Some folks have complained that sleds turn steelhead off the bite. If that is true, then how do you explain Blue Creek?

Just curious...

SA

I think exactly the opposite. I've found the steelhead bite just fine after a boat goes through. Got one today about 5 minutes after a boat went by on plane.

Explaining Blue Creek is simple..................
F__L___O___SS___I___N___G_________!

I think the boat going through can take a steelhead that was holding behind a rock and get em to adjust where they're sitting. Kinda pizz them off a little in the process and turn the bite on. But that's just my .02 worth.

Oh please!! Anyone who fishes steelies, anyways hatchery fish, knows a boat does little. If anything moves them into a different slot to BITE. If the fish are there then they will bite. Just keep throwing.

I have hooked numerous steelies right after a sled has passed through, dont really know what it is if its stirring them up or what but it seems to cause a fierce strike..at least some of the time


P.S. 500 POST !!!! Yes!

no, they just turn all the fishermen in the vicinity off

Fishing this summer below Blue Creek it seemed the boats would turn the fish off. We were glo balling and killing the fish until the sun came up and the boats came out, then the bite died. Could have been the sun, could have been the boats, not sure, but it sure was strange. And we were only using 3 to 4 ft leaders.

Fishing this summer below Blue Creek it seemed the boats would turn the fish off. We were glo balling and killing the fish until the sun came up and the boats came out, then the bite died. Could have been the sun, could have been the boats, not sure, but it sure was strange. And we were only using 3 to 4 ft leaders.

Sleds: I hate-em but I still want one. Explain that.

Sol_on_the_Duc........I second that one. Hate em, but want one!

YES definetly! especially in low water during the summer... why is it the sleds on the North Lewis catch all their fish early in the morning??

I am sorry but the fish absolutely scatter when i go even near them with my drifter and they NEVER bite once they have seen the boat i mean NEVER! scared fish do not bite!!

Rob, sure they scatter, but especially when the light isn't glaring, I think they'll bite fairly soon. Jim Teeny has done this for years, move a fish witha rock or a boat, and then catch it .

In clear water, yeah, the fish are spooky to any thing. Though I've caught more than a few within fifteen feet of the drift boat in gin clear water. In winter water, though, I think they get over it pretty quick.

It was either Datus Proper or Sawyer who had some observations to the effect that a trout forgets anything that has happened more than about 7 minutes ago. They fairly quickly accept any non changing feature of their environment, including a boat, noise from a trolling motor, or a pair of legs as part of their environment. This is how blue herons make their living.

Anyway, that's my theory.

Theres guys in my neck of the woods that will go run over a hole with their big motor if the springers arent biting and the get fish on it almost always on their second pass.

If ever there were a more difficult way to catch a steelhead it would IMHO be with a fly rod. But that's just me and I only hold that belief for steelhead. That said I have found steelhead holding with tight lips where you could see them. Cast a fly and mend right into the 'feeding line' and the fish would just move slightly to the side of the offering. Rest the hole a half hour, (about the time it takes to drink a beer!). Now ROCK the hole above and the side of the fish. Immediately after you ROCK the hole cast and do exatly what you did before and more often than not you'll hook a steelhead on the first drift through. I've done it, it has worked for me so I'm pretty sure the sled does the same thing.

Additionally I've run my sled up and down a hole where we just had a bite and pulled as many as three fish out on the next run through, not five minutes after we ran right by them.

I third hate'em but want one!

I 4th hate-em and won't own one in Washington, however I won't turn down a ride in one.

I'm kind of a hypocrite because in the summers, I use a sled in Alaska, but I balance that out with a drift boat. I think therefore I'm qualified to criticize. Even owning a sled doesn't change my opinion on them. I can't stand them and the people around me in them, but they're effective and in certain situations, a necessity (or maybe just a convenience)

Love 'em. Wish I had bought one sooner! After waiting 10 years, putting kids and my wife through school, I finally bought one two weeks ago.

BTW - Thanks to Steve and Brian at Three Rivers for making my dream come true. They did an awesome job putting it together. I'd recommend them to anyone looking to buy.

Captain

"rocking" pools, running over pools intentionally with the sled to stir fish up,, this is exactly why i hate fishing around other people..

Lots of guys rock the pools to get the chinook stirred up here on the Washougal, why??? because moving fish are easier to snag!!

If the fish aren't biting it's for a reason and you should leave them the hell alone!!!!