Steel head and Rainbow Trout

[stan]

Which color pattern do you find best for Steel Head and rainbows? What size spoons ?  Hope you have some pictures 

[Gill-T]

Go to dreamweaverlures.com. Look at their super-slim spoons. They have an excellent selection of steelhead patterns. If you are fishing high, clear alpine lakes and reservoirs consider green-natural patterns like green gator, green dolphin, leopard frog (also in UV), yellow leopard (UV), green goby. If you have some water color then consider the brighter colors like magic man, jawbreaker, acid rain, mixed veggies, pink panties, steelie dan, steelie cane, lemon ice DUV, chicken bone, steelie stomper, firecracker, orange slurpee, get-r-done. Small evil eyes, small crystallina pirate spoons, small michigan stingers etc. Lots of choices. Small renosky stickbaits would be a good choice for those high lakes.

[Blue Knight]

My top color for bows or steelhead for years has been watermelon. I've always said if I was going into a strange area of water the first color I'd put down is watermelon. As for lure  my top producer for these fish has been the Hot Spot 4.5 watermelon Apex.

[John Kelley]

I never go wrong with orange for steelies.  The orange Michigan Stingers in standard size work great, as do the Orange Crush Moonshine in standard and magnum sizes.  I have also done very well on Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Ontario,Jackson Lake  and several smaller lakes in Western Washington Steelhead on hammered gold and orange Krocodile spoons, in 1/8 and 1/2 ounce sizes.  Thanks.

[rdebadts]

Small and red. My favorites are all discontinued... Alpena diamond, hi tech, Heddon sculpins, etc. But super slims and stingers in any red pattern will work

[whaler1]

IMO less a factor of what you run, more a factor of where you run

[bout time]

Orange Red Pinks all work great. If your fishing offshore for them then generally a little faster speed works best.

[Missdemeanor]

This is my #1 steelhead spoon.... Can troll em pretty fast also. Deadly off split shot rigs and short cores....

[power dive]

came up with this one red black dots. with a orange metallic back yet to run it. But it's brother did awesome this spring orange black dots. Metallic red back

[rdebadts]

Anything that remotely resembles this...

[brucehookedup]

Damn you frenchy. JK is going to be pissed.[emoji12]

[Missdemeanor]

Gotta give him props Bruce..... lol.... riiiiiiggght

[wishinfishin]

Matt, what brand are those spoons and where do you get them ?????

 

Btw, You think waterfowl season was bad in your neck of the woods , try living in southern PA.

[Gill-T]

For those Alpine Lakes Stan you may want to also look at these as they are sized right.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/savant-winnie-series-spoon-by-mooselook/1888084.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3DsearchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProducts%26Ntt%3Dsavant%252Bwinnie%252Bspoon%26x%3D10%26y%3D6%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BSearch-All%252BProducts&Ntt=savant+winnie+spoon

[skipper19]

Stan, I've had good results with Moonshine standard in the RV series. Crabface, Hotlips, bad toad. Dreamweaver super slim in chicken wing, watermelon, and orange slurpee. http://www.moonshinelures.com/rv-series/

Thin trolling flies too on a 8 inch pro troll. Siggs Riggs flies ..trophy and pulse in UV green and orange colors. Red beads or yellow beads in the body. Some favorites are watermelon, wonderbread, mountain dew, in pulse flies. Mirage, No seeum, in the trophy series. Google Siggs Riggs trolling flies for a look at the selection.

Edited February 5, 2016 by skipper19

[Gotta Bite]

I usually have good luck with your standard sized spoons but do get them on mags as well. I run mostly a Proking program of spoons. We had one heck of a day 2 years ago on the lead core and short coppers running the pro king modified blue dolphin , gold fish and pearly gates mag which unfortunately I don't have a picture of it on me for some reason. We took the majority of the fish that day you see in the one picture with us holding up a mess of steelhead and cohos. We also do well with Mags and sometimes flasher and flies as well. My son is holding a beautiful steelhead off the stack near Oswego that he landed on a dragon slayer mag which has accounted for many species of fish. Same with the modified Blue dolphin . We also Catch our share on flasher and fly. Usually a Stephs flasher paired with a mirage glow fly works best for us. And as for most steelhead you'll catch them usually in the up 60' of the water column. Good luck. I hope all the info this site gives you helps you put more fish in the box.

Edited February 6, 2016 by Gotta Bite

[stan]

Here is the deal. Shasta Lake is just 10 min from my front gate. Have fished this lake for over 60 years. The average Rainbow is about 12 to 15" , but the place I keep my houseboat there are two Trout pens with feeders and when those feeders go off you can see 12 to 15 lb trout going after the feed outside the pens. Way to many times over the years when one see's still water on the surface you turn off the motor and slide into that area you will see these big fish feeding on surface bugs.

 

I have drug Streamers, spoons by every manufacture of every color and size known to man even used Anchovy, Herring whole, but every five or ten years you will read about some 10 year old kid hooking up a 12 to 16 lb rainbow off the back of a houseboat with a night crawler witch brings up I have never tried a worm harness yet.  

 

These illusive Trout are called Eagle Lake Trout that come from Eagle Lake in eastern California . On Eagle Lake we use to use a florescent Orange Rapala with good success now days the fisherman are using a small fly... I have even tried both of these with no success....

 

I know there is an answer some place that will help hook and land one of these toads   

Edited February 6, 2016 by stan

[Gill-T]

When they are not eating feeder food, I would be those big boys live on sculpin sitting on the bottom.  Try a Gobie colored bait fished along the bottom .......when the feeder is not going off.

[stan]

When they are not eating feeder food, I would be those big boys live on sculpin sitting on the bottom.  Try a Gobie colored bait fished along the bottom .......when the feeder is not going off.

 

Thanks Gill

 

I sent an e-mail to a friend of mine who is the lead biologist for the lake to find out if there are any Gobie in Shasta. I should know by Monday when he calls me.

[Sk8man]

Stan- I'd give the worm harness approach a try. I had success with it over the years back here.

I rig my own harnesses with multicolored prism medium sized Colorado blades both with live worms and rubber with scent sprayed on it about 2 1/2 to 3 ft long on 12 lb fluorocarbon leaders and with some weight up front to hold it down a bit.

. Trollit about 200 - 300 ft back at about 2.3-2.5.

The other approach if they are skimming the surface (e.g. see their dorsals out of the water etc.) a flyrod with a #12 or 14 dry fly and very light leader. Flies in red, red/white combo or red/black can be killers

[Gill-T]

Probably no Gobie in the lake, but Sculpin look very similar.  A myriad of Gobie baits have been developed over the years after they inundated the Great Lakes.  A three-way rig with a Gobie colored stickbaits trolled slow.  Maybe one of the gobie swimbaits on a jig.  I have caught a ton of Western Trout fishing an ice fishing jig with rubber arms tipped with a wax worm or grub fished 3-7' under a bobber.  The best way to get big rainbows out there is to fish the tributaries.  In February and early Marrch go to the mouth of where the Tributaries flow into the reservoir and fish Pautzke's Red Balls of fire under a bobber.  If there is a barrier i.e. dam, waterfall etc. on one of the tributaries they will be there in March and April.

[skipper19]

I would bet those larger trout are accustomed to the feeder going off and do eat some feed. I'll also bet they don't range too far from the surface and when the feeder is inactive they mill around feeding on small naturals. You said they are sucking flies from the surface on smooth water, and you can be certain they are there near the feeder. I would try the tiny ice jig trick with a mousy on it. Maybe get a weighted bobber for casting it and use flourocarbon to the jig and just twitch it along. Other than that...get the fly rod out Stan, just be sure to remove the planner mast so you don't send us another picture of what not to do!...or...maybe we could use a little pictorial! We still like to see you out there in that pretty lake!

[Sk8man]

I think Mark gave you a great idea. I've caught some rainbows through the ice on small red  jigs (1/16 to 1/32 oz) with spikes so I know they will take them. If you can somehow check out what the exact feed looks like that they use in the feeder I would also try to mimic that as closely as possible. I usually paint the bottom of my bobbers black so they look like debris floating on the surface when I bobber fish for panfish and it might be worth a try there too so that they aren't distracted or spooked by the bobber itself.

[stan]

Thanks guys lot of great ideas here. Matt I will give those a run off boards with short coppers, what you think ?

 

Our biggest Rainbows have come off short copper off the big boards 

Edited February 20, 2016 by stan

[John Kelley]

A couple of little tricks I like to do when big old surface feeding rainbows get finicky are to switch to live bait.  My favorite trick is to take a nice, fat nightcrawler, and blow him up with a worm blower.  Then I hook the worm through the mouth and right back out again with a #6 or #8 Gamakatsu octopus style hook, with no weight,  and cast him out toward the swirling fish, on a light or ultralight spinning outfit on 4-6 pound fluorocarbon line.  Those hungry rainbows can never resist a fat worm, wriggling and squirming on the surface. When they take the bait, let them have it for a few seconds before setting the hook, so they can get the whole worm down, and get the hook.  Beware of hungry bass in the area, because they will go for that floating nightcrawler on the surface, too!!  The other trick I like to employ involves a small #10 octopus style hook, and threading two fat little waxworms onto it. Once again, I use no weight, but clip a small float about 12†to 18†above the hook.  Using the spinning outfit and light fluoro line, again cast toward the swirling, surface feeders.  The slowly sinking waxworms will be wiggling around, and  squirting out bits of flesh and body juices, that really turns on the trout.  As soon as that float twitches you can set the hook on this set-up.  Hope this helps.  Thanks and good luck!!

Edited March 4, 2016 by John Kelley