Drift boat, winter steelhead.

[Fish_Hunter1]

So I have never fished for winter steelhead on land or on a boat. So I was doing some learning on the internet about some techniques for drift boat usage. I had found like hot shotting, diver and bait, side drifting. I am wondering with the hot shotting and diver and bait how far away from the boat do i want to set my gear? any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :thumb:

 

[jamisonace]

In my opinion it depends on water clarity. If water is a nice green color I don't let them out more than about one and a half boat lengths. Clearer than that I may let them out up to three boat lengths.

 

[eugene1]

I think it depends on the drifts you are doing. Snaggy or rapids it's gonna be a short let-out. Long easy drift with minimal snags, turns, or debris you can go longer. Also dependent on water clarity as jamisonace mentions.

I'd worry more about the rowing part if you are starting out in a db though.

Take care,

 

[Fish_Hunter1]

Any pointers on rowing? i never really thought about that lol im good at maneuvering but not sure about backing down a drift straight:yikes:

 

[DirectDrive]

Any pointers on rowing? i never really thought about that lol im good at maneuvering but not sure about backing down a drift straight:yikes:

You're really not going to learn to row from the Interwebz, but i'll give you one pointer...
Oftentimes you will need to point the boat at what you don't want to hit. (I know, weird concept but true)
That way when you apply power (oar stroke), you are pulling away from said object as the current moves you downstream.

A DB is different than rowing a lake boat. It will spin on its center by design, for example.
The oarlocks are usually open and not pinned like some lighter duty row boats.
An open oarlock is safer and more useful in the drift boat application if you can get through the learning curve, and it's not hard to learn.


Good luck.

 

[Steelheader4Life]

My advice would be to take it out in a Lake first just to get the feel of what each stroke will do as far as maneuvering your boat goes. Like DD said the key is to put the tip of your boat pointing at what you don't want to hit and back rowing. That will keep you from hitting stuff but it won't keep you fishing. Side drifting is one of most productive ways to fish for steelhead but it takes time to get it down. Generally speaking you would want the people in the front of the boat to cast slightly up river as you maintain a speed that allows your offerings to drift naturally down river with the boat. I like to keep both lines at a slight angle toward the stern of the boat so it makes it easy to know when you get hit.

I would also recommend that you DO NOT run diver and bait for steelhead because a native's chance of survival when caught using this method is slim to none. Plugs on the other hand can be very effective at times if done correctly.

 

[mosd]

So I have never fished for winter steelhead on land or on a boat. So I was doing some learning on the internet about some techniques for drift boat usage. I had found like hot shotting, diver and bait, side drifting. I am wondering with the hot shotting and diver and bait how far away from the boat do i want to set my gear? any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks :thumb:

where are you located at as ill be going out saturday, ill have a extra seat available? if interested pm me

 

[Fish_Hunter1]

Thank you guys so much for the info. and im located in SE portland but i have to work saturday:sad: Thank you mosd! maybe next time you got an open seat! on a sunday:lol:
and steelheader thanks for the diver and bait tip! what about using that technique for springers?

 

[Steelheader4Life]

Thank you guys so much for the info. and im located in SE portland but i have to work saturday:sad: Thank you mosd! maybe next time you got an open seat! on a sunday:lol:
and steelheader thanks for the diver and bait tip! what about using that technique for springers?

Diver and bait is a great way to catch springers. There will be very few native springers on most coastal rivers so it's not frowned upon. More time then not the fish will inhale the bait, kind of like back bouncing. Side drifting is definitely where it's at for steelhead