Got my first steelhead EVER

[it ain't called catchin']

Got my first steelhead plunking spin n glo's today. Sorry, no pic, was a nate and I'm all about keepin' 'em in the water and just settin' 'em free asap....'bout 5 lbs. Took my friend there two days ago, set her up, she hooked a fish, I talked her through fightin' it.....pulled in a 9 or 10 lb. nate, her first too. Purty kewl. Took me three years to catch that steel guys :redface:.....been quietly workin' my a** off tryin' to learn to catch these fish, readin' water, readin' books, readin' websites, blogs, spendin' time on the rivers perched on a rock, watchin', watchin', watchin' that water, searchin', searchin' searchin'. Didn't grow up here with a Dad, Uncles or friends to pass on any experience......done it the HARD way. Just bein' pure pig headed, keepin' the "hope" stocked up and not quittin'. I can't tell you why it's taken so long......it's not like I never fished before......I knew my way well around big bass, shark (black and white tips, hammerheads, blues), sheepshead, red fish, drum, croaker and such down south. These fish have been elusive for me. I've hooked a couple driftin' (come off) and just started float/jig fishin' this year too but haven't really had a good day of gettin' my gear right in the right spots at that yet, but I will....it's just a matter of time. God knows I ain't givin' up.

 

[Raincatcher]

Congratulations

Congratulations

Congratulations on you first steel! :dance: It's a good thing you're determined,pig headed,stubborn,focused and smart enough to stick with it. That is what it takes for the steelies. Are you going to be with us on the Wilson in ten days? It will almost be like a class with all the know-how that will be available. Hope to see you there.
Again,congrats! :clap::clap:

 

[metalfisher76]

Got my first steelhead plunking spin n glo's today. Sorry, no pic, was a nate and I'm all about keepin' 'em in the water and just settin' 'em free asap....'bout 5 lbs. Took my friend there two days ago, set her up, she hooked a fish, I talked her through fightin' it.....pulled in a 9 or 10 lb. nate, her first too. Purty kewl. Took me three years to catch that steel guys :redface:.....been quietly workin' my a** off tryin' to learn to catch these fish, readin' water, readin' books, readin' websites, blogs, spendin' time on the rivers perched on a rock, watchin', watchin', watchin' that water, searchin', searchin' searchin'. Didn't grow up here with a Dad, Uncles or friends to pass on any experience......done it the HARD way. Just bein' pure pig headed, keepin' the "hope" stocked up and not quittin'. I can't tell you why it's taken so long......it's not like I never fished before......I knew my way well around big bass, shark (black and white tips, hammerheads, blues), sheepshead, red fish, drum, croaker and such down south. These fish have been elusive for me. I've hooked a couple driftin' (come off) and just started float/jig fishin' this year too but haven't really had a good day of gettin' my gear right in the right spots at that yet, but I will....it's just a matter of time. God knows I ain't givin' up.

:clap:EXCELLENT!! So good to know there are people with an actual passion for this still. Nice job bud!

 

[koboabe]

nice work man.

 

[Thuggin4Life]

Good Job! Plunking is my favorite.

 

[OnTheDrop]

Meldrum?

 

[nointrntrprts]

nice

nice

:clap:

the best way to figure it out as far as Im concerned.. the hard way!

float fishing, when you get it dialed is soooo productive! it is my go-to and delivers nearly every trip!

 

[Fishtopher]

Alright! Go Plunkers!:lol:

 

[mgdguy]

:clap: :clap: :clap:

 

[GDBrown]

How to learn

How to learn

Got my first steelhead plunking spin n glo's today. ....Didn't grow up here with a Dad, Uncles or friends to pass on any experience......done it the HARD way.

I can identify with your learning experience. I had a dad who loved to fish and we did; lake trout, salmon on charters out of Westport Washington in the late 50's early 60's, lots of dogfish in the Puget sound, but never even knew there was such a thing as a Steelhead. It instilled the desire but no knowledge. I'm almost 60 now and I've lived in Oregon since '85 and I caught my first Steelhead a couple years ago while trout fishing down on the Trask. I got two out from under the same bush using a small Roostertail an hour apart. :shock:Biggest surprise of my angling life.

 

[skunk]

Good job on your first. I'm trying my dangdest to get my first also. I'm just gonna keep at it too!

 

[solution7]

I second that Go Plunkers and nice job.. Way to stay with it and battle through to get one !! Great man great!!

 

[fishnquest]

Way to go, man. Congratulations on your catch.
You sound like the story of my life.
I just tied up some plunking leaders. It occurs to me, my spinnglo's float. Won't these rigs just float up???

 

[OnTheFly]

Way to go, man. Congratulations on your catch.
You sound like the story of my life.
I just tied up some plunking leaders. It occurs to me, my spinnglo's float. Won't these rigs just float up???

Hi Dale, Not with enough weight. They should float real nice just above the bottom where they should be. If I'm not mistaken, back bouncing is another presentation for this set up.

 

[Troutski]

First...

First...

Now the hard one is on the tag, the rest will come a lot quicker...congratulations :clap: :clap: :clap: :dance:

Chuck

 

[it ain't called catchin']

First steel EVER

First steel EVER

Way to go, man. Congratulations on your catch.
You sound like the story of my life.
I just tied up some plunking leaders. It occurs to me, my spinnglo's float. Won't these rigs just float up???

Hey Fishnquest, thanks! They do float and you want 'em to. You didn't say how you're fishin', if plunking, use enough weight to hold your rig in one spot and when your rig goes stationary, that spin n glo will float up and swing around downstream of mainline obviously parallel to bottom. Depending on where you are, you want to be tied off a swivel a foot or "maybe" 18" above your lead, some say 12", but it depends. If you know you're in a boulder garden, then higher up slightly. Oh, and pay attention to the size of your bait relative to size of spin n glo. You want it to float naturally.

Good luck to you man and thanks to everyone for all the generous congrats, we've moved up to the 12' ugly stik and railroad spikes for springers. I figure if I've got sea lions swimming right next to me at the mouth of the Clackamas within 12' (as one did two hours ago).....they aren't passing by me on their way to Safeway for fish. This one looked like it was chasing something....I'll let you guess what that was.

 

[Coastal]

I can appreciate that first steelhead. I'm pretty new to the whole thing too, with no friends or acquaintances with experience in steelhead fishing. I caught my first two (one the first year I tried, and one the second year) plunking. This was after about two years of drifting and getting nada. What I really wanted was to catch em with a little more hands on action after spending lots of time drifting without success. So I felt maybe bobber fishing would help me spot the hits, and keep me in the water more hours.

So, I bought some bobber gear for 2010. This year I caught one on a pink worm under a bobber my third weekend fishing, and then two weekends after that another with eggs under a bobber. It was so exciting! I've decided that I'm gonna spend all my time getting to know three rivers in my area (Tenmile, Coos, Millicoma), and only bobber fish until I get better at it. It wasn't until I got online and found out how helpful people have been, that I've really gotten better. I also bought some good books, and checked out lots of online videos. The biggest challenge has been figuring out how to read water and actually fish where there fish are.

Good luck to everyone else out there putting in the effort, keep trying until you make it!

 

[joni]

I caught my first Steelhead a couple years ago while trout fishing down on the Trask. I got two out from under the same bush using a small Roostertail an hour apart. :shock:Biggest surprise of my angling life.[/QUOTE]

it's my goal in life to catch a steely on a roostertail
that's awesome