the fly to sink. Mend only once; it isn't easy to change the course of a sink-tip after it sinks.
Follow the line downstream with your rod held high until you feel the tug of the line, and then lower the rod. The leader and fly should now be deeply sunk and in line with the rod. Then slowly lead or swing the line through the holding water.
Sometimes it is effective to pause briefly to let the fly "hang" in the water above a promising slot or depression, and it is a good idea to let the fly swing around for a moment at the conclusion of the swing. Then strip the line back upstream and roll cast to bring it to the surface.
A steelhead may intercept your fly at any point during the swing, but most strikes occur near the end of the drift, as the fly rises and picks up speed. Steelhead often jump early in the battle, and when that happens you need to throw slack into the line by lowering the rod tip to prevent the fish from breaking the leader.
Once the steelhead begins to run or thrash, it is critical to get slack line back on the reel. Steelhead are much too strong to be stripped in as trout and bass often are, and flyfishers need the assistance of the reel's drag to wear the fish down. It is also important not to horse a steelhead on fly rod. The safest way to fight it is by letting the weight of the rod and line wear it down. It is important to maintain constant pressure, and it is also often necessary to move with the fish, especially if they make long runs upstream or downstream.
It may take a while for everything to come together for a novice winter steelhead flyfishermen. It took me most of two winters before I landed my first fish with a fly rod. Intrepid anglers will eventually hook and land their first winter steelhead. And if that's you, slow days and frustrations will be replaced by a glow displayed only by those who have accomplished one of fly-fishing's most celebrated achievements."
Probably the best part of this entire article is all about Reading the Water and How To Present the Fly, Hook The Fish and Land Him On the Bank.
Don't try to horse these fish around like a trout or you'll lose it!
-Michael
===========================
How to Catch Your First Fly-Rod Steelhead:
"READING THE WATER & PRESENTATION
The next step is getting into the river and identifying places where steelhead are most likely to hold, more commonly referred to as 'reading the water.' The better you are at reading water, the more fish you will hook.
Tail-outs on the downstream end of pools are classic steelhead-holding areas and are easy to work on a wet fly swing. But pocket water, especially boulder-strewn riffles between rapids, is also often productive. So are the cushions of 'soft' water upstream and downstream of large boulders and snags, especially those shadowed by overhanging trees.
The goal in swinging a fly is to present it in front of the fish, preferably broadside to the current. To do this, you usually need to take up position upstream of the lie and cast at a downstream angle to the holding water. The angle of presentation will vary, but 45 degrees downstream of your position is a good place to begin.
Feed the sink-tip along with a few feet of running line through the guides and let it hang downstream. Determine the amount of line you want to shoot with your cast, and gather that much line in loose coils in your non-casting hand. Roll cast to bring the tip to the surface, lift it off the water, execute a conventional backcast and shoot the slack on your forward cast. (Flyfishers most familiar with floating lines often forget that sink-tips must be brought to the surface with a roll cast before they can be cast conventionally.)
The moment your line lands on the water, toss a large upstream mend. This creates slack that allows the fly to sink. Mend only once; it isn't easy to change the course of a sink-tip after it sinks.
Follow the line downstream with your rod held high until you feel the tug of the line, and then lower the rod. The leader and fly should now be deeply sunk and in line with the rod. Then slowly lead or swing the line through the holding water.
Sometimes it is effective to pause briefly to let the fly "hang" in the water above a promising slot or depression, and it is a good idea to let the fly swing around for a moment at the conclusion of the swing. Then strip the line back upstream and roll cast to bring it to the surface.
A steelhead may intercept your fly at any point during the swing, but most strikes occur near the end of the drift, as the fly rises and picks up speed. Steelhead often jump early in the battle, and when that happens you need to throw slack into the line by lowering the rod tip to prevent the fish from breaking the leader.
Once the steelhead begins to run or thrash, it is critical to get slack line back on the reel. Steelhead are much too strong to be stripped in as trout and bass often are, and flyfishers need the assistance of the reel's drag to wear the fish down. It is also important not to horse a steelhead on fly rod. The safest way to fight it is by letting the weight of the rod and line wear it down. It is important to maintain constant pressure, and it is also often necessary to move with the fish, especially if they make long runs upstream or downstream.
It may take a while for everything to come together for a novice winter steelhead flyfishermen. It took me most of two winters before I landed my first fish with a fly rod. Intrepid anglers will eventually hook and land their first winter steelhead. And if that's you, slow days and frustrations will be replaced by a glow displayed only by those who have accomplished one of fly-fishing's most celebrated achievements."
posted by The "Duke" at 1:17 PM
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