Confidence in your drift gear.

[Grant Scheele]

In the last few days I have seen many great posts and pictures on Steelhead drift rig how-to's(beads, pegged corks, pegged beads, corky size, leader length, corky colors, birdie bearing, single hook/double hook etc...) and I just want to give my two cents.

In the last two years I have had the pleasure of doing several clinics for GI Joes and Sportsmans Warehouse as well as sitting in a couple of different booths at Sportsman shows in Portland and Pyallup, WA . I have been lucky enough to have been exposed to many many excellent steelhead fishermen at these different venues not to mention my wonderful sphere of influence ( other guides, family and friends).

My point is, that I have spoken to literally dozens of absolute fish killers and I think that I have noticed a common thread.

THEY HAVE CONFIDENCE IN WHATEVER TERMINAL GEAR THEY USE.

This wouldn't be such a big deal except that they all use something DIFFERENT and still whack the steelhead.

What I have come to believe is that Steelhead will bite anything if you have confidence in it and you present it correctly.

Last year as an experiment I decided to see what would happen if I stopped using my favorite corky colors and used the creepy weird colors that find their way to the bottom of your tackle box. You know the ones. Christmas gifts and accidents that you have no intention of ever using.

Using the confidence of all of the people that I had talked to in recent years I started using the goofy colors. I honestly didn't see a let down in hookups.

In other experiments, I would give a client a goofy corky or worm color and tell them it was the hot color. I watched my cleints use funny stuff that I would never have had confidence in and use my fake confidence and whack Steelhead after Steelhead like they were using a pink pearl corky.

The moral to this long ramble is this: While it is important to use all of the great advice found on this site, don't get so deep into special hot colors and setups that you miss the special element that separates the killers and the casters. CONFIDENCE!

If you don't have complete confidence in what you are currently using, stop and don't use it until: A)You find something else you do have confidence in or B)Someone can convince you what a great lure/bait you are using.

So, how do you acquire confidence? One way is to find someone that you consider a GREAT steelhead fisherman and copy their every move. The board is full of these guys. Kind of a mentor program. I had my dad growing but I was lucky.

People that I have met at the Sportsmans shows have been so adamant about a fishing rig that, even though I thought that it looked stupid, I tried it with their confidence in mind and I'll be danged if I didn't catch fish.

To be honest, sometimes I would first try it with an unsuspecting client, but that is how I gained so much confidence in the pink worm two years ago.

The poor guy didn't want to use the pink worm. He thought that I was messing with him. I talked him into it and we couldn't keep the fish off of them that day. I think that we hooked 13 or 14 Winter Steelhead that day on pink worms alone. That doesn’t count a half dozen or so egg caught fish.

Had I told him that in the past I had only hooked a few fish on the pink worm and I really didn't have any confidence in it, I don't think that there was a great chance to hook Steelhead on the worm that day and I don't think that it would have worked that day. Now it is a staple in my boat. Along with Amerman Salmon Eggs of course.

My new confidence builder is that I tell myself that a Steelhead will bite anything so I try to put together rigs that I think are fishy looking to me.

With the tough fishing weather we are having right now I have been tying lots of pre-tied rigs. I am mixing never seen before yarns with corkies, and crazy corky colors with pink and orange and purple worms. If I think that they look cool, I tie'em up. If they look cool I will fish them with confidence.

I hope some of this makes sense and helps some of the newer people to find their way. If any of this rambling doesn't make complete sense please do not hesitate to have me better explain.

I think that Jennie says it best:

EXPECT A FISH WITH EVERY CAST!!

When you get to the point that you know your terminal gear is killer in YOUR mind (CONFINDENCE) then you can expect to hook a fish with every cast and that is a great feeling to have.

Good luck, Grant

[ 01-07-2004, 09:29 PM: Message edited by: Grant Scheele ]

[Mikeymoto]

Grant you said a mouthful, but it is really true. I have a friend who can tie on his ole reliable and wham-o, fish on. If doubt is in your head then you'll be unsure if you should set the hook or not.
MM

[Kentucky Hog Hunter]

Grant...

Wonderful summary...2 years ago I was a lost lamb out there till I hooked a couple of fish...

Having a belief in the system you use is very, very critical as you have explained well...

For me this year...it was that darn pink & white jig...Never had confidence till I saw my buddy Hogback hook 6 fish in a matter of 2 hours...Now when I throw that thing, I anticipate that bobber to plunge...

I also agree with you in regards to those pre-tied rigs...As I said in my previous post...Time out of the water is time your partner may get hooked up...

One other thing to add to what you have said...confidence breeds consistancy...A confident fisherman will make one stay consistant as you get older & wiser...

[ 01-07-2004, 09:40 PM: Message edited by: Kentucky Hog Hunter ]

[skrimmy]

Grant, [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] SO true. Good advice.

[David Johnson]

So true Grant.

I even wrote an article for STS a couple winters ago on that very same subject and titled it "The Weapon of Confidence"

If a person expects to catch a fish on the rig they are using then they are going to fish it much harder and they will probably not miss a bite either.

And as you said there are a lot of fish killers out there and they all do something different but the fact that they are good at their spacific method makes them equal in success no matter if it's drift fishing, jigs, spinners, bobbers.......

[Short Hop]

That's the best tip I think I've gotten for winter steelhead. Last year I finally hooked a few fish in a small stretch of river and at the end of the year I knew it really well. This year I started right there because I knew there were always fish reguardless of the water conditions. I've already caught more winters this year than I have in all my other years combined. It's all because I had faith that I'd catch a fish every time I went and I expected bites. If you dont expect them you won't be ready whe they finally come. If it looks like a fish and smells like a fish and bites like a fish dont assume its another rock. SET THE HOOK!

[Bobby Ray]

So true, if you don't have the confidence, don't get out of bed.

[WAngler]

Nice post, makes sense to me!

[letsfish]

Your confidence in your lure, frees you up to focus on the other aspects when drift fishing. For example, how many times have you asked yourself "I wonder if i have enough weight on" or "Maybe I should angle the rod steeper". There is a thousand little things and when you feel comfortable with what your doing you spend more time fishing(right on KHH) and can sense the bite .

[C 'n' D]

Great post Grant. Often people loose site of this simple concept and get caught up in the "latest and greatest" hype.

Hope your winter steelie season is going well.

CnD

[boo]

Grant,
is that why you didn't bring any tackle on our last trip? Looking forward to the Fall bobber fishing and thanks again for a great xmas time trip on the ____________.
Boo z

[Salmonator]

Boo, be glad he wasn't as confident as the day he left the poles on the dock :shocked: Now THATS CONFIDENCE!

[Silver Ghost]

Thank you very much for the advice. I think that this is some of the best fishing advice I have ever recieved.

[sparkleboy]

Originally posted by boo:
Grant,
is that why you didn't bring any tackle on our last trip? Looking forward to the Fall bobber fishing and thanks again for a great xmas time trip on the ____________.
Boo z

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">
I remember that! Grant told me about that little problem after you left... hehe.

[boo]

It was nice meeting you out there Sparkleboy. Thanks for the help with that fish.

Despite the rough start, Grant made up for it all and more with his great personality and expertise. We caught fish with tackle from the nearest 7-11 store. Confidence...it goes along ways.
Boo

[Flatfish]

Ya got it right baby!

Fish hard. Cover water. Work a pod til they quit biting. Move on. Keep the hooks wet.

Mark and the black is the best color dog.

[Wreckless]

[img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]
Right on the $$$$

People used to laugh at my purple yarn fly....not anymore!

[salmurai]

CONFIDENCE, Number One Ingredient in any presentation....

[ZaQ]

The three C's of Carrot Milk:

Confidence
Cleanliness
Continous fishing

Put those things together and you get a fish everytime.
Thanks Grant for a great post!

[4 REEL]

You got it Grant, hook-line & sinker.
Every time I go fishing I really expect to get at least A fish. And it's because I outfit my self with the best possable gear I can afford. Gather as much information as this pee brain can hold and 100% confidence that I will succeed.
If there is any question or new fishing(ie. tuna) I try to surround my self with the people that I think are the best and learn from them.
To be honest, after all the years of fishing, I have only been skunked a handfull of times.
Good post Grant. John

[Dragfreedrift]

Great post Grant. I have caught steelies on all sorts of kooky setups...sometimes its fun to use a crazy rig just to prove that it will work!


HC

[ 01-08-2004, 01:51 PM: Message edited by: half canuck ]

[Bendman]

A couple of years ago some regulars where I fish (drift)were giving me a hard time about always catching springers. They all swore that I was using some kind of SECRET sauce or something. I have told them for years that they don’t care what you put in front of there face just get it there. To prove my theory I said that you could catch a fish with a piece of my coffee cup. They said they would like to see that. I promptly tied a new rig with bare hook tore a couple pieces of Styrofoam off my coffee cup and hooked a nice little keeper in about 4 or 5 casts. I was lucky but it proved my point.

[Fishen Fool]

ZaQ, cleaneness(sp) have you ever looked at Grant, Garys or Scotts boat! :whazzup:

[Salmonator]

Hey Ben, have you given that Willie away and bought a Koffler yet like everybody else?

[Amerman]

Grant

Maybe this is real reason you have confidence not matter what rig you use. :grin:

I believe that is one of the best things people buy when they buy our eggs. They buy confidence, they buy eggs they know will work and they know fish will bite. I think that is also what so many people get out of a guided fishing trip. They walk away with confidence in how to catch fish.

Ben (FF) cleanliness?

have you ever looked at Grant, Garys or Scotts boat

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">Maybe my boat gets a little dirty in the fall; maybe if I was afraid to put a fish in my boat like you, I could keep it cleaner too. The reason they give you a fish box is to put and bleed fish in it. Try throwing 500 fall chinooks in your boat( while letting people hold them up in the front, back and middle for pictures), then come talk to me about cleanliness. Not to mention hundreds of pounds of egg drippings, shrimp guts etc. I'm suprised we keep them so clean.

[ultralight]

I hope that's not your living room carpet :shocked:

[ 01-08-2004, 09:37 PM: Message edited by: ultralight ]

[Fishen Fool]

Gosh Scott, I was only implying that I don't think that cleaniness is all that important in a boat to catch fish!

[SHOUGALNITE]

Thats all it takes. confidence