What type of salmon/steelhead fishing takes the most skill?

What type of salmon/steelhead fishing method is the hardest to master? I'm sure I forgot a few so please list them in the thread.
Have fun :smile:

[ 03-10-2004, 11:48 AM: Message edited by: Stew ]

[Snapset]

I'm with drifterboy. I have the toughest time when I am bait fishing for steelhead. The idea that flyfishing is more difficult than the other methods is absurd, in my opinion. I would rank it as the second easiest, right behind bobber and jig fishing. The way flyfishing is usually done is very similar to bobber and jig fishing.

[lilnorthfork]

Snapset - One difference that jumps out at me is the backcast required when flyfishing. Hard to catch a fish when the fly is in a tree. Also, the NW Coastals I fish have a lot of deep pools and fast water; flyfishing these waters can be a lesson in futility and frustration. lnf

[jet]

lilnorthfork... Roll cast

Jet~~~

[Firedog]

I would have to say drift fishing or flyifishing. Both are my favorite ways to catch them but they do take time to master. I have done a lot of flyfishing for Steelhead and I don't ever remeber it being anything like bobber and jig fishing. A whole lot more skill to it if you actually want to catch fish. Just my .02

[ 03-10-2004, 02:16 PM: Message edited by: firedog ]

[willametteriveroutlaw]

Spoon fishing effectively is a skilled art, Spinner fishing is relatively simple in comparision.. These shouldn't be listed in the same category. Spoon fishing was rated as the most challenging method to chase steelhead by STS.. I tend to agree.

[Steelheader69]

Well, it's kind of up in the air for me. I'd say between drift fishing and fly fishing. Anyone who says it's easy is either flossing or snagging, or one lucky individual. Especially when it comes to steelheading. Bobber and jig??? Not if you're fishing them correctly. Most steelhead and salmon, especially winter fish, you have to run deep with sinktips and a wetfly swing. You can run a strike indicator and weighted fly. But if you want to get technical, jig fishing would be like flyfishing, not vice versa. :grin: Chuck and Duck has been around alot longer for salmon/steelhead then Float and Jigs. But if you're using standard methods with a decent sized leader, you'll have a harder time catching them as frequently as other methods. I know a lot of good flyfisherman who don't have as high of success rates as those running jigs. But you have a lot more mending, and working the line as opposed to other methods. Control is harder since you have such a wide belly in line to straighten out and a thicker line to deal with.

[flyx4]

Flyfishing can be very dificult on some rivers. If your throwing drys and after every other cast you shadow cast to dry it out your arm gets ******* tired. Line control is a must and with different currents it can be damn tricky. Matching the hatch is also very difficult if your new to the sport. Casting wise flyfishing is the tuffest IMHO. Unlike eggs, jigs, worms, bait etc. that are all great baits almost every day. a fly fisherman will go through sometimes as many as 5-6 flies before he find the right one. I guess they all are difficult in there own ways.

Originally posted by Snapset:
The idea that flyfishing is more difficult than the other methods is absurd, in my opinion. I would rank it as the second easiest, right behind bobber and jig fishing. The way flyfishing is usually done is very similar to bobber and jig fishing.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica"> Not to be rude or anything but I find that opinion to be absurd. I suppose if one was to use strike indicators and weighted flies it may be similiar to bobber/jig but most other methods of fly fishing are difficult.
Spoon and spinners would be, in my opinion, more difficult than drift fishing.

[ 03-10-2004, 02:39 PM: Message edited by: Stew ]

[weekend warrior]

This is one of those things that you could take a couple different ways. I driftfish and think to catch fish regularly you got to have some skill. I also spinner fish for salmon and have seen people catch fish with a junky spinner and not even paying attention to there retrieve. Once again the guys who know whats up will kill fish on a regular basis.
As far as the fly fishing thing goes, I think what Snapset is saying is that alot of flyfishers use strike indicators and drift the fly thru the hole so once you get the fly in the water theres not much skill at all involved.

[Hogmaster]

Please note specifically what I wrote...

"Dry fly on a winter chinook."

There would be no ease in this method, and that is before the backcast!

Funny though, it just shows how the methods we are comfortable with don't seem hard. For me, back bouncing is the easiest method. Just don't bounce in snaggy areas! Just like one wouldn't drift fish effectively in a boulder patch...

[Quasimodo the fish killer]

I dont know about you guys but I think not leainga hole with all the trees decorated like christmas trees and my corkies as the orniments should take top billing


Quasi.

.

[Dakotan]

Catching! Seriously though, I moved here three years ago and had to adapt from walleye fishing in the midwest and found spinners to be the easiest way to catch fish and drift fishing corkies/bait the most difficult to learn but probably the most effective way. The learning curve to get that "feel" down is way steep. Is my weight hitting a rock or is that a fish?!?!?! I think I was setting the hook every ten feet because I could not tell the difference. And then when the salmon were in thick as thieves and you felt a line bump, it was set the hook time because I didn't know what a line bump was from a rock from a fish biting. Totally confused. [img]graemlins/dork.gif[/img]

[Reel Premier]

All techs have their own dificulties, such as mending line, or detrcting lite biters when drift fishing. But, I think back bouncing bait can also be very tough. Especially when fishing very snaggy waters.

[Hogmaster]

I'd say a dry fly for a winter chinook would be a true test!

[SalmonJeff]

Did I see that right dry fly fishing for chinooks!! :shocked: yeah that about takes it .

my opinion would be spoons to consistantly catch fish on spoons can be tough. but I am shocked to see drift fishing running away with it. [img]graemlins/icon_argue.gif[/img]

[Silver Hilton]

Snapset, I have to disagree about flyfishing being the same as jig fishing in difficulty. I can take someone out who has never cast a spinning rod and get them jig fishing in 10 minutes. There is no way someone is going to become an effective steelhead flyfisher without a couple of weeks of casting practice alone.

Hogmaster, fishing for winter chinook with dries is easy. It's the catching that's hard. I'd have to say that fishing the deep mended line effectively is the most difficult presentation I have come across. Which is why I catch most of my chinook from an anchored boat on lures.

[SlimPickens]

Think of all the winter, summer steelhead, spring and fall chinook you've caught on bait and hardware. Now try to do the same with flies.

Its very tough to catch all these runs CONSISTENTLY on flies, especially in bigger water.

[Tanner]

I have a hard time believing that any method for catching steelhead is harder to master than flyfishing. I have caught many steelhead on drift gear, bobber and jig, spinners, spoons etc. I have yet to catch one on a fly.

[fishjunky 2002]

Drift fishing bait takes the most skill
To consistently catch fish you have to be able to read water, also be able to interpret what your gear is doing as it bounces along the bottom.

Float fishing jigs at a terminal fishery would seem like the easy-est way to catch steelhead

[Billy Tillamook]

Fishing a spoon "effectivly" is my vote.

[NetProfit]

Two handed 14 foot spey rod seems to look hard with out a strike indacator

[Ty]

I have a hard time with these broad generalizations such as "drift fishing" or "flyfishing" or "spinner fishing" all methods have differnt levels of skill and require significant experience to master. Anything w/ float would be the easiest and hardly compares to fishing with an indicator. Although fishing with a hard indicator makes the fly cast no longer the fly cast but a float lob.

I happen to be quite skilled at many of these techniques and never found flyfishing for salmon to be a particular challenge. I think that "true nymphing" for trout can be much more difficult at times than steelhead fishing.

Much of the time when one considers fishing to be tough is because the fish are just not there in very catchable numbers. Goes to the ol' addage" if there aren't there u can't catch them.

Those that think fishing in Alaska is always easy... are crazy. There are times where skill and timeing are everything and these thing make a difference. I have also found that sometimes there is nothin better than luck and it will out weigh skill any day if u continue to have an open mind. [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img]

Point being all techniques in fishing take alot of skill to master. Everyone has various learning curves based on there experience and natural born talents. :whazzup:

[ 03-11-2004, 06:35 PM: Message edited by: Ty ]

Originally posted by Ty:

I happen to be quite skilled at many of these techniques and never found flyfishing for salmon to be a particular challenge.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">Geez Ty don't hurt your arm there buddy

[cotalot]

Fly fishing takes technical skill to consistently put it where you want it, but for the "feel" required once it gets there, hands down, I'd say drifting corky & yarn, no scent or bait.

Not only do you have to have your weight correct, read the water and know where they will likely hold, but the often subtle difference between the bottom and a fish can make it a greater challenge than anything producing an unmistakable "strike". Typically, they don't hold it in their mouth for but a couple of seconds without the enticement of bait.

[kayakfisher]

Naked teeth fishing in winter is about the roughest kind of fishing...in my experience.

[B-run]

Knowing what the fish wants under variable water conditions, temperature, sky conditions,etc. and applying that with consistant results.
That takes skill.

Originally posted by kayakfisher:
Naked teeth fishing in winter is about the roughest kind of fishing...in my experience.

<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helvetica">

[ 03-11-2004, 09:13 PM: Message edited by: Stew ]

[Raven1]

I feel that the drift fishing to be the most frustrating fishing method of them all.
I've tried my hand at different methods with varying degrees of success, but this drifting a stupid corkie and wondering how many fish I've just passed up, or had sample my wares drives me nuts.
...... Just MHO :grin:

One note about pulling plugs :smile: Sitting in the front of the boat watching your plug work is a no-brainer! Rowing the boat to get those plugs working well and into where fish are holding is difficult and shows real skill by the oarsman.

[steelheadslayer]

I voted for driftfishing (bait) due to the fact that it takes a lot of time and practice to get the feel just right to detect a bite or a rock or some other type of bottom structure. Spinners and spoons could each have their own space because IMO spinners aren't that tough once you spend some time casting them. Spoons are a whole nother topic, dang hardware anyway. The one thing that sets spinners and spoons apart from all other methods is the take, downright vicious, no guesswork involved. But you gotta present them right. The technique can be very similar to driftfishing depending on the water.