Steelhead Fishing

[Don M.]

Going to be on LO the first week of September fishing Kings. We have pretty good luck with them, but would like to try a day or two to target steelhead on the big lake. Anyone got any pointers? We are pretty well equiped and love to experiment. How to find them and tackle setup. We have temp probe Gps etc so are in pretty good shape, I think.

[ray koziatek]

Yes i live in NY state stop by and ill try to help......................its kinda big pond what port ya heading to?

[Don M.]

We rent a caamp on the little salmon and go out from there. Mexico point

[ray koziatek]

oops i only go there in mid aug for the derby and target king salmon,and overheard a conversation that these two boats only got 2 steelhead that time of year but juging by the large numbers i see in the salmon river they gotta be all over . we will be running a steelie program this year due to the fact my nefew and myself have landed (and released)several steelies in the salmon river over 15 lbs the last two years one was 19lbs thats derby money(not in sept),im shure if you run a good steelie program youll get em out front in the temp zone and the cohos should be staging and feeding with the same program steelies are fun to watch but a coho will learn ya a lesson or two specally if ya bring him in green as he's charging the boat.good luck that time of year youll find me wading in the river.

[Don M.]

Thanks Ray. I can't bring myself to river fish. Still remember the old days when it was shoulder to shoulder. Love being ON the water.

[steelfire]

can you explain a steelie program that you run if its not to big of a secret?? Just looking for the basics. How deep are they usually this time of the year??? and I at least know they like orange on the lures.

[ray koziatek]

a lot of what ive learnsd is trial and error so when i post some probly shake there head and mumble the idiots posting again ,so dont take what i say as #1 advise,steelies tolerate and like warmer 55deg water and will feed in 65deg all day long usually ya dont need long leads for them15 to 40 ok if its bumpy 2to4ftrs runem 4 to10 ft back and i always run sliders smaller fluttery (light weight) sharp hook spoons,orange ,silver green , gr dolphin,purple/silver,blk/silver,blue dolphin before 10am, flys and spinnys will work but i usually put em on wire with dypsy out of the spread in the steelie temps but if the 45 deg water is 30or more ft below ill put a spinny down there for the kings at the same time.if you can, sneak a small blk/silver stickbait with full core knot at water if the temp is near 50 ft (65 deg or colder),,,,,,,,,,,steelies some times (frequently) swim around in dime size (small) schools so the long lines could be a pain if ya turn around and get back on em in a hurry ,usually if im hunting ill run a full spread but when i find some rigger fish pull the long lines and stay tight on the fish as they can and will shut down in a matter of a hour or two.also dont be afraid to zig zag on ocassion as sleelies (rainbows) are a reaction fish and the speed change some times will trigger em more so than kings but zig zag is good to use on most fish unless your on a intersecting course with another boat then make your intentions clear with steady headings most experienced operators will figure out your intentions ok 1 out of10 will.........hope this helps,,,,,, Ray K.

[steelfire]

that helps, thank you very much. I will try your techniques. I have yet to try for steelies in the lake but will have a whole week to do so!!

[Don M.]

hey Ray thanks. I know some of us have wierd habits in the WAY we fish, but look out because sometimes they do work.

I was wondering, while fishing for kings could I put a couple sliders out and tag them in where the right temp may be?

[ray koziatek]

all the time ...unless the kings start to fire then you better enjoy them without the extra tangle after the king fight , which will be so bad that you will be cutting all the swivels and retying, when im hunting i run everything ,if im getting kings and steelies near each other ill run my upper stacked rod in the steelies temp with a slider if im just getting those pesty kings keep the program clean ,now spring fishing is sliders all the way all the time for me.. (well top rod only i never double slider with stacked rigger) and this is easy for me to say but hard for me to do and that is sometimes less is more.

[Don M.]

Thanks Ray. I fish mostly Lake Champlain landlocks and my setup always has sliders. Somthing a friend shared with me is to tag the slider with a rubberband to keep it in the zone. I use tiny dental rubber bands as the are tough and small enough to reel onto your reel once you take the slider off. I always like to try new things and see how bad I can mess up . That half the fun of fishing. Tried wire a few years ago and have done great.

[UpGrady]

My two cents, but if you're really after Steelhead action, the offshore waters (8-15 miles out) from Sandy Creek (not Pond) to Olcott are the place to be right now thru mid September. The cold deeper water in the western basin of the lake is more of an attractant for them in consistent numbers than the eastern basin. Expect to catch fish 20-60' down in these offshore waters. Steelhead prefer to be as close to the surface as they can find 55-62 degree water. So that water fits the bill better than the 100'+ in the Eastern basin this time of the year.

I don't want to downplay what can be found in the eastern basin on any given day, but for consistent steelhead Go West!