Steehead on the fly

K
Kais
trout season is about over and i want to get steelhead tags if i can convince my brother. How is it fly fishing for steelhead, can i use is 5/6wt.
What are some of the important things to know about fly fishing for steelhead, thanks guys
 
S
steelhead_slayer
i started out using a 5/6 wt. i caught 6 steel on it last year and had no problems. over time it'll probably weeken the pole, but it'll work.
 
T
the salmon kid
fly fishing is very good rite now your 5/6 pole would work fine and one important thing in fishing with wet flys is to keep the fly as dead in the water as possible no drag and have fun thats what fly fishing is all about
 
W
waco
it is fly fishing a good bet for winters!???
 
H
halibuthitman
steelhead fishing with a flyrod is quite possibly the most difficult undertaking you will ever do in your fishing career.... and catching one will most likely be the most rewarding.. traditional styles make it very difficult, sink tips, swinging, slowing down your presentation and getting down into the bottom 6 inches of a run is very difficult, and fun, finding good water that also has fish in it can be a challenge... but once again very rewarding. a lot of the fish you see posted on here and ifish and many of mine come from a style of flyfishing called "dredging" dredging requires the use of external shot.. or weight, traditional descriptions, such as the ones used by montana, do not consider using weight not tied into your fly, as flyfishing.. dredging is by far the most effective way to catch a winter steelhead on a flyrod. If you choose to take the river runs through it angle with sink tips and attractor flies I would estimate it to take you around 2 years to hook and land your first steelhead.. I suggest you do it traditionaly first, its kinda cool. I use a 6wt for winter steelhead, but it is glass and will take the punishment, in febuary I switch to a graphite 8wt designed for fishing bonefish, a 16-22 lb native winter will beat your 5-6 most of the time.. and it will be a heartbreaker. But this is fishing, and you can use whatever you want if it is fun for you, landing a steelhead is a bonus... just hooking one on a flyrod is an accomplishment worthy of a ear to ear grin and a war whoop... nothing worth doing was ever easy... I wish you success- Brad
 
D
duanedoran
Of bigger concern than hurting your 5/6 weight rod is the fish. A 5/6 wt rod is fine for certain Summer Steelhead but you'll find most guides and experienced fly fishermen will tell it's not very ethical to use on it on large fish as it does not have the backbone (especially a glass rod) to get a fish to hand fast enough. The result is a fish fighting for his life and you fighting to try and get the fish landed. In the end, a lot of fish are tired out, over stressed and a dead fish is the result. You most likely will not see this as it will occur after you've released the fish. Get yourself a good 7/8 weight rod for Winter Steelhead and help to keep these magnificent fish plentiful.
 
H
halibuthitman
agreed, thats why I switch to an 8wt in feb when I start seeing nates of any size, a 5-7 lb hatchery fish in nov and dec is much more fun on a 6 wt.
 
F
FishFiddle
So basically a good middle of the road one rod setup would be a good 7wt. Right?
 
G
GDBrown
Dick's (Hillsboro store) has an 8wt - 9' rod by "Field and Stream" that is bassed on an IM7 Blank made in China for $40.00. That's is a great price to get you into the weight range that you need for winter fish. It may not be the greatest but try it and see if winter steelheading is what you want to do. If it turns out that you don't like it then your not out that much money. If you really like it and want to upgrade you can donate the cheap rod as a price at one of the OFF Charity functions.

Just a thought,
GD
 
D
duanedoran
FishFiddle said:
So basically a good middle of the road one rod setup would be a good 7wt. Right?

I personally don't believe you need a rod in every weight category and for some reason I got stuck on even number so I would own a 6wt and an 8wt. If you already have a 5wt then I would opt for a 7wt. I also prefer a longer rod so would go with 9'-6" rod. The longer rod helps with line control which is VERY important for Steelhead fishing. This why Spey rods are so successful. It's true you can cover more water with one but the ability to mend line and slow down your fly is even more important.
 
O
OnTheFly
In this case Size Does matter. If you haven't already, take a look at the pictures I posted on bigsteel's thread 'Matolius a great trip'. Take a good look at the tension on my fly rod. That brown trout was caught in current on a 5wt. I experienced the same realitive resistance with an 8.5 pound summer steelhead on my 7wt. If I were fishing for winter steel my 7 would maybe do the job but IMO the 8wt would be the better choice.
 

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