Visions of beautifully-colored brown trout fill anglers’ dreams all summer.
The thought of these fat, gorgeous fish attacking every fly in sight is something folks from all over the country share in. From Montana to New York trout anglers all know the allure of fall fishing for browns. Autumn weekends are often kept clear of other duties so we can pursue these fish with heavy streamers or egg patterns. An overlooked time of year, which can be equally if not more productive, is the pre-spawning period of September and early October.
There’s a prevailing sentiment in fly fishing that the spawning seasons are the best time to throw big streamers. While that’s certainly a good time to do it, the pre-spawn can also yield extremely productive streamer fishing. Browns can sense the change in season coming and will start attacking streamers the minute it happens. That season change starts much earlier than the spawn, so when low temperatures start to dip into the 50s it’s time to throw meat!
Aside from streamers, fishing eggs in the pre-spawn period can be an excellent tactic. Trout will key in on these protein-rich morsels all year long, and the first signs of brook or brown trout spawning will reinvigorate the instinct to gorge on eggs. If you aren’t fishing streamers, fish a brace of egg patterns through the deep troughs below riffles. That way you’ll be targeting fish that are actively feeding, but not those who might be spawning already.
Watching the trout activity can also go a long way in determining whether or not it’s in spawn mode or not. If the fish is clearly on a redd, or paired up with another, just leave it be. The continuation of the species is far more important than us catching the fish, and by extension disrupting the spawning dance. However, a fish that is downstream from spawners or behaving normally is fair game!
Those browns that are posted up behind other spawning fish are there to actively feed on the eggs and bugs kicked up from the gravel. When there are spawners present, but browns are still mostly in the pre-spawn, spend the day walking and looking for these situations. Fish holding behind spawners will be aggressive and actively move away from their holding lie to run down a fly. Some of the largest browns caught each season are like this!
Don’t wait until mid-October to get your fix of brown trout. Get out there with the very first hint of fall and you’ll be surprised by the results! Look for fish that are holding behind spawners and come ready with a full arsenal of eggs and streamers. Do this, and by the time everyone else gets around to targeting big browns you’ll have weeks of fishing in the rearview mirror already!
When the leaves start to tint with orange and yellow and the breeze turns crisp, anglers become obsessed with the pursuit of steelhead.
In Pennsylvania, the steelhead run peaks around Thanksgiving, and in Ohio it’s even later, coming after the New Year’s holiday. The first signs of these fish come much sooner, however! These behemoths from the depths of the Great Lakes start to show themselves in late September, and for many the urge to go after these fish is unbearable. Unfortunately, anglers that target steelhead in these early months often end up disappointed and frustrated!
Go Early
One of the most challenging aspects of early season steelheading is the water conditions. Streams are often extremely low and clear throughout September and October. This makes the fish easy to spot, but incredibly wary. A key to finding success in this early season is to go early. Experienced steelheaders will find that most of their success comes in the pre-dawn light when the fish briefly let their guard down.
Get Walkin’!
Another difficult part of early season steelheading is the number of fish in the tributaries. With each rain, more and more fish enter the waterways. The trouble is that in September and October there might only be one or two rain events that will bring in a run. This results in few fish being in the streams, and those that are in will be located in the lower portions of the drainages close to the lake. That means anglers have to walk to find fish, and when they do find a pod, anchor down and work it hard. Early season fish are often few and far between, so make those shots count when you find them!
Go Light
This is tough to do because the fish are so big! Early season steelhead are full of spunk and vigor, noted by their powerful runs and acrobatic attempts to throw the hook. While anglers will want to use stiff leader and tippet in the 1X and 2X variety, the low and clear conditions call for something much lighter. Fluorocarbon leader and tippet in 3X and 4X will result in more hookups in this early season even if it means a few break-offs!
Getting out in pursuit of steelhead early is one of fly fishing’s greatest pleasures. Having the chance to catch these amazing specimens while wearing only a t-shirt is a unique and memorable experience. Keep these tips in mind to ensure that the early season season outing is full of fun and smiling pictures holding bright chromers fresh from the lake!
Anglers flock to the mountains of Pennsylvania in search of quality trout fishing.
The chill of winter is set to soon be upon us, but for now the gettin’ remains good in the Keystone State for trout anglers. Fall, just like every other season, brings a unique set of challenges and rewards. One of the more important aspects of fall fishing is fly selection during a time when hatches dwindle but trout are actively feeding to make it through the upcoming cold spell.
Here are some of our favorite trout flies that will catch trout throughout the fall in Pennsylvania!
Thin Mint
Fall is a fantastic time for streamer fishing, and the thin mint combines two deadly colors in one fly. The thin mint, sometimes tied with a string of flash in the tail, gives that subdued, almost earthy tone that trout love while providing a very realistic imitation of sculpins. When used in a bigger size, the thin mint can be bottom bounced like a crawfish or stripped like a baitfish! It’s as versatile as it is productive.
The squirmy worm will catch fish all year, but purple turns into a hot color when the leaves start to change. A usual progression of squirmy colors are pink in spring, red through summer, and purple come fall. Who knows what the fish think it is, but purple will consistently put fish in net from September through November.
It’s during these fall months that browns and brookies start to spawn. While fishing over redds is never something anglers should do, eggs being in a watershed will make trout go wild with hunger. Pound for pound almost nothing holds as much protein as a fish egg, so a variety of yarn egg patterns in orange, white, and pink should be carried by anglers everywhere during the fall months.
Hi-Vis Beetle
Terrestrials will linger into fall despite being forgotten by most. Until the first really hard frost, beetles will be out and about to provide a consistent food source for trout. Since they are often hard to spot in the water, the bit of hi-vis will assist those who have trouble making the fly out in the current.
Caddisflies are still prevalent during the fall afternoons in Pennsylvania. Certain streams will have more abundance than others due to varying caddis fly populations. But, it would be a good idea to carry a wide range of colors and sizes of the Elk Hair Caddis.
One of my favorite searching patterns is a size #18 bead head Prince Nymph. It's small enough where I can drop it off the back of a smaller dry fly or include it in the top levels of my nymphing rigs. Most of the active mayfly nymphs in the fall are smaller in size, so I tend to fish this in a size #16 or smaller.
Including a midge pattern is always a good idea and Zebra Midges get the job done. Overall, Pennsylvania has a pretty healthy midge population across the whole state so you can depend on trout opportunistically feeding on the drifting pupae. More flashy midge patterns like the Holo Midge work great on stocked trout and on bright, sunny days. I prefer darker midge patterns in Pennsylvania based on local midge samples and tie them in towards the top of nymphing rigs or off of a dry fly.
Blue-winged olives (BWO's) are a tiny species of olive-colored mayflies that are commonly found in Pennsylvania and abundant during the fall season. Towards mid-October to early November BWO's are active across the whole state, especially in the prime trout waters of central Pennsylvania.
Without the blanket hatches to tip us off to what the trout are eating, anglers have to dig a little deeper and be a bit more observant during the fall months. There are still trout to be caught, however, and by carrying these flies you’ll be sure to get in on the fun during these next few exciting months!
It's often noted how one of the great things about fishing is there is no true "season" to it. It's possible to fish and catch a number of different species 12 months a year! That all sounds great until it's snowing and twenty degrees and the thought of a warm fire and hot coffee seems more appealing than a trout stream.
It's during this stretch of the year where we catch up on other fishing chores: stock up the fly box, clean fly lines, plan trips for warmer weather, and the list goes on. This is also when we can kick back and unwind with some reading without fear that we are missing the most incredible bug hatch of the year with 20-inch trout attacking anything that hits the water. One of the great ways to pass the day and still get a fishing "fix" is to dive into the literary depths of fly fishing and be immersed in conservation topics of faraway adventures. Here are three favorites that every fly angler should have at the ready!
Still Life with Brook Trout
Everyone in the fly fishing world knows of John Gierach and his uncanny way of putting the fly fishing experience into words. Nowhere is that more apparent than in his work Still Life with Brook Trout. From Wyoming to Maine to Oregon, John takes readers on his adventures in pursuit of his finned quarry in a matter-of-fact way that can resonate even with the most novice of anglers. There's knowledge to be learned, laughs to be had, and self realization to be discovered in the pages of this book that you'll find hard to put down.
Downstream
This book hits particularly close to home for anglers in the East. There is something so unique about the Appalachian Mountains and the brook trout that reside there. The fish aren't the biggest by any means, but this is their native range and the resilience they had to survive the salvos of human industry is amazing. David O'Hara and Matthew Dickerson wade through not only the fishing itself, but the issues facing the waters that our native brook trout call home as they travel throughout the Appalachians.
Catch and Release
With chapters titled "Fishing is Stupid" and "Golf is also Stupid" it's easy to understand how this selection by Mark Kingwell can resonate with many. Who hasn't had moments where they swear golf would be easier than catching these cantankerous fish, only to go golfing and immediately wish to be back on a trout stream? Catch and Release navigate through topics of boredom, patience, and killing trout through the lens of one fishing trip. Therein lies one of the book's greatest qualities! A fishing trip is so much more than just the fishing itself. Our minds wander to and from topics in the past, present, and future and reading this will remind anglers of this.
A delicate presentation helps keep your fly afloat longer.
After work, I can't wait to rush out to the stream and get fishing. Often times I arrive just before dusk and right in the middle of a hatch.
My adrenaline kicks in and my heart rate spikes. Seeing so many mouths feeding makes me want to dish out as many casts as I can.
I quickly shuffle through my fly box and select an appropriate pattern to match what's coming off, which is usually a parachute dry fly of some sort. Almost like ‘Whack-a-Mole’, I time my casts a few feet in front of rising fish and move from fish to fish in between rises.
My buddy likes to call this, “Spreading the love.”
Basically, I focus my attention only on rising fish within 40 feet in an attempt to maximize my chances. It’s not the wisest technique nor the most effective but it helps keep me from ‘putting down a fish’ by casting to a specific trout too much.
Why It's Important
During these rampages of rapid-fire casting, you can guarantee that your neglected dry fly will soak up water and sink.
At this point, I give my drenched fly one more cast as a Hail-Mary, which rarely works. With even the slightest amount of drag or water turbulence the fly dips below the surface and ruins my chances. That's when I bring it in to dry it off with my shirt and or floatant. Now I'm not saying that a dry fly turned wet fails to work. In fact, occasionally I will still get strikes on a sunken dry fly, however, I find it so much more effective to present the pattern as it was intended, high-and-dry.
When a dry fly sinks it is difficult to manage drag and the overall ‘dead-drift’ performance because it is hard to see. Drag is the main culprit behind why your flies fail to produce. Sure your fly looks natural but it will move differently on the surface than a real insect would. The combination of your line stretched out on the water and the currents pushing and pulling against it ruin your chances.
How To Help Keep Your Fly From Sinking Prematurely
There are 3 great ways to help prevent your dry flies from sinking too quickly.
Mending - currents can drag your line down and away, which will pull your fly under.
Dry Fly Floatant - add more buoyancy to your patterns temporarily
Delicate Presentation - instead of slapping your fly down on the water and forcing it and your line deeper, let it drift down gently onto the surface and rest on the water tension.
Mending
Mending is the act of using your rod to pick up and reposition your line against the current to perfectly present your flies with minimal drag.
Currents crisscross and overlap throughout the stream, and, because of this, your line gets pushed and pulled in all sorts of directions. This movement only pulls your dry fly under like a weight.
Mending is great because you reposition your line on the surface of the water in areas of intersecting currents so that your fly drifts majestically on top without any unnatural movement or getting dragged under.
Dry Fly Floatant
Whether it is with powder, beads, or liquid, floatant is designed to offer extra buoyancy to dry flies. Once applied, floatant repels water and resists the natural urge of a flies material to absorb water. It tends to work more effectively when it is applied to a dry or near-dry fly.
Although necessary for serious anglers, floatant is a temporary fix and will need to be reapplied after a few casts. Figure, at most, a dozen casts.
I must say if you don't feel like spending money on dry fly floatant using your shirt to pat the fly dry can also work. Another method I use occasionally is to carefully place the fly between my fingers and blow directly into its hackles and body. Think of it as a hair-drying your fly.
For CDC flies, more maintenance is required as it is a less durable material and relies on its naturally oily down feathers. Stick to a shake-style floatant with tiny beads that absorb the water from the drenched CDC material.
Delicate Presentations
When it comes to putting a small dry fly perfectly presented in the line of a rising trout, it can be easy to overreact and smack a fly down on top of them. Unfortunately, that ‘smack’ of the fly and your fly line will often discourage trout from taking your fly because a little mayfly spinner doesn’t have the force of a large grasshopper when it hits.
Simple physics right? A dense, heavy insect will make a bigger impact on the water while a small, light insect will make a soft impact. So there is no reason why your size #20 blue-winged olive emerger should put a crater in the surface film like an asteroid. Instead, have it gently land onto the water like a feather.
You can certainly test this principle out, too. Take a blue-winged olive fly and place it on the water a foot or two in front of a rising trout. You’re probably not going to see that trout emerge and take your fly.
If you’re not the best at casting and can’t avoid a heavy impact with your line smacking the water, present your fly farther ahead of where the trout are rising and don’t let your fly line land on top of the fish. It’s much better to position yourself or angle your cast so your fly is the first thing the trout will see.
To achieve a delicate and soft presentation, aim for the trees. Yes, aim for the trees and let your fly level out above the water then gently drift down. Instead of your fly carrying that momentum down into the water, it loses all that energy and stalls. Something like the Wile E. Coyote when he ran out over the edge of a cliff and plummets to the ground below. Notice how he sort of hangs there mid-air below dropping? Your line and fly should hang there, too, for just a split second.
Many associate gaudy, articulated streamers with big trout, but it’s often eggs that yield the true giants of the deep.
Pound for pound, nothing has more protein in a trout's diet than an egg. If there is a chance that fish (of any species) are spawning in a given waterway, odds are our quarry will be keying on eggs. As such, anglers should have an arsenal of egg flies on deck and ready throughout the season in order to capitalize on what the trout like best!
Here's how to fly fish egg flies and some of our favorite egg fly patterns for winter trout or fall steelhead.
How to Choose Them
Getting the color and size of an egg fly is just as important as it is with mayflies and midges. Good starting points are orange and light pink, with tweaks being made throughout the day. One of the great things about eggs is how easy they are to tie.
Something that egg tiers like to do is an experiment in different volumes of material. The opacity of the flies results in different “looks” of the fly in the water and thus, more options for the days when fish are picky.
How to Rig Them
When the egg bite is really on, a standard nymph rig might consist of two or three eggs below some weight. In this situation the brighter, and larger, egg is typically tied on first with a smaller fly trailing behind. One of the best trailing flies is a single egg in orange, pink, or cream color. It’s so light that even with weight above the point fly the single egg plays in the current in an almost weightless manner. This is important because, despite their high protein density, fish eggs weigh virtually nothing and move throughout the water freely.
Here is an example of a lightweight egg pattern. It will toss and churn with the water freely as long as you add enough weight above or below it to get it down where the fish is.
This weighted egg fly is great for getting near the bottom. If you're looking to add just a single egg to your nymphing rig and not add any additional weight, having a beaded egg if incredible useful.
Fishing eggs can be somewhat different than conventional nymph rigs. In some ways, specific trout can be pinpointed feeding on eggs just like they can sipping mayflies.
Look for trout hanging below spawning fish. If these fish are moving to the left or right aggressively, it is a sign that they are feeding on eggs. An important note is to try not to fish over spawning fish, but rather the ones downstream feeding on eggs.
Once a fish is targeted, use short drifts with a lot of weight landing the flies right below the spawning fish. If done well, our offerings should sink fast and go right past trout feeding below!
Some of the best trophy trout anglers will say that it isn’t sculpins or mice that catch the biggest fish, but eggs. They can consistently be in a waterway and provide a steady stream of calories that make it worthwhile for fish of all sizes to feed!
When To Fly Fish Eggs
While eggs are great fishing year-round, you'll notice a big difference during the spawning seasons. When looking at the breeding seasons below, you won't be fishing these exact species. In fact, you will be fly fishing the other fish that gather below the breeding grounds to feed on loose eggs that drift downstream. Just commit these seasons to memory as a guideline when eggs will be hot and abundant.
Carp spawn from April to June in the shallow waters.
Brook trout spawn from September into October.
Brown trout spawn from October through December.
Rainbow trout spawn from February through May.
Please keep in mind not to cast near, wade near, or fish spawning trout. These breeding fish are producing the next generation of trophy trout and don't need the added stress or exhaustion of human interference.
A few sporadic raindrops ping the windshield, but it’s hardly noticed by the pair of anglers anxiously waiting for the desired roadside pull off to come into view. There it is, and the truck comes to a jolting stop as the duo can hardly contain their excitement. Waders are hastily pulled on, rods rigged, and a mere moments after parking it’s off to the stream. A dull roar gets louder as the water comes into view and the anglers experience the heart-dropping realization that the stream is blown out.
This has happened to all of us at one time or another. Perhaps there was a heavy rainstorm the night before, or maybe even a surge in water released from a dam. Regardless of the reason, you’re there on the water ready to fish! When high and dirty water conditions persist, plenty of fish can still be caught. In fact, these can be some of the most productive outings in terms of fish in the net.
Success or failure on days like these often start and end with our fly selections. A certain percentage of our flies are rendered useless when water is blown out. Which flies obviously depends on justhowblown out the water actually is, but assuming it’s extremely high with very limited visibility, here are a few proven high water rigs that will catch trout in even the most adverse of conditions.
When the water is muddy and pushing the banks, squirmy worms will produce fish. The movement of these flies will catch a trout’s attention and fish key on worms during periods of rain and soggy banks. The first go-to high water rig features a pink squirmy worm trailed underneath a black stonefly.
Double Tungsten Stonefly
Heavy is often the name of the game in times like this and few nymphs achieve that like the stonefly. A black stonefly in size #8 or #10 with a size #12 or #14 pink squirmy worm will produce even when the water is at its worst.
Nymphs will undoubtedly produce fish in times like these, but normally it’s at a cost: a number of snags that result in snapped flies and digging back into the fly box. For those wanting to avoid this, a pair of streamers makes up our second high water trout rig. A simple combo is a white wooly bugger dropped down to an olive sculpin or black wooly bugger.
These flies are common among most fishing circles, but fishing two streamers together can be something new. It’s the same thought process as fishing multiple nymphs: more hooks in the water can mean more fish in the net!
Let’s say we have decided to stomach the lost flies and want to use what will surely catch us the most trout. That means we are headed back to a nymph rig, this time using a #8 or #10 pats rubber leg down to a size #14 anato-may.
Let’s say we have decided to stomach the lost flies and want to use what will surely catch us the most trout. That means we are headed back to a nymph rig, this time using a #8 or #10 pats rubber leg down to a size #14 anato-may. This setup might be a little more discreet than our squirmy rig, but no less effective. High water means bugs are getting dislodged from their gravely homes so trout will be in ultra feed mode despite less-than-ideal water. This pair imitating a stonefly and a generic mayfly attractor is one to have in your back pocket on days like these.
Keep a few of these patterns in your own fly box and carry it with you on trout fishing excursions. In a perfect world the streams are always flowing perfectly with just the right clarity, but the reality is much harsher to the fly fisher. Don’t get discouraged when your day starts with the realization that your favorite stream is blown out, just use some of these tried and true high water trout rigs!
Fly fishing guide services can be found in all 50 states and across the globe, for good reason!
It’s a fairly big commitment to spend hundreds of dollars to enlist a professional guide for the day, and anglers want to be sure that their investment is worthwhile. Fishing with a guide means more than just fish in the net, although that’s certainly part of it. Here are four reasons why hiring a guide is the best money a fly fisher can spend!
Knowledge of Local Waters
It’s hard to beat a guide’s knowledge of local waters, regardless of what fish you’re after. Their livelihood depends on the ability to put clients on fish and show them a great day. This can come in handy when trying to learn all about the fishing close to home. A day with a guide can yield a plethora of spots that can be fished after the trip and enjoyed for years to come!
Time Maximization
For anglers with some experience, new waters can be learned eventually. Trout streams are trout streams whether they are in Colorado or New York, and folks can spend time learning all about a new location and catching fish...with enough time! Guides can eliminate the time it takes to learn spots and flies and speed things up a bit. This is especially important if you’re traveling through an area for a brief period of time. If you have five days to fish an area, you don’t want to spend the first three just learning where to go. Hire a guide on day one and enjoy the benefits for the rest of your trip!
Catch Fish!
Catching fish isn’t the only thing that matters on a guide trip, but it’s pretty important! Guides don’t stay in business very long by having clients get skunked, so they typically know where the fish are and how to catch them. There are extraneous factors at play, such as weather and stream levels, but fly fishing guides are in the business of getting their clients on fish!
Rigging Expertise
Each guide has their own way of doing things, from weight placement on a nymph rig to spacing between a dry and a dropper. This is really where anglers of all skill levels can take advantage of their time with a guide. Pay close attention to how the guide is rigging, and ask what the thought process is behind doing it that way. Taking those little tips and strategies back to your own waters will often result in a more efficient and productive way of fishing.
Deciding to book a guide for a morning or full-day is a true investment. There is much to be gained from having access to a professional fly fishing guide and using your time on the water wisely! Pay close attention to how they do things and ask plenty of questions. Not only will it result in fish caught that day, but plenty of fish on trips to come.
A friend of mine once traveled to Montana to fish specifically for trophy browns and rainbows.
His days on the water were chosen with meticulous attention to the weather, river levels, and barometric pressure. After touching base with a local guide service, he arranged multiple days in a drift boat throwing nothing but streamers. Going in he knew he might not catch many fish doing this, but the ones he would catch would be quality specimens!
That first morning they met at the boat ramp in the pre-dawn light, with rods rigged and anticipation high. About 15 minutes in, the guide said to be ready as the upcoming spot was notorious for holding big fish. Sure enough, a monster flashed at the baitfish imitation. “Throw it right back!” barked the guide. As soon as the fly hit the water the fish violently attacked it, and the angler, an experienced one, set the hook straight up in a classic trout-set. Not shockingly, he was left wondering what went wrong and if he would have another opportunity at a fish like this again.
The scene here is not uncommon for folks accustomed to trout fishing with nymphs or dries. Adjusting from the trout-set to a strip-set can be a challenge when our natural instinct is to give the rod a quick jerk up or downstream when a fish hits. Keep these things in mind the next time the situation calls for a strip-set to ensure that your day doesn’t end in the same heartache that my buddy felt!
Retrieve Steady and Often
One of the differences between nymph/dry fishing and streamer fishing is the drift. Throwing streamers is much more interactive than other types of fishing, and that can be used to our advantage. A strip-set is basically a continuation of a stripping retrieve, only much sharper and more elongated. Keeping a retrieve going at all times gets us in the exact motion needed for a strip-set and reduces the time it might take for us to overthink it and instinctively trout-set.
Keep Your Rod Tip Low
This is easy to do when stripping streamers from a boat, but keeping your rod tip low will help shake the trout-set tendencies that might be firmly ingrained in our fishing subconscious. Doing this will also help get a more balanced retrieve and safeguard against wind that could play havoc with fly line. Anglers will find that it feels so unnatural trout-setting from a low rod tip position that a strip-set quickly feels like second nature.
Practice Before You Go
Whether you’re traveling to a faraway place in search of big fish or heading to a local bass lake, practicing before the trip can pay major dividends. As crazy as it sounds, rig up a rod at home and pull about 20 feet of line out. False cast it into the yard and practice stripping it in and then every third or fourth retrieve give it a harder strip-set. Getting the muscle memory going prior to being on the water will help shake off the rust and get your brain thinking about the correct set. It’s much better to get in the swing of things looking a bit funny in your yard rather than when a four-pound smallie smashes a clouser.
Say It
Something I like to do when I’m streamer fishing (especially at the beginning of the day) is say “strip-set” over and over again. Now, this might seem just as funny as practicing in the yard but it works! By saying it, I’m far less inclined to trout-set as the strip-set is constantly on my mind. After the first couple hits, I don’t say it as much because by then it’s stuck in my brain and the constant reminder isn’t needed.
Big trout and bass love to devour streamers, which means anglers have to be competent in strip-setting. It’s a learned skill that requires a good deal of patience and practice, but keep these tips in mind to help ease the learning curve!
In the painstaking weeks leading up to the start of the steelhead run, anglers are left with little to do except stare at weather reports and wait.
Unless...there was something that could be done! Early preparation for the upcoming season can pay major dividends once the run is in full swing and every waking moment is spent thinking about how to get to the tributaries and go after some chrome.
New Line
Some might say that tippet rot is nothing more than an old wives’ tale, but who really wants to take that chance? It’s best to keep a dedicated set of steelhead leader and tippet that never lasts longer than a season or two. Getting a fresh spool of 3X and 4X prior to the season will boost confidence and ensure that a lost fish is certainly not due to faulty line!
Online Research
Is there something to be gained from sitting behind a computer screen? You bet! Each year, state fisheries agencies go through the thankless job of acquiring more public access points on steelhead streams. Typically these can be seen in the form of press releases from the respective agency, but there is also usually some chatter about it on online forums. By learning about these new fishing spots in the offseason, anglers will have a better sense of where they might want to go when the run is in full swing.
Boots on the Ground
A lot can happen from one season to the next. Floods, ice jams, downed trees, habitat improvement devices, and just general changes in the stream bottom can radically change holding lies for steelhead. Going for a walk on a favorite waterway during the pre-run months can provide valuable information on where the fish might be found later into the season. It’s also advised to carry a rod along just in case!
Stock The Boxes
Steelhead, perhaps more than almost any other fish, can really do a number on a fly box in as little as a day. Sharp runs and spiraling cartwheels can shred line to pieces and with it our flies. There are days when a particular size and color of fly can get ravaged thanks to caught fish and snap offs. Refilling our steelhead boxes in summer can help alleviate some of that pressure later into the season. Few things are worse than running out of a hot fly that the fish can’t get enough of!
The weeks and months leading up to the annual steelhead run can feel like an eternity. Instead of anxiously looking at weather reports and praying for rain to bring in that first surge of fish, do the prep work now to make for a great season once the run begins!
