Ive gotten a good handle on what jigs steelhead like in water with good visibility. But I don't do as well with jigs when the water has a lot of color to it. That includes using bright colors and black with bright color combos fished a foot or so from the bottom.

What are some of the patterns that I haven't discovered that actually catch steelhead when the water is up and colored say with about a couple feet of visibility? How about depth and scents?

Thanx for any tips.

While I know some will be quick to argue with me, I would say that jigs are NOT my favorite choice for low viz situations. I usually switch to something else whenever viz is less than 2 feet. No doubt a bit of bait on the jig will help as will scent that can be applied without gumming up the fibers. And a full bodied dark colored jig will help. But in my mind jigs are not a low viz lure.

pink worm dude

I use jigs quite a bit. During bad water conditions, one of the go to jigs is the nightmare jig. White head, red body, black tail. In bad water conditions though I use materials that will not waver much in sillouette. I use chenille bodies and stiff yarn tails to cast a good silloutte for the fish to see. I use Smelly Jelly sand shrimp on the heads or the yarn tail. Sometimes the special mixture (anise/shrimp) works well too.

~steelymann~

I agree with Dave that a jig is probably not your best choice in lo-vis water. If I am fishing a jig in those condition I'll go with a Cerise/Chart. with a glow head and increase the profile of the jig by adding a piece (or a whole if small) sand shrimp. Fish the slower seams where the fish have a chance to see the jig.

I agree that in low vis, jigs are not a good choice. (Consider that Dave Vedder wrote the book on jig fishing....literally!) I personally either wait and fish another day, or throw a big silver spinner (#5 or 6 with heavy brass body) to the slower seams above the tailouts. If the water vis is 3-4 feet, I'll use a cerice and black 1/4 ounce jig as my first choice.