That's the Captain in his office working a bead for Steelhead on a late winter day near Altmar, NY. He had a couple of guys with him, both inexperienced, and they went 0 for 9 on fish that day. The river was running a little higher than normal and landing fish was a dicey proposition at best. Would most fishermen call it a successful day? I'm not sure, but I viewed it as a smashing success considering the wind was blowing 15-20 mph all day, it was 25 degrees and it snowed for most of the day. This picture says a lot, but it doesn't include those details. Winter fishing is tough, but the thrill of hooking a monster Steelhead is unparalleled. From the first cast to the very last, the anticipation of seeing the float dip under the surface signaling a strike is unlike any other fishing experience I've had in my 40 years fishing the Salmon River. Each cast feels like it has the chance to be a massive Steelhead, and every time the float dips under the water my heart races with excitement in expectation of a fish.
Float fishing is a technique used to catch Steelhead where the fisherman literally fishes a bobber/float with some weight and a bait beneath letting the bobber drift along the current through waters holding fish. It reminds me of catching sunfish as a kid, a bobber with a work beneath, waiting excitedly for the fish to bite. There are varying types of tackle to us with he Dirty Oar crew choosing to use 11'-13' rods with spinning reels loaded with 10# test floating line tipped with 3'-4' of 6# test fluorocarbon as a leader. A slip float is put on the line above the leader, and usually about 3'-5' of line is beneath the float which places the bait in the strike zone of the Steelhead without the bait touching bottom. It literally floats the bait along in the current, dangling beads, spawn sacks or jigs directly in the face of hungry fish! Back in the 1980's, when the Captain and I were learning to fish for Steelhead, we employed a technique called "bottom bouncing". This style of fishing had the bait 6'-8' below some pencil lead and the bait bounced along the bottom presenting to the fish. While effective, bottom bouncing requires a lot of terminal tackle replacement as the line often (and by often I mean really often) gets snagged on the bottom breaking off the line. Float fishing dramatically reduces the snags, and is equally if not more effective than bottom bouncing. It's also a lot of fun to wait for the float to disappear!
As for bait, we've had the most success with plastic beads and spawn sacks. These are each rigged with subtle differences, but both are great ways to entice a winter Steelhead to strike. Spawn sacks are a Salmon River staple, especially salmon eggs cured and tied in blue mesh. The blue egg sack is a must have when fishing winter Steelhead, and is rigged on a single #6 octopus hook tied to the end of the fluorocarbon leader. In essence, it's bait fishing. The plastic bead is somewhat different. First, you must select your bead color, we have had the most success on variations of natural orange. The bead is the threaded threaded onto the leader thru the hole that is located in the center of the bead. We typically tie a #10 octopus hook under the bead and the bead is then threaded with a "bead stop" or toothpick 1"-2" above the hook. When I first read about beads I was skeptical, but they produce and any fisherman on the river without them is putting themself at a distinct disadvantage. Believe me, they work!
Ok, that's enough for now, look for an update from the river this weekend. The Captain and I will be hosting another rookie, and we hope for a good showing. Until then, tight lines to you all!
David
Comments