HRO Steelhead Blog 2009/2010

Pictures, Information and Reports

The Funk Family shows off their efforts - the hot flies were black stoneflies and estaz flies

Pete Peterson with a beauty

2010

Torrey, Jerry and Dave with Fish in the New Year 2010

Dear Torrey-

I do a lot of steelhead fishing on the Salmon River in Pulaski, NY, at least I do as much as I can afford each season. In the past couple of years I have reached a point where I seem to be able to hook a lot of steelies but I only land between 25-33% of them. Is there any advice you can give that might help me land more of these powerful steelhead ? ex. rod angle, leaning the rod up stream or down stream, I have even seen some guys lay the tip of there rod right in the water.

Dave

Dave-

Don’t feel bad about your landing ratio, even the best steelheaders lose plenty.  I’d say 30% is respectable, and if you hit the 50% mark you are doing an awesome job landing them.  It also depends on the type of water you are fishing- your landing success will be better in pools and worse in fast runs & pocket water.  Playing steelhead is a very interactive task requiring constant adjustment in rod angle, position & pressure.

Here are what I consider the basics of playing large fish on relatively light tackle:

-Try to remember to set the hook as soon as you know or think a fish is on your line, people often seem to forget to do this.  Everything happens so fast with steelhead, they are often off & running at the same moment you realize you have one.  In that case, all you can do is palm the reel a little to increase the pressure to drive the hook all the way in,and then back off and let them run & do their thing.

-Try not to give any slack line- if they run at you faster than you can retrieve the line, drop your rod tip to the water, the current will pull the slack out and keep light pressure on the fish until you get your line back on the reel.

-One of the real keys is knowing when to apply maximum pressure & when not to- let the fish run when it wants to go or pulls hard, but when it stops put some real pressure on it.  Back off on the pressure also when they are doing violent head shakes or you are liable to pop the hook out or even break them off.  Keep the fish moving, you should either be gaining or losing line.  As long as you stay connected and keep them swimming around, they will tire themselves out.

-If the fish is relatively close, say 30 feet or so, use side pressure with the rod tip just above the water- it will give you the ability to move big fish even with a light rod.  Because fish swim with a side to side motion, pressuring them at this low angle tires them faster & makes it harder for them to resist your pull.

-When the steelhead are farther away and you are unsure of where potential bottom snags are, keep your rod tip up, it helps keep the line off the snags.  Go back to side pressure when they are once again in close & clear of snags.

-Fish can only swim in whatever direction their head is pointing, so if you can control their head, you can control where they go.  Use pressure from either the left or right side, depending upon where you want them to run.  If they go left, use pressure from the right.  If they go right, use pressure from the left.  Make them work for every inch of line they take.

-Stay as close to the fish as possible, preferably across stream or even slightly below.  When they get downstream from you at more than a 45 degree angle, you are at a real disadvantage.  When you are across from them or below them, they have to fight you AND the current.

-It helps to have a nice big, long handled landing net- if not just beach them.  With proper side pressure, once they are somewhat tired you can often make them swim right up onto the shoreline.  If using the net, once the fish is over the net, drop your rod tip to allow them to go into it- I’ve seen steelhead use the pressure on them to catapult out of the net.  The best is to try to lead them head first into the net.

-Use high quality hooks- my landing ratio skyrocketed when Tiemco hooks first became available & I switched to them.  The old style hooks had long, dull points & overly large barbs that made it hard to sink the hook in to the bend.  Tiemco, Daiichi, Mustad Signature Series and other modern high-carbon hooks are superior products with very sharp points, small barbs & strong wire.

-Longer rods are better shock absorbers as well as superior for line control when fishing, whether dead-drifting or swinging.  This will help both to keep the hook in their mouth, as well as to prevent break-offs  Use at least a 10 foot rod for steelhead, in fact I’m currently using a Hardy Demon 11’ #7 and find it excellent for playing them.

     Hope this helps,

       Torrey