I've currently been drifting the Santiam system when ever possible. Today we only landed one steelhead. I have not fished this river much in the spring although quite often later than June. I was wondering how others are doing and some possible tactics to try out.

I have been having good luck on the Santiam catching springers below Mehama. I have been using a diver with squid and a little bit of yellow yarn. The squid seems to be really productive this time of year and I have not had a problem getting my clients fish. If that doesn't work try back bouncing the deaper holes with a baseball sized glob of eggs and about six feet of leader, a large flame spin n glo works good with this set up in as it is very dark in these deeper salmon holes and the added color and movement seem to help. We clubbed four fish last week using these methods with one in the thirty pound range. The squid really seems to work.

Good Luck.

What kind of squid and color have you been using to be successful?

I have been using the dark green or green large 4 inch hoochies with some success, but find that rigging a small real squid with double hooks, the front one on a slider, to be a far more effective method. Again, adding a big spin n glo can also help.

Hope this helps. Let me know how this works for you.