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You may want to expand your arsenal a little. The most recent thing I have been using is a twitching jig. I have heard that you should only use those for salmon, but someone forgot to tell the steelhead I have caught. This technique works best if the flat has a flatter bottom, ie - not too many boulders to get hung up on. Spinners and spoons also work well in these areas. Make your first cast right out in front of you, and gradually work across the river with successive casts. Move up or down stream if you aren't getting bites. Jigs under a bobber work well in these areas, too. Another tactic I use, use a slinky sinker, less hang ups, and a RAG. If you have never heard of these, look them up. They are made from window backer foam rod, with yarn threaded through them. You can make then whatever size you like, and colors to your liking. Or, drift fish some salad shrimp. A little yard with them helps get tangled up with the fish's teeth.What tactics are you using for long flats? Since I’m a banky, I would normally approach by swinging spinners or spoons but maybe I’m better off drifting something?
Banky? I think the proper term is bank maggot. Just joking but that is what I call myself when I'm fishing from the bank.What tactics are you using for long flats? Since I’m a banky, I would normally approach by swinging spinners or spoons but maybe I’m better off drifting something?
Ah interesting. I did some twitching this fall for coho and am comfortable, I was under the (now known to be false) impression that this wasn’t the best tactic for steelhead! I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, appreciate you. Also going to lookup a RAGYou may want to expand your arsenal a little. The most recent thing I have been using is a twitching jig. I have heard that you should only use those for salmon, but someone forgot to tell the steelhead I have caught. This technique works best if the flat has a flatter bottom, ie - not too many boulders to get hung up on. Spinners and spoons also work well in these areas. Make your first cast right out in front of you, and gradually work across the river with successive casts. Move up or down stream if you aren't getting bites. Jigs under a bobber work well in these areas, too. Another tactic I use, use a slinky sinker, less hang ups, and a RAG. If you have never heard of these, look them up. They are made from window backer foam rod, with yarn threaded through them. You can make then whatever size you like, and colors to your liking. Or, drift fish some salad shrimp. A little yard with them helps get tangled up with the fish's teeth.
I tie my own, and tried suspending a few of the twitching jigs under bobbers. They worked there, too. I haven't really sat down and crunched the numbers yet, but I must have over a hundred that I have tied, also some spinners I built myself. I like that I have control on the quality, colors, and components I use - and that adds to my confidence using them. The RAG, I ended up going to a local glass shop, that does windows and such. They sold me a few feet of backer rod (foam) in the colors I wanted. Typically, they come in grey. But I was able to find some in White, too. Another option, we had foam ear plugs to use in a manufacturing plant I worked in. They came in packs of two, in different fluorescent, white, and other colors. I cut to size, and use a darning needle to thread the yarn through them, and then trim to the size I want. The yarn is useful for getting stuck in their teeth, also looks like your RAG has wings. So it adds motion and attracts them, plus being buoyant, float just off the bottom, depending on where your weight is. And they don't cost much. Good luck and tight lines.Ah interesting. I did some twitching this fall for coho and am comfortable, I was under the (now known to be false) impression that this wasn’t the best tactic for steelhead! I’ll be sure to keep that in mind, appreciate you. Also going to lookup a RAG