Just signed up, live in Mt Home ID and fish the clearwater & its forks as much as possible. Just got back from South Fork and cought my first Steelhead, what a blast! Anyone know where to start looking for the Kings?
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Nice fish Rockjmpr! You can't beat that for a first steelie. Welcome to the forum. I'll be headin' to Riggin's in mid May for the King's!
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Welcome. That is a nice looking fish.
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Welcome to BFT, nice fish for sure and like your name Rockjumper. Matches that pic very well.
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Welcome to the forum. There are plenty of steelhead fishermen on this site.,
Windriver
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Thanks Shane, I was pretty excited about it but didn't know if it posted. I worked my tail off getting a keeper, it's a bit different than King fishing & it took me a while to figure it out.
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Hey thanks, I can't wait to get back up there I got the feaver pretty bad. Wish I knew about this kind of fishing up there earlier, I feel I've wasted alot of valuable time. I met some nice people on the river this weekend and hope to see them again. Any suggestions on where to find the Kings around the end of April start or May?
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Thanks, I really picked the name because I couldn't stay on my feet this past weekend. I have bruses from head to toe. I learned alot about the area and how to stay put but I'm still sore.
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Thanks Windriver, One thing I learned really quick was that I had the wrong rod for steelies. Do any of you guys have a suggestion on a good steelhead rod that's not going to break the bank?
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I have the cabelas Tourney trail 8'6" and 9' rods in Medium action for Steelies. They aren't a G-Loomis, but they were both under $100. In fact I believe you can get it with the tournament ZX reel for $99 still. I've been using that set up for 8 years now and haven't found anything to complain about so far.
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Thanks Belasko, I'll look into that combo. My reel quit on me also Sat. and I had to switch to a cheesy replica of a reel. Made fishing hard. Thanks for the info and happy fishing to ya.
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SteelieNut, If I can work it out I will be up in Riggins mid May as well. Keep in touch, I could use some pointers on the faster running water of the South Fork Clearwater if your gonna be in that area. I cought plenty of Kings in Alaska from the bank but in slower flows. Thats why I feel I had the wrong rod for the South Fork, Had a hard time feeling the bumps.
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XML combo w/ Shimano reel. I use that rod more now than my GLoomis. Fish Eagle II is more affordable, and a good combo as well. I prefer 8'6" almost always, though I do carry 9' and 10' as well.
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Awesome, thanks for the info. I'm on the hunt now for a new set-up. I guess I have to I just broke my old gear right, at least thats what I'm telling my wife[
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welcome to the forum. I caught my first steelhead this year as well. I bought a Lamiglas 8'6" medium/heavy rod and love it. It battled steelhead very good. I got it at sportsmans warehouse and only paid 70 bucks.
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Ya know I looked at that same rod last night, I thought it might be too light at the tip. If you had a choice would you prefer a less flimsy tip?? I only ask because I used a 7ft Med. Ugly stick this past weekend and had a hard time differentiating between water flow andf bottom.
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Okay guys, I guess my bottom line questions (being the new guy) is how much longer can we catch steelies in the South fork Clearwater, how high in the river can we go after them?
Where should I go for end April or early Kings? I just read that on the 4th or April 100 adult kings crossed Bonneville Dam. Where is the best place to start for Kings?
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i dont like ugly sticks personally. i think there to flimsy in the tip. I fished with one for years and had the same problem. As far as my Lamiglas goes i love it. I could feel bottom really good. It's not as good as the G-loomis3 but comparable in my opinion to the G-loomis2, but much more affortable.
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im using the 9ft okuma steelhead and salmon special and i love it.
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Thanks, I looked at that Lamaglas and man it's a nice rod but I ended up bying a 8'6" Shimano Scimitar. It's no G Loomis or Lamaglas but it's half the price and really close reseblance to the Lamaglas. I also bought a Penn Captiva 4000 reel because, I'm not gonna lie, I grew up W/open face reels and I'm afraid to try the bautcasters. Heck I could have used a cane pole in the hole I worked last week...
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