Winter Steelhead Tips

 

Buck winter steelhead that could not resist a bead-head scrambled egg (top fly on a tandem rig). John Nagy photo.

 

-When tributary temperatures drop into the mid to low 30's steelheader's need not hit their favorite steelhead hole at the crack of dawn. Better to sleep in and try from late morning to early afternoon when water temperatures have nudged up enough to activate lethargic steelhead into biting. Don't worry about the crowds, solitude is the norm in winter steelheading. 

-Dead-drifting flies like egg patterns, nymphs and small wooly buggers is deadly in the ice water tributary flows of winter as long as you keep them near the stream bottom (where winter steelhead hold) drifting at or slightly slower than the bottom water current. Incorporating brass, tungsten or glass beads as well as wire ribbing and heavier shanked hooks into these patterns ensures that they stay near the bottom and allows for less shot usage.

-Winter steelhead can be very finicky and fussy and prefer smaller flies (dead-drifted literally into their face) since they rarely will move more than 6 inches for a fly. The key is to perform multiple drift presentations and cover the drift (whether a run or a pool tail-out) completely. The difference of a couple inches in your presentation can result in a bonus hook-up that you otherwise would of missed.

-Successful winter steelheading means patience. Multiple presentations covering the entire drift, precise indicator depth adjustment, tippet length and shot adjustments, fly changes (especially colors) are all part of the game to get that perfect drift to steelhead that at times seem to have a severe case of lock-jaw! 

-Dress properly for the frigid conditions (knit cap, wool fingerless gloves and mitts, thermal underwear, fleece jacket, windbreaker, chemical hand warmers, neoprene boot foot waders) and periodically walk between holes and runs to keep feet and hands warm for the fishing action.

-During a severe winter cold snap, steelhead will forgo overhead cover and hold in slower pools and runs that have moderate depth (4 feet or less) and dark bottoms. These locations (you have to fish them before they freeze over or break the ice and come back later) energize and activate steelhead since sunlight penetration warms the stream bottom as well as the backs of the steelhead. During milder winter periods look for steelhead to hold in more deeper bend pools, pool tail-outs, pool back eddies and runs as well as faster/broken water areas which all provide good cover from predators without super chilling the steelhead.

-Accidentally dunking your fly reel in the water is a no-no for the winter steelheader. The reel can quickly freeze-up and bind in sub-freezing air temperatures. Your windshield heater blower comes in handy to quickly thaw/dry frozen reels (although a complete drying will be required later to remove all the water in the reel).

-Felt bottom wading boots can quickly build up with snow making hiking along your favorite tributary difficult. Companies like Korkers, Simms and Patagonia offer rubber soled wading boots that are ideal for hiking in the snow without snow buildup. The Korker and Simms models also come studded.

-The tip top on your fly rod is the first guide to freeze over in sub-freezing air temperatures making fly casting, performing techniques and playing fish difficult and at times impossible. Remedies for this include installing an over-size tip top (as well as over-size snake guides) on your custom made fly rod and applying vaseline lip balm, pam cooking spray or stanley ice off paste to the tip top and snake guides periodically throughout the day to help prevent freeze-up.

-Fly fishing in the winter is tough on fly lines particularly when you cast them through iced over guides on your fly rod which can damage the exterior coating of the fly line. At some point this is going to happen no matter how diligent you are at keeping ice off the guides. A good strategy is to have a fly line strictly for sub-freezing conditions and keep your good lines for other times.

-Swinging flies in frigid tributary winter flows (30 degree range) can be successful as long as you keep your fly on the bottom (use the fastest sinking leader or sink tip you have without dragging bottom on the swing) and slow down the swimming speed of your fly (by doing multiple upstream mends of your fly line on the swing). Also use fly patterns like zonkers, marabou speys, long winged streamers, wooly buggers and sculpins that incorporate materials like marabou, artic fox tail, rabbit strip fur, temple dog fur, schlappen feathers, etc. that have great movement in the current flow. Adding beads, cones or using metal tube designs will help keep these flies on the bottom also. Adding flourescent color(s) or a little flash material to the pattern can entice strikes. Swing them through pool tail-outs, eddies and slower/deep runs (of course you will need open water areas!). Jigging the fly or using a strip retreive at the end of the swing can also be effective. Again, a few degree temperature increase during the day (usually occuring from mid-day to early afternoon) can activate steelhead into biting a fly.

 

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