amount of weight

[rookie]

I am wondering about the amount of weight most people use when they drift fish. I believe people, myself included, use to much weight when drift fishing. Is the purpose to amost constantly feel the lead or slinky bouncing down stream or just barely ticking a few times in your drift. I feel that by trying to keep my drift gear/bait near the bottom I am missing takes because I can't tell what is a rock and what is a hit. I know that the winter steelhead I have caught have been "Whoa I got fish" not the hey "that was a bump, next cast he is mine". Please give me your thoughts.

[_LIPPEE]

use enough lead or slinky to get you to the bottom,you just want it to tap the bottom through your drift.If you think your missing strikes keep setting the hook eventually your going to hook up and your thumb will start to burn.the more you fish you will be able to determine those strikes and also line bumps.line bumps are when the line drags over the back of fish,it takes lots of time on the river and your line in the water.good luck

[smilesforu]

Rookie
I use as much weight as I can get away with without snagging up yet keeps the gear moving. Fish like a slow moving bait when ever possible. Try using a sliding weight off your mainline so you can feel the fish immediately instead of after it drifts past the fish. Keep those hooks sharp
Tight Lines

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Marty M
Steelheader.net (http://www.steelheader.net/)

[Deleted User]

I agree with Marty's slow drift presentation for chinook fishing, but I would vary your drift speeds with steelhead. Sometimes they like a little slower presentation, especially with bait. Sometimes a faster presentation, particularly with lures like corky and yarn, where your amount of lead weight is such that you only tick bottom every few feet, draws more steelie strikes because it triggers their 'get it quick or lose the opp' instincts. Keep your rodtip high, and mend your line when appropriate (throwing the line belly upstream quickly before it sinks), so you don't get a line belly drag of your lure that is unnaturally faster than the current. Try the lighter lead faster drifting first then follow with more lead and a slower presentation. For that, either use hollow pencil lead that will pull off snags before you break off or try the 'kinda snagless' slinky sinkers. And by all means, learn to float fish your bait and also jigs. You will snag less and fish more, especially in snaggy areas. - RT

[newt]

Rookie,

There's some good info. posted above. I'll make an argument for hollow core pencil lead here.

You mention having trouble detecting a bite....nothing new here, everyone goes through that stage when they are just starting out. More often than not, when a steelhead bites(especially bait)you will be drifting along when all of a sudden, your rig takes on a "weightless" rubbery feel. Stop free spooling a second, lift your tip a little and feel for a pulsing sensation. If that's what you feel, feed em' a little line then drive that hook home!! This may seem complicated but it's not. Once mastered, it will become a split-second, unconciuos reaction.

Back to the lead. Fishing pencil lead produces a fairly sharp "ticking" along the bottom. When you really have a fish mouthing your bait the different sensation will often be very noticable once you know what to look for and have caught a few. Fishing slinkies, in my opinion, makes it much harder to differentiate between bottom and a fish bite. I'd rather lose a little more lead and be able to detect those bites easier.

Of course there are exceptions. Some fish are kamikaze fish that will make there presence known immediately...you just hang on! Others will pull a fast one on you...no matter how good you are. Just when I think I have it all figured out, I get humbled a couple times a year-everyone does!

Hope that helps.

[Hairball]

I also like slow moving stuff for steelhead I use lots of weight. When it’s cold and clear I use even more weight. I also prefer slinkies I like the dull sliding fell they make when sliding on the bottom. 99% of the steelhead I caught lately felt just like a sharp tick when they sucked my setup. They also give you a smooth drift.

For kings I use little to no weight.

Seeing how everybody fishes so different that must be why someday wear hot and somedays we cant buy a bite.

Lots of good info.

[drifter]

Rookster: If you are having a problem with feel, try a rod with more sensitivity. Last year I finally spent the money and bought a Loomis IMX(1082c). What a difference! http://www.ifish.net/forum/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Considering the amount of time we have to fish, you might as well fish with the best.
Drifter

P.S. Regarding weight, I agree with "smilesforu"

[Deleted User]

All 250 lbs of me!

[First Bite]

rookie
A few years back I remember reading an article in STS from Bill Herzog talking about "gliding through the drift" when drift fishing. He suggests using less weight and not tapping bottom so often. Since reading that article, I've tried it and really like the results.

On a different note. When the river levels are lower then normal flow, try fishing with a float. This is my first option when fishing regardless of water height. You can cover "all" the water that's available and you'll spend less time rigging up which means more time with your line in the water.
Mark

[Snagly]

The equation is "Bites = Presentation (speed/ depth) + Location (of fish)+ lure/ bait (action/ color)". The weight you use depends on the combination of all three variables. Every time you change position -- even in the same drift -- you should be considering adjusting the weight. This is why so many experienced fishermen who have responded to this thread have given seemingly contradictory answers -- they've been thinking of what works best in different situations.

I'm convinced that there is a preferred method to present drift gear to fish under every possible combination of factors. It's my job to recognize what factors are in play and gear up accordingly. (I've seldom been in a run where fishermen using two different methods are equally successful. Somebody is always outfishing the other fellows, usually by a wide margin. Yes, sometimes it's the eggs but more often it's not.) The fellow who's slamming them is the one closest to solving the equation on that particular piece of water. Your goal is to gain enough experience quickly enough that in three or four years YOU'RE that guy. And weight has a lot to do with it. (Fishing where the fish are also helps a lot, too.)

Example 1: A swift (4-5 mph) main current and seam with fish thought to be lying all along the soft edge. You'll spend more time in the fish zone if you cast more upstream, use less weight and glide your presentation "up and down" (stream). This is also a good place to float fish.

Example 2: Fish are holding tight to sweepers (brush) on far bank in 4-5' of water. If you don't get your rig DOWN, you'll be over the top and out of the strike zone. A cast too far upstream ends up in the sweepers, so you weight up and cast only a smidgen upstream (basically straight across) and fish a restricted drift (reel in when you're more than 3' from the sweepers). If the water's real deep, feed slack or strip line when the weight hits: get down fast!

Example 3: the fish are in fallen timber piled up at the back of a tailout. Stand well upstream and figure out the arc your presentation is going to make as it swings across at the end of the drift. Start by casting short and looking at the sweep. (Caution: your line will exit the water about 10 FEET in front of and to the side of your rig -- watch a friend's gear swing in clear, shallow swift water and you'll see what I mean.) Lengthen the cast till your drift gear is within a foot of the bad stuff. Put enough weight on to give you a controlled (but no bottom tapping) slow swing across that tailout.

Example 4: A deeper run with less flow. No defined breaks (structure) but good bottom composition so fish could be anywhere, even suspended. Chances are they are loosely schooled (grouped) in one part of the hole. You can use jigs/ floats if the hole is of constant depth (or is snaggy), but if depth varies you're better off putting on more weight and working your rig SLOWLY across the bottom. (You probably also have something buoyant on as your baits, and a longer than normal leader.)

IN GENERAL the more weight you are using, the more you are casting straight across stream (even quartered downstream in Example 3, sometimes). The lighter the weight, the more "up" in your cast to let the rig get down before it hits the fish zone -- but watch out for slack line, too.

I also second the suggestion that you invest in the best (most sensitive) rod you can afford. It doesn't matter that the great anglers catch heaps using $75 rods. What does matter is that intermediate level steelheaders (which you'll be after one season of hitting the river every weekend it's in) fish much more effectively with high modulus graphite rods. These start at $150 or so. You need the extra edge while you're learning.

Hope this helps.

[rookie]

Thanks for the imput. Please give your thoughts on my rod that I use for drift fishing. Iuse a lamiglas Certified pro 8'-6'' Mag X 86 MTC-T. It is rated for 8-17lbs test line 1/4-5/8oz of weight. What is the imput on how sensitive Certified Pro's are? Where does Certified Pro line up against Loomis rods, is it the same as a GL2 or a GL3? I know there are other rods out on the market but I would love to know if this is a good to great choice.

[buzzerbaby]

I agree with Marty I like a slow presentation when drift fishing but Im with stlhdr "floats get my vote 90% of the time and even with floats I like to fish them like drift gear, just let them tap bottom every 5 feet or so.

[smilesforu]

Snagly goes into some detail in the different types of tricks he uses for varied water. The most important thing to learn is where the fish hold, travel and hide. If you put more time into fishing where fish are at you will catch more. Fishing with no fish around can be a lot of wasted energy. If others are catching fish around you then you should stay. But if nobody else is catching fish you should find water that is productive. I am amased at how many times 50 yds can make a good day into a great day. Learn to read water .....then make sure you use what ever size of weight it takes to fish it properly. That can be no weight or plunking with 14 ounces. Good Luck and keep moving until you narrow down the fishy water.
tight lines

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Marty M
Steelheader.net (http://www.steelheader.net/)