I got carried away answering jig tech Q's on Marty's BB, so I will use the post here also for the benefit of jig novices to use. ...

Montana Slim, this is Montana Not So Slim - aka RT here - (Missoula native). You'll love floatfishing jigs! Just don't do it like Os does - he lays his jig on top of a piece of cedar shingle and let's it float down the river and wonders why the fish won't take it. Since it's now for summer steelhead your tactics should change along with the changing water conditions. In some of the bigger rivers with cold snowmelt feed you should still use winter techs - 1/4 oz. jigs with scent or small piece of bait if allowed; and where needed, weight augmented 30+ inches up by a swivel for that big water (Oregon's Deschutes and Oly Pen's Hoh are examples). Also fish the seams along side the main current a little more and put your jig down deep because they won't move off bottom as much when the water is real cold. When the water comes down and warms a bit the more active fish will sit out in the main current more often and also come up off bottom a few feet more often to take a jig; as well as taking them fished near bottom. Try 1/8 oz. rabbit fur jigs in addtion to the marabou feathered ones. That rabbit fur looks great in the water and trailing scents from the jighead area won't affect the action as it can on marabou - although in my personal experiences small amounts of it (used where legal) don't put too much of a damper on the feathers. The lighter 1/16 oz. jigs are good in real low water conditions in medium to smaller rivers. Even then don't be without some 1/4 oz. versions when the water is low because there will be situations when that will help you get it down deeply and quickly enough before it leaves a good whitewater pocket slot. And that's where many of the summer steelhead will lay. Of course casting further upstream, if it's possible, will give a 1/8 oz. version more time to get deep enough. When fishing the faster upper end riffle covered water I suggest using a little longer distance from float to jig than the depth would indicate because in that fast water it doesn't hang straight down for much of the drift. If the float indicates it is dragging bottom too much then shorten your leader a bit. But jigs don't necessarily have to be floated above the fish to get hookups. In fact I've just driftfished them without floats in faster water with it ticking bottom every few feet and done well. This will take a toll on the head paint, which isn't too big of a deal, and you also need to check your hook point for re-sharpening more often. First Cast Jigs, www.firstcastjigs.com , makes them with chrome and brass jigheads that won't chip. In some places where the water is deep along a rock wall and you are able to access right above the water (you'll find this in many places - just don't fall in ) you can cast the jig w/o a float a little upstream and drift it deep just above the fish's eye level - try a rythmic short rodtip up and down jigging motion to help draw strikes. As for a general rule of thumb for techs, cover all good looking holding water, including the tailouts in dim light, first with the jig up off bottom a ways then keep fishing it deeper and changing patterns until you get hookups. As bright sun hits clear water concentrate more on the upper whitewater pockets and real riffle covered runs. Try to keep it holding a little longer in the deeper seams created by boulders in those type holding areas by keeping your rodtip high and the muscilin coated mainline off the water. Also try the very deepest water that still has a decent current line thru it. Fish the jig near bottom and very gently mend your mainline (picking up the line with your rodtip and rolling an upcurrent curve into it as it lays back onto the water) - this will keep the current from grabbing a downcurrent line belly and dragging the jig thru too fast. ALWAYS watch your float! If it gets pulled under the water or just stops or goes sideways to the current set the hook quickly with a strong 'arc set', while reeling in any slack as fast as you can. Once you get a good feel for line control to minimize the line slack while still getting a good natural float drift (including as you let out line to extend the drift), keep your rodtip somewhat pointed toward the float for quicker hook sets. If you see some nibble bites that aren't pulling the float under they are usually from smaller fish - but sometimes the big guys do that rather than just grab or hit them, so try a quick but smooth short rodtip lift to see if a big one is mouthing your jig. If one is that will "poke" the hookpoint in enough to feel immediate head shakes and then pop it another wristsnap hookset instantly. Fish on! .... These are just the basics. There are a myriad a little intracacies, including: color/pattern selection (start white a pink/white combo, then red and/or black), presentation variation, and using smaller narrow 'profile cut' bait pieces to add on the hook that will increase your catch rate (try narrow profile cutting crawfish tail to skew onto the hook for summers - the slim profile won't stay on the hook quite as long but it doesn't dampen the feather action as much as 'chunks' of bait). A little trick I try is when the float eddy's just out of the current, in still deep enough water that the jig is off bottom, I twitch my stealthy float which imparts an enticing action to your jig that can help draw strikes. Read what you can find on the subject and use the search feature here and on other NW fishing website BB's to access jig tech threads that will speed up your learning curve. ... It's productive and a blast to do! Then ...

... try following the jigs with pink rubber worms and various baits (such as a nightcrawler, peeled crawfish tail, live pinched off sandshrimp tail, and even small egg clusters) on a jighead hook. FCJ makes great ones with chrome and brass heads for that use. Fish them with the above mentioned techs and you will do very well!

RT

RT thanks for the info.I am inspired by the detail of your helping hints. Hope to try on Summer runs soon.

-rbf