All I can say is WOW!!!
Category Archives: Steelhead
Ol’ Garbage Gut: The Hungriest Summer Steelhead in the World!!
Catch More Steelhead with “Sploosh Balls”
Everybody’s first-ever reaction to seeing a “sploosh ball” is pretty much the same. Something like…
What the $#&% is that?? Or perhaps: You’re frigging kidding me…this is a joke, right?
It’s easy to understand, too, considering these black sinker balls that have taken the side-drifting world by storm look like they’re better suited for back-bouncing at first glance. Because they’re made of plastic, the balls are much larger than other drift weights and a ½ ouncer looks like it should weigh about 4 or 6 ounces. And the big ‘ol 1-ounce jobbies wouldn’t look too out of place being loaded into a cannon. When rigged up on typical side-drifting gear, these jumbo plastic weights look downright ridiculous. And the “splooosh” sound they make when they hit the river is just plain goofy. The whole thing seems so stinkin’ silly…
That is until fish them. Pretty quickly you’ll begin to see the light. Sploosh balls have several key attributes that make them very attractive to side-drifters. Here’s a look…… Continue Reading
How to make Spawn Sacks for Steelhead
Winter steelhead season is upon us and that means it’s time to bust out the eggs!
Regardless of the watershed you’re on, drifting eggs is very hard to beat for winter-run fish. But eggs aren’t without their inherent problems: Roe is a delicate bait and the constant casting and drifting in fast current and bouncing off rocks means your offering takes a beating. Depending on your cure and the water you’re fishing, a cluster of roe may last only one to five casts.
What that means is you’re going to spend a lot of time re-baiting. And when you consider the fact that steelhead are often referred to as the “fish of a thousand casts,” time spent out of the water is time wasted. So, what’s the answer?
Spawn Sacks, of course!
Boat Plunk for High Water Steelhead
With all the crazy rain we’ve had up and down the West Coast lately, I figured it is probably time to talk plunking.
But plunking for steelhead is basically a glorified form of catfishing, right?
Big rod? Check! Forked stick? Check! Bell? Check! Truck? Check! Beer? Check!
Okay, so plunking may not be as technically demanding as casting a dry line 100 feet or deciphering the subtle differences between a rock tap and a bite while side-drifting, but make no mistake about it, this is one deadly technique – particularly in high water.
And again, with plenty of high watwr to go around at the moment, let’s take a closer look at the nuts and bolts of plunking – only this time, from a slightly different angle. While the majority of plunking takes place from shore, there are some merits to doing it from a boat (“blunking?”…Sorry!). … Continue Reading
How to Cure Roe the Easy Way
Okay, so curing roe is a bit of a mystery to many anglers. I feel your pain…I struggled with it for years and ruined many a good skein in the old days. Eggs that turned out rock hard or too juicy…or both at the same time…I’ve done it all!
Luckily, you don’t have to trash a bunch of eggs these days thanks to the wizardry of the mad scientists at Atlas-Mikes. Their new Brite & Tight Cluster-Skein liquid egg cure is as easy as it gets! In a nutshell, you just marinate your roe in the liquid and it does all the work from there! Now more of that endless sprinkle-sprinkle-sprinkle, make sure you get the cure into all the folds, and then sprinkle so more. This cure is super easy and firms/dyes your eggs and adds scent. Brite & Tight is Oregon legal, too, because it is sulfite free.
Here’s a quick how-to pictorial on curing eggs with this stuff…… Continue Reading
The Basics: Fishing Floats for Salmon & Steelhead
Here’s a little video I shot to kinda get you started understanding how float fishing for salmon & steelhead works…
Plugging for Steelhead 101
Plugging for steelies...the lost art???
There’s no denying that drifting eggs will almost always produce more steelhead than any other method, but pulling plugs does have its moments. They can be a real day saver in high, off-colored conditions but also often yield spectacular results when things are low and clear as well. In tight quarters, you can sometimes put a plug into a spot that no bait drifter could reach – and, generally speaking, plugs also give you your best shot at a really, really big fish. In addition, plugging is a cool way to get people who maybe can’t wade or cast all that well — kids or older folks — into some steelies.
But all of that’s really just a bonus. … Continue Reading
How to tie Yarnies (yarn balls) for Steelhead
Lately, my wife's been saying maybe I should have married yarn instead of her
For step by step directions, read on…… Continue Reading