DaveD,

If you're going on the trip with guys who fly fish, then you'll have a better trip if you do the same. Fishing flies and gear together, while feasible, isn't the best mix. Some anglers like to follow flies fished from floating lines with drift gear to see if less aggresive fish will hit something served closer to the river bottom. Talk to your friends.

I haven't ever tried casting a PW on a fly rod, and I think there might be problems keeping a plastic worm on the hook or harness due to the forces of fly casting. As mentioned in some other posts, a good and effective alternative - and I have no idea if steelhead actually have any differential preference - is to tie or buy some pink marabou or pink bunny leech flies.

It's a good idea to have some pink or bright color flies in your box, but I've always been partial to dark colors for the fall steelhead. "Any fly is good, as long as it's black," is a good place to begin. Add some purple, blue, and maroon and you should be set. Regardless, DO HAVE a few Spade flies in sizes 4, 6, and 8, with 6 being the "go-to" fly. BC steelhead really like it.

While gear rods certainly work in BC, they are by no means necessary. I've never taken a gear rod to BC. I knew I didn't need one, and I was right.

CraigO,

It shouldn't be about looking down. Whatever catches fish is cool for some, but not for others. For example, dynamite and gill nets catch fish, but I don't think those are cool ways to catch fish like steelhead. It's about setting personal limits. I know I can catch more steelhead by using drift gear and bait, and probably catch more by nymphing flies than by swinging. I swing flies because doing it the easy way doesn't deliver as much satisfaction as achieving success under the contraints of severe limitations. By way of analogy, some folks take adequate satisfaction in shooting a deer or elk from a great distance with a high powered rifle and powerful telescopic sight. Others find greater satisfaction by limiting themselves to a bow and arrow. Some of those decide that compound bows are "too easy" and limit themselves further with recurve or traditional long bows. Swinging flies from a floating line is like hunting with a long bow. Adding a sink tip line is like using a recurve. Does that help?

Sg