Low Gin Clear Cold Water Tips Contest

OK Mother Nature, have it your way. We will just catch a lot of steelhead anyway . Timely contest: Post some of your best low gin clear cold water tips for catching steelhead. Limit it to 2 tricks per post; no limit on how many posts though. First prize might be a fishing trip with Bill and Jen down the lower Wilson R. in Bill's driftboat when it gets down to 2.5 feet on the gauge . Since they don't know about this yet, it will be up to you to force them to take you. If you can't get them to push their boat down the Wilson, then the prize will be a personal signed e-mail from me stating that you are cool, and that it will rain someday . I'll start it off:

1 - Floatfish a 1/16 oz. black and red marabou jig with a raw (not the cooked ones) piece of prawn tail meat poked onto the hookshank, using 6 lb. Maxima Ultra Green line/leader, by casting upstream from a stealthy approach from below the fish's holding water. The fish might see you anyway but you'll fish more confidently. Float it thru just 2 or 3 ft. deep first then raise the float so as to float it thru just a barely above bottom in case the fish are clear water weary &/or cold water lethargic.

2 - Paint a small size 50 Hot Shot flat black and put a little kelly green piece of arrow shaped lure tape on each side of the tail section of the plug. Paint the 2 tiny eye bulges either red or white, or one of each (if you aren't inclined to paint use the dark green metalic color). Install a super sharpened lightwire treble hook one size larger than stock (unless the newer ones have a big enough hook), tune it to dive straight down in the current, and scent it with crawfish/anise oil. Approach the holding water from way up stream slowly in stealthy colored clothes. Silently wade out well above the hole and free spool the plug with 6 lb. Max UG line down to the upper end riffles and then very slowly work it down and back and forth thru the holding water. Stop it to hover in front of fish you had seen thru the cover of bushes (you shouldn't be close enough to be able to see the fish even with polaroid sunglasses on during your instream presentation), &/or hover it for a bit in the best looking holding spots. If the current is too weak to give the plug a good action then cast/float the plug down to the tailout and slowly reel it up thru the hole with proper action. Fish on!

------------------
Know fish or no fish. - RT

Gotta put a couple double tip posts up first. I want them to push me down the Wilson; in their D-boat of course!

1 - Live sandshrimp tail fly backbounce. On a long barbed shank size 4 baithook thread wrap on some pink hackle just below the hookeye, as you would with a steelhead fly (alternative: tie on some thin strands of pink yarn just above the hookeye). Tie it on a 40", 6 lb. Max UG leader and add a 3" to 5" lead dropper at the swivel. Pinch off about a 1 1/2" piece of live sandshrimp tail and feed it over the hook point and around the bend onto the shank and snug it up to the hackle. Poke the hook point out thru the underside of the tail section about 3/8" above the fantail, leaving it hanging out in a natural curled tail tip look. Stealthily position yourself above holding water and crimp on just enough lead that will allow you to slowly backbounce 'jig walk' the tail down thru the hole. Use an alternating jigging rythym backbounce from a quick rodtip drop/slow pick up with an opposite slow drop/quick pick up; alternate this every few feet down. This jigging type backbounce action and hackle/yarn flutter is deadly in these water conditions. It will also work with small plain egg clusters, crawfish tails, and real or rubber worms too. If the hole is just too snaggy then you will have to use a float to fish the tail; also deadly effective.

2 - Drab to bright spinner followup. Paint a size 3 Blue Fox Vibrax brass spinner black (a black permanent marker pen will do) on 1/3 side of both the front and back of the blade, and half the cone shaped vibrating body weight. Do the same on a size 4 silver blade with a flame red body. After your careful slow approach, flutter drift the spinner thru the riffles; deep flutter retrieve thru the deepest part of the hole; swing it thru the tailout. After covering the water well with the smaller brass spinner with no hookup, then repeat the above with the bigger brighter spinner. The next hole reverse the order. I like spinners for really low water better than spoons because they work in slower current, and spoons usually take a little stronger flow
to work properly. ....

There are so many good low water techs. Post some of your good ones here to your fellow Ifishers, and maybe you can get pushed down the Wilson R. .



------------------
Know fish or no fish. - RT

[Centerpin]

Tip #1

Float fish a 5" pink pearl beany weanie rubber worm. Use about 24" of 10 lb leader from your lead to the worm. Fish the worm about 2' off bottom. Find water that is moving and work the pockets amongst the broken water. If they don't hit in the first few casts move along to new water.


What do you guys consider cold water? I was fishing in -6 degrees C today. I imagine the water was around 1. Ice was floating below riffles. The river was freezing from the bottom up riffles first. No anchor ice yet but soon.

Tip #2

Fish a very large gold plated spoon like the Gibbs K4 wobbler or the Ironhead. Throw the spoon into the fast water working it at a slow to dead retrieve into the slower water along the seam. Bump bottom a few times to wake those bad boys up then use your rod and reel to get a slow pump going on your rod tip. Make sure your spoon doesn't roll excessively as a wobble catches more fish.




[This message has been edited by Centerpin (edited 12-09-2000).]

[smilesforu]

1)Target fresh fish from the evening tide.

2)Use bait.

It is a lot easier to target fresh fish and they will also bite bait in clear water. Put the two together and you can get some easy limits.
Tight Lines

------------------
Marty M
Steelheader.net

[rob allen]

Low clear water huh.. ok here is what i'd do

For gear fishing i'd fish fresh roe cured in borax only. I'd fish in on a spinning rod with a light line and no weight! This is a great way to show something slightly different and more natural to fish that are a little shy due to low clear water. Often in these conditions the fish arent the only thing thats slow sometimes our responces are slow too and with the no weight the fish will hold the bait longer giving us extra time to respond.

Fly fishing

fish small flies on heavy stout hooks on a floating line( double tapers work best) and a long leader. Quartered upstream with backmends to sink it good. Again this is appealing to the shy side of the fish. Its a more apporach than using a weighted fly and fishes slower than a sink tip. very few people fish this way so its also a good way to show fish something new..

flies i like for this are
the paint brush and the silver and orange.
the best hook for both is the mustad 7970#2

Paint bursh
body: flat gold tinsle
body hackle: red or orange palmered over the back 2/3 of the body
forehackles: first a few wraps of deep purple hackle and a few wraps of blue hackle.

Silver and orange:
Body: flat silver tinsle
hackle: red or orange
wing: white calf tail

Rob, I think the weightless egg drift is a good idea! I used to try that occasionally many years ago with a little success but haven't since up river floatfishing got popular. Sounds worth trying again. One thing that I did try many years ago was winter steelhead flyfishing with very little success; only did well on summers. I learned of the floating line heavy hook method from Bill McMillan and Mark Noble. I think they had a fly very similar to the Paint Brush you've described. Maybe I gave up on it too quickly. The only way I hooked the few winters I did on a fly was with a fast sinking tip line, short 4' leader, and a weighted double egg orange winter steelhead fly with white hackle, usually with a dead drift; sometimes at the start of the swing. But as I look back on that, it was more just driftfishing with a fly rod; like Jim Teeny does with his nymph fishing with lead and calls it 'flyfishing' ... it isn't really. But fun. ... Wait a second; I also tried the weighted double egg pattern in low water with the floating line ... that was a little like jig fishing. To a degree, maybe so is your winter fly method? (and Bill M.s and Mark N.s early method?). - With a lot of winter fish coming this year and low water seemingly intractable, let us know how you do with the fly. Interesting. ... CP, I'm not up on converting celcious to farenheight. Are you Marty? Our steelhead start to get lethargic as the water drops toward the mid 30's F. Isn't 0 celcious the freezing point? That would mean O cel. = 32 F., so maybe your fish start getting a bit lethargic around 3 degrees cel. water temp, CP? I would think that since AK & B.C. fish evolved in colder water they might be a little more hardy in those conditions than ours. Do your fish start playing hockey pretty soon?


[This message has been edited by RT (edited 12-10-2000).]

[Jim]

No doubt for me.

10lb test Power Pro...about the diameter of 2lb mono. To 3 - 4 feet 6lb Berkeley Vanish leader. Small pink corky and a tuft of white yarn and crawdad smelly jelly ...NO BAIT...now anchor above and slowly backbounce that down through any slot. The takes are gentle...don't know why.

I AM GOIN' FISHIN ON THE WILSON!!

Have Fun Guys and Gals!

Jim


Oh RT...That tribute to America was awesome thanks for sharing that!

[Hookset]

A couple general comments before my tips. Don't always assume that low clear cold water conditions means fish are spooky and generally won't bite. That's just not always true. Sure, they can become lethargic and dificult to catch, but properly motivated, they can become aggresive, irritable and strike at alomst anything. You just have to know how to motivate the fish in low clear water conditions.

I'll answer this dilema by asking a question for the boat owners. Have you ever fished a good hole hard that you swear had to have some fish in it? And, just after picking up anchor the next boat down alomst instantly hooks a fish in the SAME HOLE you just vacated? Does this sound all to familiar? Sometimes this happens because you spooked a fish back upriver while drifting over or near it. And most of time you simply woke the fish up by lifting the anchor and breaking water with the oars. That's right, the fish was there all along, you just simply forced it to move and relocate so the next boat down had an improved chance to catch the fish.

Here's tip #1 for boat fisherman - When your fishing low cold clear water and your stealth aproach does not yield a fish, or you already caught one or two and the action stopped, pick up anchor and row out over the hole, drop the blades in the water several strokes, move back over and upstream from your first position if you can then re-anchor. Within the next 2 to 5 casts you should be yelling fishon. I've used this technique several times with good results and have witnessed other fisherman who benifited from this thechnique unknowingly. A word of caution........do not use this technique around lots of other boats, some people will get extremly excited and agitated thinking you are purposely trying to screw with their fishing. Also, as smileforu already mentioned, try to target the freshest fish you can.

Tip #2 - Use something pink, hot pink, pearl pink, glitter pink, plastic pink, rubber pink, fist try pink. Pink is always a good color choice in low clear cold water. I have also found the combination of pink with chartreuse yarn to be dynamite in these conditions. Rob already mentioned the other item I like, a small glob of cluster eggs fished with limp line and almost no weight ( I know he mentioned no weight).

You know, I'm not sure I should be giving away these hard found secrets. But are there really any secrets anymore? Besides, I've got more.........but then that would be more then two.

hook

[Trout,myster]

I'll add to the pot, RT. Since I spend most of my steelhead fishing time as a bank-maggot, and much of that on the upper ends of the Wilson, here's what's worked for me.

1. Pink (no surprise here!) corky, about a #10. I like the "hot" pink which is actually cerise with a small bit of pink or white or red yarn, whatever comes out my vest pocket first. Add a small sand shrimp or just the tail. Then, fish the "pocket water" and stay in the bubbles. It's amazing how small a pocket a large steelhead will camp out in.

2. If the first one doesn't work, it's back to the truck, swap rods for a spinning rig, and fling hardware. I build my own spinners (ala Jed Davis style with components from Mor-Tac) and have really good luck on silver #3 or #4 with a blob of pink tape on the underside of the blade. This works good on bright days. If it's overcast, a may switch to a brass with a blob of red tape. I say blob because I don't waste alot of time getting tape cut into circles or eyeballs. Fish don't care, all they see is a flash of color. I also try to fish these with upstream casts into long deep runs. Lose a few spinners, but you're always coming up behind the fish.

------------------
Troutmyster

[Sand Shrimp]

1)If the water is low, clear and cold don't go early in the morning.Wait till later in the day when the water temp. warms up a bit and fish bright silver bladed spinners to wake up lethargic fish and don't stay in one spot very long,keep moving.

2)Float fish with bait,or jigs using a fixed float with light line(6-8lb) and a spinning rod.For bait use sand shrimp or borax cured eggs,or maybe try a worm.When I fish a hole what I like to do is fish the bobber and bait first and if that doesn't work try spinners.

[Ron BoB]

I agree with Hookset. When the water is low and clear we always fish it twice and some times thrice. Pulling plugs thur a hole sometimes gets us a fish or not, but almost always the second time down. We will not even pull the plugs out of the water. At the end of the slot we pull over out of the slot and slowly row back up. most times they hit at the top just after we have rowed back over.

We speckulate that we either stired them up or we pushed them over the first time down and rowing back up put them back and they've had enough or they were in the shallows all along.

[scooby]

Great topic, I assume we are talking really cold water conditions, not just normal winter cold. Some of the above techniques are great, here are a couple that have worked for me in the past.

1. Fish low on the river - either tidewater drifts or just above tidewater - a pearl pink or pale pink spin n glow with shrimp tail works well.

2. Jigs with some flash tiped with prawn meat or shrimp tail - I like white combos (red/white tail) and pink combos. I think you can cover alot of water quickly and effectively with this technique.




[This message has been edited by scooby (edited 12-10-2000).]

[fishhead5]

Here is something that works for me. I take a shovel along. First I'll work the hole over with lite and long leaders, eggs or prawns. If nothing is working I'll go up river and muddy it up good. Once the hole starts to clear up, the fish have woke up and are wondering what the heck is going on and usally bite pretty good until the water clears up (which is pretty quick).

Fishhead5

[First Bite]

Low gin clear water that's also cold...that's the way I like it. In my opinion the water can't get low enough. My top ten days ever have been when the water is low and clear. Since the request was only for two tips here goes.
This first tip is almost too easy. A 1/8oz red jig fished with 6# test. I've caught more fish on my first cast of the day with this then anything else. Various small baits can be added.
Second tip...a pink worm threaded on a jig head fished under a float. Steelhead absolutely love this worm.
I sure like a lot of the tips that other people have mentioned. Too many things to try and not enough time to try them. Good luck everyone when you head out to the rivers.
Mark

[meyersbilly]

Wow, fantastic tips. Reading through the above posts I noticed that we share a lot of the same tips. Here’s something that I do. Since I know most of the rivers that I fish, inside and out I have noticed a consistent pattern with how fish react to certain conditions (water/temp). This has led me to the following techniques when targeting low/clear water steelhead.

1. Fish the cycle. I fish the lower end of most systems when it is cold/clear and I constantly cycle/race through this section. There are several beats that I fish and I often fish through two or three times a day. Racing back up to the top and coming down through again (not a problem because most people are home waiting for better conditions). Now here’s where the consistent pattern comes in, fish will always hold in certain pools/runs and knowing where they move during different conditions will allow you to cover a ton of water and catch that many more fish. I rarely change my offering between conditions I just keep it longer in the taking water. A good example for BC steel is when it’s clear fish the heads and when it’s dirty fish the tail. Common sense for most people, but you would be amazed how many people continuously fish fruitless water because they hooked a fish there once. If you can’t get him on twenty or less move and come back later.
2. Fish after work. There are certain holes that I only fish one hour before dark. These holes are often the most popular spots on the river, but there is this misconception that fish will only bite in the morning at these holes. Usually just before dark the pool has rested for several hours and fading light gives Mr. Steel a false sense of security. We have observed that adjacent to many heavily fished pool/runs there is a section of unfished/unfishable water that many steelhead hold during the day (when pressured). I keep telling people to wait “they’ll show up” and usually after they have packed up and headed to the truck does the yahooing start. I have had such remarkable fishing just before dark in these pools (seems to be a consistent pattern) that I have taken my wife with me just to retie leaders and re-rig rods. Fading light and fifty hungry steelhead in the pool is a great cardio workout. Who needs tae-bo.

ps. thanks for the jig tips. I fished behind CP and myself yesterday with a jig and got skunked, until I shortened up the drop (distance between float and jig) to some ridiculously short length and then you guess it, wango, two fish on three casts. Fine ending.
pps. Vision hooks, thumbs up!

[Snagly]

Two thoughts on low, cold water steelhead (about the only kind there are in Alaska where I do most of my fishing).

1. Fish to fish you can see. One on the sticks and the person with the eagle eyes standing as high up as he can get. (I stand in the very tip of the bow, hanging on to the bowline for extra stability. Still it's only a matter of time before I do I header.) We fish very, very few holes blind. Instead, we'll float right over the deepest slot and I'll take the most promising side, counting as I go "Right side, two . . . three . . . five." Slick will say "I caught two squirters on the left." So now we know there are 7+ fish in that run, and we've spooked them. No BFD. Lean on the oars and get back upstream or over to the bank and rest it five minutes. Those fish are now potential biters.

2. Feed the fish something small and non-threatening in front of their noses as close to the speed of the current as you can manage. For us, that's usually a multicolored yarn fly. Different times of the day, different light and water temps cause fish to key on a particular color. It doesn't matter what OTHER colors are in your set up as long as THE color is present, too. For fish that have been in the river a while, it's usually a mix of 1" of cerise, orange, salmon and chartreuse (easy on the chartreuse as it can end up dominating the others). Closer to tidewater, work in purple or blue, and maybe some white. Blend the yarn under an egg loop, trim and fish the yarn fly alone or in conjunction with a small contrasting Corkie. The brighter the day, the smaller the overall package.

Just as important as size (small) and color (varied) is the presentation. You're trying for glide -- just enough weight to tick the bottom once (if at all) in the drift, with the cast being 45-60 degrees upstream. Sure, you'll get bit while the fly is settling (and you may not detect it on slack line) but once it's down and going with the flow, you set the hook on any stop or hesitation. (If you're weight right, it won't be the bottom.)

I fish in areas with bait bans, but if bait were allowed I imagine a small spawn sack drifted weightless would give much the same effect.

[This message has been edited by Snagly (edited 12-10-2000).]

I've learned some things on this BB over the last year. Today I learned not to cringe when we row right over the top of fish in gin clear water. I have almost always worked over clear holes real well in a stealthy manner, as mentioned above in my posts. I've done quite well many times doing this. I now know I likely would have done better by re-working slots right away. I'm refering to fishing holes up the river a ways. I do know that good numbers of fish stacked up in or just above tidewater often will get stirred up by boat commotion and go on a bite. I just never thought about that working in smaller gin clear water upstream. ...

This really has become a great BB! A lot of fishers access here, but we are still in the minority among all N.W. fishers so it's cool that we are helping each other become better at catching fish.

------------------
Know fish or no fish. - RT

[OneLastCast]

Low..Cold..Clear. This is my favorite type of water.

NUMBER ONE: I went to to see the Nutcracker Suite Last night and got home today to find a note from a friend on the garage door. (The wife just saw the note and groaned saying I'll get your boot socks)

HEN CAUGHT...NO SCALES..CHROMER...31 INCHES LONG...APPROXIMATELY 10-12 POUNDS...

I have never measured the length of my steelhead before but wouldn't that fish have to be 14-15 pounds PLUS?

My favorite low and clear water setup. I have an old Lamiglass 9.5' 2-6 lb graphite noodle rod. Use 4 or 6 pound maxima chameleon line and leader, the smallest rainbow birdie made and sand shrimp. (use the whole shrimp). The fish don't slam it but just seem to suck it in.....Light Bites.
Fished 1 hour today and had two hook ups.

And RT, I have always been a bank maggot for steelhead and have found that over 50 percent of the time the bite comes back on AFTER a boat has come through. My theory is that the fish get complacent sitting in one spot and are reluctant to move. Once a boat forces them to move they seem to become more aggressive. (Kinda like when someone wakes me up). The last 10 years when those considerate boatman offer to row through the drift on my side so they won't spook the fish I ask them to row right through the middle of the drift and slap their oars.

OneLastCast

[Salmonator]

OLC, a nice thick 34" chromer will weigh in very close to 14lbs. I have weighed several on a good scale. Of course, some variation for skinny or freakishly fat fish. On the same note, we caught a 38" spawned out buck last year that we gave a quick weigh-in at 13lbs. Joe
Just added a pic of a 34" 14lb Siletz summer from a few years back


[This message has been edited by Salmonator (edited 12-10-2000).]

[dummy]

i also love low and clear water. but my tecks are already up. but here is what i do when its low and clear off the bank. 1. long lite leaders with a clear float a 1/32 jig in pink, nightmare, or red. i find deep tails 8 to 10' and work them good. i also bring my polaroids and spot fish it helps to know your fishing on fish. 2. free drift eggs if they dont like 6 on 6 then go to 8 on 4 then 12 on 2. most guys dont think size 12 will hold a steelie but it will and 2 pound test makes it look like just another egg coming down its not for invisabilty its for limpness. of coarse you got to go to a noodle rod to wear out a steelie on two lb test.

[Osprey]

Ok I give up a little here.

1#- a small piece of dull red or off pink sponge soaked in shrimp-oil with a little weight.
2# -just yarn on a hook ,usually 3-colors,flared out and cut to a small round shape,add oil and fish.little weight
Let me know when were leaving Jen

------------------
Row quietly and fish a Cataraft !!---
Release all Wild Fish --<'))>><

After fishing - and failing to catch fish Saturday on the Nestucca - I will stay in bed and do 'honey chores' for my beautiful wife instead of fishing gin clear low water. My wife can never understand the joy of fishing when I don't bring anything home. I've tried to sell her on the catch and release bit, but she's smart enough to know that right now most fish are keepers.

[meyersbilly]

RT: Regarding your post on SFBC. Winter can be deadly in these parts, because the fish go unmolested for so long. It can be pretty treacherous this time of year with the shore ice (sloping into the pool) and frozen over tailouts. Don't forget the ice jams. Many a Skeena angler has slid out into the middle of the pool and over the edge when things really freeze up.

Temperature data has shown that temperatures get down to around .25C in many of our systems and we are still hitting fish. Agressive fish that usually bite on the first or second drift through the pool. It's pretty much a slurpee, but if you can sink your gear into the pool (around the floating ice) you can catch fish. Tough conditions, but quite the experience. Have you ever seen a fly in an ice-cube that's what you'll look like at the end of the day.

Neat stuff watching fish swim around under the ice at -20C.

[Mikie]

HEY RT TRY THIS. LOW CLEAR WATER TRICK LATE NOVEMBER - DECEMBER NOT ENOUGH WATER TO RUN THE RIVER AND NOT ENOUGH TO REALLY PUSH THE FISH UPSTREAM . I FISH THE FIRST FEW HOLES ABOVE TRUE TIDE WATER ON THE ALSEA THE FISH ARE ALWAYS THERE THIS TIME OF YEAR. MY FAVORITE OFFERINGS ARE ,1. DIME SIZE BAIT OF FRESH EGGS.2 TWO INCH LONG FEMALE SAND SHRIMP . SUSPEND BOTH OF THESE OFFERINGS BELOW A BOBBER . P.S. WALK SOFTLY.

[hustlerrjim]

fishing low clear water is very simple ---look for bubble cover and drop down to 6 # test line get above the run and drop your bait ,shrimp tail or small gob of eggs on a small hook using a very light slinky that will slide along the bottom but heavy enough to keep the bait .on the bottom.the trick is to get a big belly in your line and use this belly in your line to pull your bait along by giving little quick jerks bill jen and I used this method on nestucca with exellent results

[potter]

Split shot and nightcrawler for winter steelhead on Cook Creek in low/clear conditions

And the winner, so far, is Eastside Dave. Great idea; in these tough conditions I will stay home with Dave's beautiful wife instead of fish. .... OK, jk (just kidding) of course. I will stay home with my beautiful wife. Well, jk again; I will tough it out and just find what it takes to get fish in this water right now - tomorrow in the snow. Great tips everyone. Keep them coming as long as you like. Jen and Bill are working out everyday for the winner by shoving heavy boxes around their gravel driveway, so they'll be ready to push the driftboat down the Wilson at about 2.3 ft.

--------------
Let Me Know When the Coast is Clear - RT

"Cop Car" hotshot (White/Black bill and
red eyes is the best plug I've even seen
in low clear water. Try it RT and I win.
LOL

I'm ready to go fishing! Now, do I have to get out of the boat while it is being pushed over the rocks? Just curious....

No RT, you may not stay home with my beautiful wife. However, you may loan her your credit card the next time I go fishing so she can put it to good use shopping. She can put the hurt on a new card.

It's great to be married to such an awesome lady who respects my fishing pursuits. However, most of the time she just finds humor in my fishing misfortune.

Let me know when I get to go!

[happybrew]

I prefer to flyfish in low clear conditions. It's fairly stealthy, and much easier than trying to flyfish during heavy flows.

happybrew

[Shannon]

Hookset,

[Shannon]

Hookset,
I have done that before. Caught fish after people leave an area. I do it from the shore. It's so funny to watch some of these bank anglers about fall on there face running down stream when they see you coming. There trying to get to the untouched water first. I told my wife about this and she thought I was exaggerating. I took her to the Clackamas and showed her what I meant. She was laughing in amazement. I casually threw my offering in the water these racers were just at. BAM. Right in front of them nailed a 26 pound Springer.

Gotta love the bank show.

Shannon