I started steelhead fishing about three years ago and I have been going fishing every chance I can get. I have fished several rivers including the Snoqualmie, Grand Rond, Vedder, and the green. I have spent most of my time on the green but with all of my effort I have only managed to hook one steelie on the green and shortly after I lost it. I know that steelhead fishing is not wam, bam, knock them dead kind of fishing but I would just like to catch one steelhead every once in a while. That would make my year. Since my main river is the green I was wondering if I was just fishing the wrong part of the river. I usually go to a few spots on the river about 1 1/2 miles down from flaming geyser park. Should I go up or down from there like into the park or above? I have never fished above the park and consequently I know of no good fishing spots.
I know it sounds selfish but all I want to do is catch one steelhead and then I will be happy. Any info on spots or technique would be great.

For me fishing hatchery Steelhead tends to be a pain in the butt. Much more time spent trying to hook fish then when I fish for natives. Maybe that's because our plants up here don't compare to some of the plants around the Olympia area and the Pennisula. When I use to live down that way I use to catch about the same amount hatchery or native. Once the natives start to show I caught way, way more up here for much less time spent on the river.

King Killer...

I feel your pain brother!

Spent every available waking moment fishing the Skagit this year, including all day yesterday in a heavy snow.

Steelhead - 1000
Mike - -0- Bupkis, nada, nuthin, zip, zero

Consider all the time we have had to spend in natures grandeur...even though I only caught one 18" Dolly yesterday it was worth every second of the time it took.

In business, persistence and good will
are the two things the competition can never undersell or destroy. Our persistence will pay off someday with a nice catch...and for good will I have met many nice folks, some very knowledgeable about this iron-headed water rocket were trying to entice onto our lines.

I have faith that if we keep casting, learning, they will come.

6"+ of snow on the ground here this morning...think I'll just watch the river out the windows with a hot cup of coffee and read the book on steelheading my wife bought me for Christmas.

Mike

FYI Take it from someone who went thru it many years ago. You will not be satisfied after you land your first fish! It will become a craving which will only be satisfied by another and another and another! RUN WHILE YOU STILL CAN! Otherwise welcome to the disease!

"I know it sounds selfish but all I want to do is catch one steelhead and then I will be happy." (KingKiller quote on 12/27/03)

UH HUH.....you bet! Anybody buying this? (j/k)

Hey King Killer, take it easy on yourself. This whole steelheading addiction thing is way overblown. I steelhead 3 times a year(see my posted thread a few days ago regarding New Years Eve tradition) and I never expect to catch a steelhead. Don't get me wrong, I want to catch one, but I don't expect to. I fish a lot and use to write articles for some magazines. I fish for many species throughout the year, but the steelhead fever thing never really hit me. It's basically because I like to CATCH fish! Time spent standing in the cold rain for hours and days with not even a bump is not time well spent. I caught one the other day(one of my 3 steelheading days of the year) on the Sky booning. From the time the fish picked up the bait to the net was about 30 seconds, whoop-te-do. No ass-cracking hit, no need to adjust the drag, no leaps, no sore arm. Six hours for one 30 second fish. I've caught(and released) 14 coho in one day and each one just about tore the rod out of my hand when they hit. Long fights, big leaps, reel singing, sore arm, big smiles, good day.

Steelhead have the mystique because there aren't many of them. To catch steelhead is all about location. Fish over fish. Don't get down on yourself when there is probably only a few fish in a several mile stretch of river and you can't catch one. Ever see pictures of a 10 year old girl in fishing newspapers or magazines holding her "first steelhead"? Is she a better rod than you? No. She fished over fish that day, probably with a guide. If you want to increase your odds on catching a steelhead, go to the Olympic peninsula or the Cowlitz, hire a good guide and fish over fish. If you want to be happy, realize what steelheading is and get over it. Do you have kids? Take your son or daughter down to the river and catch a dozen whitefish. If you want to be happy, wait until you see the smile on their face when they reel one in.

I love all fishing, including steelheading, but keep happiness in perspective. Good luck!

He, he ...

The most exciting fishing trip of my life was Lake Roosevelt last August. We were camped with 4 other families. I had brought a couple dozen worms and 2 cheap rods/reels just in case the kids wanted to fish. Well, the kids started catching 6-10" perch, and you never saw a more excited bunch of kids. They ended up catching maybe 50 fish, and only stopped because we ran out of worms. The kids were SOOOOO pleased.

Regards.

Finegrain
Woodinville

well, i hope the the following advice helps, these are some rules of thumb that have helped me catch steel head: before i make my first cast I walk the river looking for:

1. 3' to 9' of water that is moving at the speed of a brisk walk
2. i like to fish inside corners of the river & the seams between and beside the riffles & behind any Vee in the water or in the middle of slow roils caused by rocks or changes in the ground under the water and behind any rocks you see in the water
4. i use the least amount of weight that i can & still feel the lead peeping along the bottom
5. i use smaller baits, smallest corkies w/dime size eggs
6. if the river is rising, i stay home
7. lastly, my favorite steel head method is jig & bobber

KK,

I feel you. I fished for steelhead on and off for 15 years before I ever got one - before I could even swear I got a bite. This period included years when I wouldn't even go steelhead fishing because I was convinced it was a futile endeavor. Here's a typical example - a buddy takes me to a local river that's got a "run" going. We get there in the dark, it's freezing. About an hour after sunrise, my buddy, standing 30 feet up from me, hooks and lands one. He moves on up the river and I move up behind him. Another guy arrives about 20 minutes later and takes up station exactly where I had spent the last two hours. On about his third cast, he hooks up and lands a fish. Two things changed my luck.

First, as mentioned, hire a guide. Let the guide worry about reading the water and what will work. Observe, listen and learn a little from a pro. It's not magic. You will catch fish. After that first fish, it seems to get way easier. Really, once you get the hang of it, you'll probably come to consider that a steelhead is one of the easiest fish to catch.

Second, after some success with a guide, apply what you've learned to your home river. Learn your home river. Learn everything there is to know about it. Learn when the fish will be coming and learn where they are likely to be holding in all water conditions. Take one stretch of that river and learn it in minute detail. Don't wait for good reports, go fishing. Once you have figured out a stretch of river, you'll find that the sweet spots consistently produce fish and different spots are consistent in various water conditions. Once you do this, you'll progress from counting years per fish to counting fish per year and then to fish per trip.

Good luck!

Tad,
Well said.

KK, My first steelhead ever come out of the Green, 1/2 mile down from the Guyser Park. 15 years to get that first fish. And most of that time was spent on the Green. Long cold days, people getting fish, getting the leval wind down, hanging my head like a dog every day. Just to do it agane. After a wile it became a point of pride. No fish in the world can be as smart as Iam. Found out the fish are not smart I was dumb. Thair world not yours. ( This is the hard part) What I did was get someone that was a good fisherman and went out with them. After about 3 trips' it come togather. Pick your part of the river, 1 or 2 miles. And get to know it. High water, summer water, every rock, tree, sweeper, hole, slick. See a person get a fish. Put it in the brain bank. You see a person get a fish out if the same place more then one time. Well you just found a holding spot. Could be thair one year, could be 10. [Rivers change all the time] But what you have now is a super duper secret spot. You will be on the river, 5 people hit the your spot zero. You know the sweet spot, thay walk, you step in, wamb, fish on. KNOW YOUR RIVER. Other than that! Books get every one you can get and read about it. If you get one thing out of it, you did good. Les Davis has a couple, good place to start. Give me a mail I will talk to ya, if I think you are cool, I will see if I can find a place for you on the boat one day this year. kdtrebor@hotmail.com

You think Steelheading is frustrating........try playing golf! The area you are fishing is good but I would go into the park also. There's some good water in there.