01-19-2004, 03:49 AM
This fishing can be more than just difficult in the winter , it sometimes becomes so frustrating that people give up and wait until the spring or fall run to fish, not me thou [crazy].The most important thing to remember is the water is extremely cold[blush], and that makes steelhead lethargic. It often requires dozens of casts to the same location before a steelie may hit .ya' just gotta be patient [unimpressed], knowing the holes helps too .
what you got to know is to fish on the warmest day of the week, and fish fast and hard whenever the sun peeks through the clouds. Thirty minutes of sunshine on an overcast day will probably be your best bet . if your below a dam , check with the power company's website for discharge hours , the fish love it when things get stired up from the bottom , it's like the dinner bell was rung , come and get it 
]
These bigfish often are found in the deepest holes. They hug bottom like a rock, I often use wigglers , greenworm flys , stoneflys , waxworms and single egg flys during the coldest months, and they must be bounced along bottom a couple of times before a fish may strike .These fighting fish respond best to continous casting. Work the best holes from every conceivable angle, and if the spot has fish, one may take you on the ride of your life .[
]
Cold water normally means clear water, and it pays to use light line. Four or six-pound florocarbon will do, and will produce more strikes in very cold water than heavier line. Go with the light line, small hooks , 14 down to 20's work pretty good for the winter ,6 thru 9's in the spring . Fish down on bottom, and fish each hole hard. a coustom rod isn't important when fishing for these bad boys , most sporting goods stores(like jay's , frank's , bass pro shops , gander mountain , cabella's, wall mart and dick's ) have rods around $50.00 that will get the job done .browning has a good one , eagle claw too .
Dress warm, wear polorised sunglasses[cool] , get out of the water every half hour to walk around to get warmed up, hand and footwarmer packets are a necesity . i take a coleman stove for a quick dinty moore's beef stew dinner and some fresh maxwell house coffee and then go back to fishing[]. Sooner or later a steelhead will hit, and the experience is one you will never forget 
]zzzzzziiiiinnnnnngggggg !!! fish on , yeee haaaaa !
[signature]
what you got to know is to fish on the warmest day of the week, and fish fast and hard whenever the sun peeks through the clouds. Thirty minutes of sunshine on an overcast day will probably be your best bet . if your below a dam , check with the power company's website for discharge hours , the fish love it when things get stired up from the bottom , it's like the dinner bell was rung , come and get it ![
] These bigfish often are found in the deepest holes. They hug bottom like a rock, I often use wigglers , greenworm flys , stoneflys , waxworms and single egg flys during the coldest months, and they must be bounced along bottom a couple of times before a fish may strike .These fighting fish respond best to continous casting. Work the best holes from every conceivable angle, and if the spot has fish, one may take you on the ride of your life .[
] Cold water normally means clear water, and it pays to use light line. Four or six-pound florocarbon will do, and will produce more strikes in very cold water than heavier line. Go with the light line, small hooks , 14 down to 20's work pretty good for the winter ,6 thru 9's in the spring . Fish down on bottom, and fish each hole hard. a coustom rod isn't important when fishing for these bad boys , most sporting goods stores(like jay's , frank's , bass pro shops , gander mountain , cabella's, wall mart and dick's ) have rods around $50.00 that will get the job done .browning has a good one , eagle claw too .
Dress warm, wear polorised sunglasses[cool] , get out of the water every half hour to walk around to get warmed up, hand and footwarmer packets are a necesity . i take a coleman stove for a quick dinty moore's beef stew dinner and some fresh maxwell house coffee and then go back to fishing[
]. Sooner or later a steelhead will hit, and the experience is one you will never forget ![]zzzzzziiiiinnnnnngggggg !!! fish on , yeee haaaaa ![signature]