It seems like most guys pull plugs with the rods pointed mostly out the front of the boat tight together rather than the sides, even on bigger water. I’ve often wondered why this is.

Conditions dictate this. Usually I have the rods pointed with about a 40 degree angle or less apart, but if the holding water is a broad deep gravel run, I'll spread them a little farther apart. If the holding water is a slot, I put them closer together. I like the rods with very little elevation angle because that lets the plugs work better. I want the bills to catch the current most efficiently. There's a lot to talk about the art of pulling plugs (from a drift boat) and my comment here only scratches the surface of a broad discussion. There's a lot I haven't said here. Good luck. ( P.S. I don't have any favorite individual plugs because my best ones are living in log jams, or around stumps!. You have to fish 'em where the steelhead hold.)

Boy. Another blast from the past post. Haven't heard or seen much plugging for Steelhead any more. The bobbers have taken over. Only a few of us old guys either drift fish or plug for Steehead any more. Good to hear some conversation and that some still participate. It can be and is very affective if you can get some solitude from low holers.

I'm actually thinking of doing more plugging this year for coho. My kids are just barely old enough to catch salmon and I think I may have more luck doing that instead of casting.

I gave you my thoughts but I'll chime in because I'm curious to see what others have to say.

Spacing.... dictating by depth and size of water fishing

Angle.... lower lets them dive deeper. Lot of theories on hookup ratio on rod angle, rod action, line, drag tightness.

Where practical, I like the angle that imparts MAXIMUM load on the rod during the takedown BEFORE line slips from the reel. This helps to ensure the BEST stick rate and hook:land ratios.

In big water, that means LOW and to the SIDE.... side rodholders rotated one notch upstream from 90 degrees to the gunnel, rodtips low as in nearly touching the waterline.

Obviously, this does not work for center rods, nor is it effective when plugging a tight narrow slot. For these situations, one must compromise a bit and settle for less load to keep the gear in the zone and keep the gear reasonably close to the boat.... but it'll cost in terms of missed/unbuttoned strikes.

The WORST angle is straight downstream, low to the water. With almost ZERO load, may as well not even have a rod at the time of the strike.

Also less fatigue on the guy watching the rod tips if they are at a low angle and more or less in his line of sight.

I agree BUT IF ITS A SLOW DAY GETTING BITES, then the kids can get bored !!! Been there done that.....

Good luck......nothing like a short spinning rod, spinning reel, twitching jig, AND SOME WILLING BITING COHO....can be a lot of fun for everyone in the boat.

Good luck...

I should clarify: only a rookie would have their rod up high in the air. That’s a no-brainer as far as most of us are concerned. I figure the “strike radius” of a plug is pretty wide, and would prefer to have each one working it’s own circle with maybe a touch of overlap, but a lot of guys who have run more plugs than myself run them real close together. That’s the part I do not understand.

Probably trying to create the "wall" of death.

The idea of having them fairly close together is so as the plugs approach a Steelhead where it's laying, if it turns away to avoid one, the other plug is in it's face, aiding in a strike reaction. Also important to note is the distance out of each plug to be identical in length, side by side, next to each other for this to work. If the plugs are to far apart from each other, risk increases that the fish will not see the neighboring plug, reducing the aggressive reaction strike. I suppose this same theory can be applied to Salmon as well. These theories were practiced back in the 80's and 90's guides that I knew on the Forks rivers with successful results. Not many plug any more for Steelhead there, or anywhere for that matter, since bobbers have stolen the show. A fading art.

Yep 2019 steelhead are too smart for plugs. They only like the worm, 20 mm bead and $8 spoons.

Its not boring when you know what you are doing and doing it in the right places. I like a tight plug spread for steelhead because i like to plug oddball small spots that are to tight for a wide load.