Whatis the strangest thing that you have ever seen a hooked steelhead do? Just yesterday I had about 50 ft. of line out while running a diver bait combo in a drift boat on the Wilson river. I felt a tap tap like the diver was hitting bottom so I reeled up the line and could still feel the hum of the diver but all of the sudden I had all this slack like maybe I was hung up. It was then that I felt a 10 lb. winter hatchery steelhead had taken my eggs deep and away we went! He had swam almost all the way up to the boat after taking the bait! I have not use the diver/bait combo much so was very surprised by what the fish did.
NOTE* I wouldn't recommend using a diver and bait anywhere you might possibly hook a native fish that will be released. They tend to take these set-ups very deeply and often are bleeding. Marty Petersen who guides on the north Oregon coast stops using them around the first of the year which is early for nates on the coast but he is one of the most ethical guides I've ever fished with.

Well this fish wasn't hooked but it was amazing to see anyway. As I picked a backlash out just after making a cast, I looked down in the water near my feet and saw my drift gear bumping by in 12" of gin clear water. A mint brite steelhead was drifting backward with it. I got a great look at this fish sampling my corky and yarn about four times in a row. The hook didn't catch once. It simply sucked it in and out. Really cool to witness what must happen all the time.

Here's a few wierd ones.

I've had summer steelhead in tidewater literally beach themselves while chasing a bait just under the surface. The best part of that one is you know the next cast your going to get the rod ripped out of your hand..

I had a summer run jump along the edge of the river and land on top of a patch of vine maples that were laying about 3 feet above the waters surface. The fish landed on them and just layed there (while it seemed like eternity) it was about 8 seconds and then flip around a couple of times and fall through the mess of branches and break me off, it was a funny one.

Another good one was when we were boondogging summer runs a couple years back and I hooked a 15 pounder that ran straight at us and literally jumped into the boat on its first run, talk about tearing the inside of the boat apart...

Just recently this year I was bobberfishing eggs for silvers and had a summer run eat my eggs then before I could set the hook, it came up and ate my bobber off the surface also. That was some wierd sh**. I didn't know when I should set the hook.

On two seperate occasions I've seen summerruns eat two offering at once, tag team at it's best... "You fight him, no you fight him"...

About 7 years ago we hooked the same native winter steelhead on back to back casts. I hooked it first, landed it, took and a picture and released it. Then james made the next cast and hooked the same fish literally a minute later, landed it took and took a picture of both hooks in its mouth side by each. Needless to say it didn't fight that well the second time, I wish they all were that aggressive but with that I'm sure steelhead would be extinct by now...
Keith

[ 11-28-2001: Message edited by: stlhdr1 ]

I was plunking the Green River with a spin-n-glo/sandshrimp combo when I got a violent takedown and then nothing. I waited a couple of minutes and decided to reel in thinking my bait got stolen. I reeled in five feet of line and stopped to pick a weed off my mainline. Then I started reeling in again and got slammed while the pyramid sinker was slowly ticking the bottom. Ever since, I always slow-retrieve my rig in when checking bait or after I get nibbled.

I was on the oars when this happened to Stew on the Wilson yesterday. I've seen this happen a lot of times - where a fish takes the bait with forward momentum and slacks the line. I was backrowing Stew's Hot N Tot with eggs rig right in close along overhanging small branches. When it realized something was pulling on him he came jumping 4 ft. into the air right beside the boat. It almost ran the line over a branch, which I've seen before also. Nice 10 or 11 lb. mint bright brat. We got into several grey 'nooks too - not worth keeping. ...

One time I was anchored in tidewater eating my lunch while my bobber and eggs sat in the slack hole. My rod was in the holder and I didn't see the boober go under, then the rod tip buries in the water. Threw my sandwich down and started fighting the chrome 'nook and it starts jumping right by the boat and my buddy netted it on the next jump - to the applause of a bunch of fishermen there. The length of time from taking a bite out of my sandwich to thrashing king in the bottom of the boat was about 45 seconds! Nice way to interupt lunch.

Boober?

Not personally but my kids were.

I've twice had a winter steelhead grab my jig while I was retrieving it at full speed. Talk about a strike!

I've caught the same summer run on two consecutive casts. It was flopping so much the first time that I just cut the leader and let it go. Tied on a new rig, took a cast, fish on. I've got pictures with two hooks in the fish, one in each corner of the jaw.

I was fighting a summer run on the Stilly, hooked on a spinner, and had it just about tuckered out, with the spinner blade lazily flopping in front of it. Out of the depths another summer run ran up and nailed it, taking the spinner out of its mouth and getting hooked. I played the second one out and landed a bright hatchery fish. A minute later I noticed the first one on its side washed up almost completely out of the water right beside me, apparently played out and stunned by the hit the other fish gave it.

A two fish limit of chrome summer runs in one cast!

I've had a few close calls with hooked fish ramming the boat, but one actually knocked itself silly, making a pretty easy net job, not to mention a loud "BONK!" on the side of the boat.

Fish on..

Todd.

Night fishing for steelhead at drano a few years back. I was playing a particularly scrappy fish and he took off ripping across the surface right into the boat anchored next to us. Of course it was pitch black except for our small lantern. The other boat didn't have their light on. Anyway, the fish hit it full force with a LOUD thud against the aluminum. It knocked itself out, and scared the sh!t out of the guys in that boat. I cranked the fish in and it laid there not moving at all.

I was fishing a grays harbor trib with K-fish on anchor. Up river from me was the always smiling Hairball. After almost a full day of bangin' fish side by side this time he was anchored above me by maybe 100 yards. He had just hooked a big bright coho of at least 16lbs. The fished broke him off and continued jumping straight towards our boat. He missed actually jumping in the boat by inches but he hit so hard I thought the boat might be dented. Also, I've seen two steelhead actually fight for the right to hit a spoon, pretty cool to see. Besides that here is a trick on what not to do, one day on the Bama for springers we lost 9 fish in row. All of which had the rod just pegged! Talk about a rough day full of excuses!

One that boggles me is something I have seen happen with winter and summer fish in clear water where I have a decent view of my bait drifting by (straight eggs usually). I'll be casting, sometimes to spotted fish sometimes not, intently following the progress of my bait, tuned in to every tick of lead on the bottom, when all of a sudden the fish goes after the bait eating away with a cloud of milk going everywhere......and I don't feel a thing! No bump, no rubbery tug, no interuption of line speed.....nothing. I'm usually so stunned I forget to set the hook or set to late. This has happened more than once.

I have drift fished for over twenty years and use good equipment. I guess I'm pretty competent.....until this happens. I know what I am doing (or at least think I do) but when this happens it makes me wonder how many fish we all miss or don't feel when we CAN'T see what's going on in the water. I bet we'd be surprised.

two years ago i was fishing small creek next to my house when i cought a nice 15# native with a seal bite on his tail. Next day i got him two holes up the creek my buddy was with me. I told him about it we laughed. Two days latter my buddy catches him about a mile up the creek whats the chances of that..

Last March at Daybreak Park on the E. Lewis three fishermen caught the same native buck 20+ pounder (42 inches)three times over three days out of the same holding water. Obviously not very bright, and not much of a fighter after all that.

At the same place in January I also caught a nice bright 6 pound winter hatchery fish with 5 hooks in his mouth including mine. He was trailing line from three of the hooks. I removed all the hooks and released him. He deserved it.

Steelhead are not very bright.

[ 11-28-2001: Message edited by: Thumper ]

Fishing blue creek in the winter hit a fish at the tail of my drift thing came out of the water over one guy rod and down on my friends rod flat on it's side made so big a splash that it drwenched three poeple.
One time I was achored up let a friend of mine pull plugs down the slot while I ate lunch after he past me started fishing I got hit set the hook the frist time it jumped it came down right in my freids boat

The strangest thing I've seen a steelhead do is follow my sand shrimp to the surface of the water, in a back eddy, on the retreive and bite aggressively. Here's a picture of the 10 lb early summer hen.

http://netbyte.net/steelheadman/pages/fishing021_jpg.htm

Hey Thumper, the guy that caught the same native 3 times on the EF, was that Jim B.?

This happened to my friend while we were fishing. He was retrieving his eggs, they were coming in on the surface, and a silver came up and slammed them. It was like top water bass fishing except for silvers.

I was drift fishing from the bank and I saw my boot was untied, so I cast out and put my rod in a root ball and started to re tie my boot lace. I heard a fish jump and turned arround to see a steelhead going crazy, turned back and my rod is dancing, grabed the rod reeled up the slack and came up with a 13# summer run. After I let it go I said, see steelhead are not that hard to get

Probably a number of people witnessed this one several years ago on the gravel bar at the Cowlitz. A guy pulls up on the bar in his sled and is casting out near the transom. He hooks and lands a beautiful big hen when a buck just leaps into the boat following the hen. Dozens of witnesses...

Shawn Corrigan fishing with guide Rob down on the Kalama takes a lunch break along the shore. His girl friend Pat's rod had a shrimp hanging from a hot n' tot diver on the surface when a steelie hit the rig.