ID clearwater tribs winter steelies

[uflyfish2]

Hi ! New to the board, cool place!
I'm new to steelheading ( Or it's actually been 20 years ago that I did it)
And I'm going to make a trip in the next two months to fish the tibs of the Clearwater in Idaho. I was hopeing for any advice on technique. Iv'e been nymphing for trout for so long, and streamer fishing, that I really don't have much of a clue about "Swinging" and all these other tactics for steelies. Maybe they don't even do that there, I just know the tribs are fairly small rivers with pretty good sized fish-
I'm planning to use a Meizer switch rod 7/8/9, and a 9.5" sage rlpxi single 8wt. or a 7wt. - Not sure if the sage is right for this but that's what I intend to get- Leaders for this, fly patterns, anything would be a help.
Any advice of any sort would be hugely appreciated .
Thanks alot-
Uflyfish2

[Mojo]

uflyfish2, beware the Southfork of the Clearwater is an ugly place to fish from February through the end of the season. Most fly fishermen you see there will be fishing multi-fly rigs and "rolling the bottom" which is another name for a technique commonly called flossing or snagging.

You can catch fish swinging flies, but it is tough. These fish are close to spawning, and tend to have zipper-lips. The river is loaded with fish, and those 2 factors lead to the above mentioned techniques.

The people you will meet on the river often feel they have a right to walk in and start fishing 10 feet downriver from you - most times throwing gear and messing up your swing.

Please be patient, courteous, and report any fishing violations to the Idaho Fish and Game. Good luck.

By the way, I prefer purple egg sucking leeches, and purple bunny leeches on a floating or sink tip line.

For fly fishermen, the Clearwater system fishes much better in September, October, and the beginning of November. Just a heads up.

[STS_FISHER]

Plus the S. Fork wont have many fish returning anway. http://www.ifish.net/board/showthread.php?t=181681