Steelhead on the rivers??Help..

[2UNREEL]

I was wanting to venture out tomorrow and try for some winter steelhead. Does anyone have any suggestions? Piers? Dams? Presentations? Tactics?If someone is wanting to go and knows there stuff I would love to tag along..

[1mainiac]

Was just discussing that with my FIL about heading up to the river tommorrow. This time of year working deeper hole with plugs like Hot N Tots works pretty good or drifting spawn or small flies thru these holes will often bring a fish or 2 out of most runs. Look for fish in long deep slower runs and work them slow and steady Start at the front of the run and work all the way thru it several times being very carefull at the tail out. Esp if pulling plugs as often you will back the fish up in the run and when they hit the tail out they have 2 choices hit the lure or move out of the run. Good luck if I end up going I will leave a report.

[steeliebob]

If you can get some crawlers, try them I used to do really good on them in the rifle river during the winter. Right now I am catching them through the ice on spawn and a tip up. This works really good if you have ice near the river or stream mouths. Be careful and know your ice conditions. We don't have too much open water in the UP during the winter so I have learned to catch them under the ice.

[Rob]

Pentwater lake is awsome for steelies through the ice. I had a great weekend on the white river this past weekend. until the water warms up they will be in slow deep holes. I fish spawn 95% of the time. I would be more than willing to take someone along and show them a few tricks. between 3 of us we landed 13 steelies and lost around 6 or 7 this past weekend. The next warm up will great fishing.

[silver one]

I was wanting to venture out tomorrow and try for some winter steelhead. Does anyone have any suggestions? Piers? Dams? Presentations? Tactics?If someone is wanting to go and knows there stuff I would love to tag along..

Andy

The Kalamazoo is a great steelhead fishery. I fish from the Allegan Dam all the way down to new richmond . I have fished spawn with bobbers on a flyrod drifting it threw the holes and Also do alot of drop back with tadpollys,hotntots and wigglewarts. Honestly I have caught most of my fish over the years using the motor to hold steady in the river and just work the boat side to side and move up after you work an area with hotntots and tadpollys. Have your anchor ready' if you do hit a fish' you can drop anchor and fight the fish without having to worry about contorlling the boat. Orange and gold is your best bet on the kazoo along with black and red. and or any combo with orange or red. Darker is better then lighter most days depending on the clairity of the the water. I fish 4 rods off of my 18 ' john boat not because I cant fish more but I have better hook to catch ratios as you dont have time to move a bunch of gear on the river once you hook up. I fish the front two rods closer to the boat and the back two futher back with about 10' of seperation between luhrs. and about 6' apart with my adjustable rod holders inside rod tip to outside rod tip. fish the front and back edges of the deep holds and look for the breaks on the front and back side of bends in the river. this is were fish like to hang out. Might see me out on sunday afternoon weather providing and if I get all of my duck hunting gear off of the boat and all the fishing gear back on. If your going to fish from shore then spawn is your best bet find bends in the river and cast out up current and let the spawn work down river into the hole and let is sit. drop it back after a few and work it up slow.

[DIRTY DOG]

Yup joe said it the way it is , this is also how i did it when i fished the river more.

[2UNREEL]

Thanks for the help guys, I am burning to catch a winter steelhead. (something I have wanted to do for a few years)I just need get off my lazy bum this winter and give it a try. I have tried the Kalamazoo in the past but I was probably more part of the scenery than a fisherman enjoying being outside in the winter with a fishing rod in hand.

[Treblemaker]

Think small, try 2-3 salmon egg spawn bags when rivers are cold, clear, and low.

[silver one]

Think small, try 2-3 salmon egg spawn bags when rivers are cold, clear, and low.

Good point. alot of times I will throw a yarn egg with my fly rod tipped with a single real egg. has been pretty effective over the years.

[Far Beyond Driven]

You need three lures on the 'Zoo:

1/4 ounce hot and tots in firetiger, blue pirate, and gold black back red lip.

Run the blue pirate in the fall / winter, the fire tiger as it warms up, and the gold any time you're on the river.

Set the plugs to run within a foot of the bottom. This will be learned by trial and error.

Chug upstream as painfully slowly as you can. As mentioned above, cover the whole river. The little buggers can be anywhere. Last trip we pulled one out from a log jam on a flat, one in the middle of a 12' run, and one right up against the bank on the outside of a bend in about 3' of water on a sand flat with no structure.

For every 10 times a rod dips, 9 of them will be logs. You will lose lures.

And that 10th time, well, game on.

I'll be out tomorrow hoping that the fair weather crowds that popped up last weekend are back hiding under the covers. Got about 4 more weekends before the aluminum hatch shows up and it's time to give up. Haven't seen a boat / snowmobile / hunter / truck / any body on my last three trips, and that's why I'm out there.

[Far Beyond Driven]

Saw one other boat on the river. 1 eagle, 2 confused bluebirds.

Had to work for it but pulled a small hen off the head of a flat on a blue hot and tot 40' out on the down rod. Line froze on the reel and pulled her in hand over hand. Never hit 15 on Saturday.

At least I didn't have to spud my frozen crappie out of the ice before going home like my buddy did.

[N II Deep]

Saw one other boat on the river. 1 eagle, 2 confused bluebirds.

Had to work for it but pulled a small hen off the head of a flat on a blue hot and tot 40' out on the down rod. Line froze on the reel and pulled her in hand over hand. Never hit 15 on Saturday.

At least I didn't have to spud my frozen crappie out of the ice before going home like my buddy did.

Now thats hard core - " I Really need to get out of the house " Stuff.

it was cold enought that I left a couple of beers outside of the garage door and it split the cans open.

[silver one]

Now thats hard core - " I Really need to get out of the house " Stuff.

it was cold enought that I left a couple of beers outside of the garage door and it split the cans open.

Thats alcohol abuse.

[Far Beyond Driven]

Nah, took my birthday off a couple years ago and hit the Muskegon. It was -20 on the Jeep thermometer when we launched. We decided if the motor would turn over we'd head out.

Third pull. #@$@

That lasted about half an hour if that. We got a good breakfast, headed to the K-zoo. It was 6. If you lifted a lure out of the water, the hooks froze to it and it would not run right. The river froze while we were on it - it was like trolling through a slurpie.

And we went 1/1 with a big steelie. We had to quit when the boat had so much slush frozen to it that it would not handle any more. We netted our fish and laid it on the floor and it promtly froze there, which was kind of hard to work around.

Oddly enough, my crew that day doesn't fish with me much any more. Maybe the site of a boat on the trailer, with the tires squashed way down and the axle bending due to the ice all around the hull, net handle sticking out waiting to lance oncoming traffic had something to do with it.

[mattmishler]

and i thought i was hardcore when i run out of gas for my mr heater and have to fish with the shante temp below 55 lol

[2UNREEL]

Nah, took my birthday off a couple years ago and hit the Muskegon. It was -20 on the Jeep thermometer when we launched. We decided if the motor would turn over we'd head out.

Third pull. #@$@

That lasted about half an hour if that. We got a good breakfast, headed to the K-zoo. It was 6. If you lifted a lure out of the water, the hooks froze to it and it would not run right. The river froze while we were on it - it was like trolling through a slurpie.

And we went 1/1 with a big steelie. We had to quit when the boat had so much slush frozen to it that it would not handle any more. We netted our fish and laid it on the floor and it promtly froze there, which was kind of hard to work around.

Oddly enough, my crew that day doesn't fish with me much any more. Maybe the site of a boat on the trailer, with the tires squashed way down and the axle bending due to the ice all around the hull, net handle sticking out waiting to lance oncoming traffic had something to do with it.

great story