Another one from OregonLive

[mike5097]

A Steelheading Drift Fisherman's Primer
Re: Fishing (New Admin)
Date: Thu, 07 Feb 2002 22:23:46 GMT
From: Sandy Wilson, Steelheader <unknown>

1. First of all, you have to remember that when Steelheading, appearance is everything! Go down to GI Joes or something and buy a pair of $200 waders, $100 wading shoes, Expensive fleece to keep you warm, and a $200 camouflage insulated Gore-Tex rain jacket. Find a cap that has some kind of obscure fishing logo on it. It's a great conversation starter. Now you need to take all this stuff home, put it on and roll around in the dirt and mud to make it look used. If you show up at the local drift with all this new stuff on, everyone will figure you for a rookie! The trick is to buy good quality stuff, but have it look used and broken in when you show up to fish. That way, everyone will think you are an old pro at the game! Or if you really want to look like a seasoned pro, just wear old jeans, knee high rubber boots, and one of those black and red flannel jackets. Find a black cap that says "Party On!!" or has one of those bright green embroidered marijuana leaves on it. This ensemble shows that you just get out there to catch fish, it doesn't take to long for you to limit out. It will identify you as a local, which is way cool. If you live in the Eugene/Springfield area, a Bota bag of red wine slung over your shoulder is a nice touch.

2. When it comes to your rod and reel, other rules apply. Let's first discuss the rod. The best kind of rod to buy is one of those bright yellow ones. The reason for this is that the bright yellow color acts as a flag to alert other drift fisherman that this drift is taken. If it is a cloudy dark day, tie a little piece of that fluorescent orange plastic tape on the end. That way you can be sure that everyone will see it, and it will also double as a strike indicator, which is a good thing. You might see other people using rods that say GLoomis or Lamiglass on them. They are trying to impress you. Remember it is not the rod that makes the fisherman, it's the other way around. It is not commonly known that GLoomis and Lamiglass are made from factory second and rejected Eagle Claw blanks! If they try to bolster their egos by commenting on your rod, you can smile to yourself knowing that they are image conscious jerks. By the way these rods are either a matte gray of some other dark finish. This is so they can hide in the bushes, watch you, and then steal your spot. Be leery of these kind of fisherman. Big Spinning reels are a must. This indicates that you are a fisherman steeped in NW tradition. Besides they are cheaper. You can buy good Zebco reel for about 20 bucks. Make sure it is very big. It is going to handle big fish! It should click loudly when you are reeling in so you will know it is working. Buy some good cheap 25lb test mono too. If you get the blue fluorescent kind you will be able to see it better. A good fisherman replaces his line on every other trip, so don't go wasting money on that expensive stuff.

3. Now that you have selected your outfit, rod and reel, start collecting tackle. When you have selected your hooks (Pips dispensers for several sizes 6 to 3/0), corkies and spinnglo’s (several sizes of each color you can find, dime to quarter) , slinkies (several sizes 2” to 8”) swivels, yarn (several colors- red, pink, white, yellow, orange, green, black and chartreuse) steelies (several sizes and colors-single and treble hooks), jigs (several sizes several colors), spinners several sizes and colors), hotshots(several sizes and colors, side planers (right and left), plastics (pink worms only), baits( eggs and sandshrimp, prawn tails too.), lead (at least 2 lbs of it), pliers, bait threader, leader(several tests), cutters, scissors, pen, license and tag. Go find a vest with enough pockets to fit everything in. If you are not sure what to get, ask the tackle salesman. They are a big help. Remember everything will work at sometime. You just have to have it when you need it! Remember it pays to bring EVERYTHING to the river with you – just in case. If you can’t find a vest, put it all in a backpack. Now….ready to find some fishin’ spots?

4. The best way to find a good spot is to go down to Safeway and buy a copy of “The Hunting and Fishing News”. This magazine will alert you to secret hotspots. Anybody that does not read this magazine will not know where to fish. Look for key words such as “sizzling” ,“hot”, “can’t miss”, “record breaking”, "should fish well” and “catching tons of”. There will be maps to the secret holes. This magazine will also list the names and phone numbers of knowledgeable tackle shop owners you can call for reports. This is a plus on the tackle side too, because they will say something like “Yep, they were catching them on greenish blue purply orange yellow corkies with a silver scale on the bottom and the top half covered in silver and gold glitter with cheese scent and smelly jelly imbedded in them. Only got a few left.” Chances are you don’t have that in your tackle collection. You will need to drive there fast and pick some up, and soak up the local angling ambience. Remember the more you buy at a tackle shop, the more information and advice you will get. Don’t forget to put all this stuff in your backpack! Now, on with fishing!

5. Realize that Steelhead driftfisherman are quiet, solitary, surly, suspicious people. If you meet one on a drift, it will be of no use to strike up a conversation. However, there are a few unwritten rules that will apply. If you will notice, the fisherman will be casting upstream and drifting downstream. It is only polite to fish the water he has already fished. Find a spot about ten feet below him, and just start casting! He will appreciate that you have left the untouched water above him for him to fish. He will let you know immediately whether he has finished fishing the lower portion of water. Also, if he starts talking to you, this will be a clue that he is an unskilled fisherman. The correct thing to do here is just ignore him like he isn’t even there. Besides he will not tell you anything of value anyway. This is because if he is a seasoned steelheader, he won’t say anything, if he is a novice, he doesn’t know anything. Now, if there are already several people at the drift, different rules apply. (I know this is confusing, but you will get the hang of river etiquette quickly) If there is more than two or three fisherman on a drift when you arrive, it will resemble the atmosphere of a plunking beach! Party On! Oh, by the way a little known fact: If everybody is plunking YOU should drift. If everybody is drifting, YOU should plunk. This will insure a good mix of fishing techniques and YOUR different rig will attract more fish than everybody else’s similar ones. When you start reeling in one steelhead after another, you will be looked upon as a fishing “god”. If you decide to drift along with everybody, throw your stuff out two to three times farther than the rest. When you reel in, you will pull up the rigs of the next two guys down. This is not bad, because it allows all of you to see what each is using!!! Synchronized casting is the rule here. When you cast, yell “CAST” as loud as you can to indicate your intentions. Everybody will appreciate this. During your drift, set the hook and yell “DAMN” every now and then. This will keep up the excitement and anticipation of your fishing partners!

6. Other tidbits: If a drift boat comes by, dive into your backpack and haul out your bottle of Tequila. Hold it up and yell “How ‘bout a ride? I’ll share!” Be prepared for them to pull over and invite you along!

Tuck one of those trout nets in the back of your pants. It will come in handy when the other guy doesn’t have a net!

When fishing is slow, open your backpack, spread out your gear and have a mini-tackle sale! You can get rid of the stuff that didn’t work for you, and cut your losses!

Remember, fishing is a form of recreation that is equaled by no other. Be excellent to each other.

[Hoosier Daddy]

Another nice one. Glad to see OLive is being useful in some way!!!