New to steelhead fishing

U
Utahutes
New to oregon and salmon and steelhead fishing. Went out and bought couple lures and spoons. Mostly fly fisherman in small mountain streams in Utah. Want to get into spin cast fishing.just wondering on a few good lures and spoons you are using for steelhead and salmon.
 
TheKnigit
TheKnigit
For salmon I have had pretty good luck with Blue Fox's vibrax lures in the larger sizes. For steelhead I like wiggle warts, but I haven't really spent much time tossing spoons for them. Welcome to Oregon :)
 
C_Run
C_Run
For steelhead there would be a lot of options but maybe start out with #3 and #4 Blue Fox spinners. Blue or orange body with silver blade are very common. Spoons, maybe try Steelie and Little Cleo in various finishes like copper, gold, silver for starters. Learn how to work them in different conditions. Go with bigger spinners for salmon as theknigit suggested.
 
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P
Paul Smith
Where are you living; what rivers are you intending to target? Send me a PM I may be able to help.
 
troutdude
troutdude
No Title

Welcome to Oregon, and to OFF.

Highly recommend these two books. You can learn a lot, in a short time, by reading them. You can likely find both at Bi-Mart, or other local shops.
 
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C_Run
C_Run
troutdude;n602796 said:
Welcome to Oregon, and to OFF.

Highly recommend these two books. You can learn a lot, in a short time, by reading them. You can likely find both at Bi-Mart, or other local shops.

Yes. Those books have helped many of us get over the hump of the learning curve.
 
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C
ChezJfrey
troutdude;n602796 said:
Welcome to Oregon, and to OFF.

Highly recommend these two books. You can learn a lot, in a short time, by reading them. You can likely find both at Bi-Mart, or other local shops.

Those are both gold for hardware advice. I took a shine to Herzog's Spoon book and its conveyed knowledge has served me well :)
 
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Hooked Up
Hooked Up
troutdude;n602796 said:
Welcome to Oregon, and to OFF.

Highly recommend these two books. You can learn a lot, in a short time, by reading them. You can likely find both at Bi-Mart, or other local shops.

Like everyone has said great books.
 
R
Rusty
Don't do it. Your bank account will be drained because there is always another rod and reel that needs to be added to the quiver. Forget about relationships with non-fisherpeople, especially ones of the romantic nature. Your job will be something you only do to afford a drift boat or gas to get to the river. Your family will begin to wonder why you can never be reached on the cell. Actually, now that I hear it that doesn't sound half bad. So yeah, what they said! but would also have to recommend float fishing.
 
Hooked Up
Hooked Up
LOL Rusty!
Valid point though, it can become an addiction. :D
 
troutdude
troutdude
Hooked Up;n602898 said:
LOL Rusty!
Valid point though, it can become an addiction. :D

ROTFLMBO!!! Great point bruddah! Save them BEFORE the addiction begins!
 
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N
Native Fisher
Thats an old blog article of mine, and it should give you some insight on one of the most effective ways for beginning steelhead fisherman to get into some fish. I have a few other technical articles you might like on there too, although I don't update the blog anymore it should still be fairly accurate.
 
E
elliot1245
Hi,
I live in Portland and am looking for a place to go over spring break(next week). Never been before so am looking to scout some areas. Any suggested techniques? I have two 5 wt fly rods and am down to get some jigging gear. I do not have a boat and need some bank action. One more question. I am also looking to go backpacking over spring break as well. Any secluded spots with a nice campground where I can catch a steelhead/trout/salmon? Can be either a lake or river.
Thanks so much in advance.
 
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O. mykiss
O. mykiss
Hi, welcome to OFF and the moneypit that is steelhead fishing. Sorry to break the news to you but a 5 wt. for winter steelhead will leave your mouth hanging open with drool coming out. I would suggest getting a float rod that is 9.5-10.5 ft in length rigged up with 30-40 lb braid. The rod does not have to be expensive at all, Okuma SST rods are a great rod and deal at around $100. The reel needs to be decent, shimano reels in the $50-$100 range are good. I have always been partial to power pro in moss green. Grab a half dozen floats such as beau macs or my favorite west coast floats in 3/8 oz. jigs are not super cheap but get a dozen 1/4 oz jigs in pink/orange, red/black/white, pink/white, black/purple, or just pink. As far as places to fish around PDX someone else will have to help you with that one. I will probably p$&@ someone OFF but the Wilson river is a great river to fish with lots of bank access and hike in areas. There are very few backpacking areas for steelhead and there are not any salmon outside the Columbia/Willamette this time of year. There are TONS of high lakes to hike in and fish with your 5wt. However, not this time of year they are all frozen over or the banks have 5ft of snow. Hopefully I helped at least a little bit, good luck and feel free to ask any other questions. Good luck and post pictures!
 
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troutdude
troutdude
X2. Unless you can find a lake, to fish. You're pretty much SOL until the season opener, for streams.
 
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Aervax
Aervax
Your 5 wt would be perfect for Redside trout on the Deschutes River. It is open year round to trout fishing. Check the forecast, but spring weather in general can be warmer and dryer over there than on the coast. The lower 30 miles is roadless, and there is a good trail that paralells the river. There will be very few, if any anglers fishing that stretch this time of year. It is fished hard in the summer for trout and the fall for steelhead and salmon. Lots of great riverside camping spots. If you want to back pack I would drive down river from Maupin and park at Mack's Canyon, which is the end of road access. There are lots of great camping spots along the road there too. Alternatively, you could set up base camp by car camping, and hike down the river to fish. It is even more beautiful than usual this time of year.
 
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F
FishingSkillz
Not steelhead, but if you want to fish for some good sized winter hold-over trout, Clear Lake Resort on the McKenzie River Hwy is open during the winter. The road is covered with snow, so you'll have to hike about a mile or so to the lodge where you can rent a boat. I've done this and its a lot of fun. The fish are hungry. I haven't tried camping there during the winter, but I bet you could.
 
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A
AnglingAddictsPNW
Sounds like O.mykiss has you squared away on gear that you may need and I totally agree that it doesn’t have to be something expensive.. don’t go buy a ton of stuff for techniques that you don’t know, and that take time to perfect, or to even get right for that matter.. You can lose too much gear/money that way.. get yourself a rod, braided line is a must. I fish it exclusively and get some blue fox Vibrax spinners. #4 or #5 I prefer a mix of both. Find yourself a section of water on a river that you know has a steelhead run currently happening (just check myodfw) and go cast some lures.. They Still Work, just seem to be more underestimated due to all of the new options. For any nay-sayers, hers a video of me catching my limit in just over an hour a couple days ago. I even explain where I’m casting to get the lure where I want it to be. As for which river for best chances? Again, just look at the site at www.myodfw.com it is a huge help. And there aren’t any rivers or streams that can be camped along around here. Campgrounds are currently close. So you may be out of luck on that portion. Let me know if you have any questions about the video.. Best of luck! Hope this helps
 
troutdude
troutdude
Holy cow Nick; that's the fastest retrieve I've ever seen! ROTFL! But seriously...excellent video.
 
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