Steelhead with bobber/egg

Gus Orviston · 11-26-2002, 01:41 PM

Anybody fishing bobber/egg for steelhead? We talk all the time about bobber/egg for nooks and bobber/jig for steelies, but anybody target steelies with bobber/egg? :whazzup:

or have I just been sleeping

gus

[editted and mispellings added by BOE]

Bankbound · 11-26-2002, 01:44 PM

I do. I don't like drift fishing all that much, and besides it's fun to watch bobbers disappear. It has worked over on the sandy for me more that once.

MH

Uglygreen · 11-26-2002, 01:48 PM

Actually the steelies really like a sandshrimp hung under a bobber. Works well when the water is low and clear and there is not enough current to get a drift in.

UG

choppers · 11-26-2002, 01:51 PM

gus it works in all the conditions. just find a nice drift and sling away. i like foam bobbers rather than plastic one's you fill with water. the current rips the bobber down and your fighting both the fish and bobber. 8lb main line and you'll know what i'm talking about. happy fishing, choppers.

Bankbound · 11-26-2002, 01:52 PM

Just a plain ole live sandshrimp or some kind of dyed prawn?

FEAR NO FISH! · 11-26-2002, 02:16 PM

One of the popular tactics by the day shift crew above the dams, is to slowly troll a shrimp, bobber and jig around the forebay. They set their bobber stopper at 8-10 feet and slowly pull it around. It puts their bait in front of a lot more fish.

[ 11-26-2002, 03:29 PM: Message edited by: FEAR NO FISH! ]

ampersat · 11-26-2002, 02:21 PM

plain old live sandshrimp is good. another tactic is to tip your jig with a sandshrimp tail. best of both worlds. if you have a ton of eggs you just have to get rid of, you can go for winter steelies with 'em and you'll catch some. however, i think steelies would take a sand shrimp four out of five times over eggs.

Uglygreen · 11-26-2002, 02:34 PM

Just a plain Sandshrimp under the bobber. Put the hook thru the body under the leg area, and then do a 1/2 wrap of the line up the body finish with a halfhitch or a dental brace style rubber band at the tail.

Shrimp will hang headfirst right side up if you did it right. This seems to work best for whatever reason, I dont know. They dont seem to like the tailfirst presentation as well.

Ampersat is a right for lower down / early season areas. Shrimp is best then. Later in the season and in the higher up areas, closer to spawning, eggs will outfish shrimp nearly every time.

UG

tailchaser · 11-26-2002, 02:34 PM

I always bring two rods with me for steelies. One typical drifting setup and another with bobber and eggs/sandshrimp. I love watching that bobber go under and I can fish it a lot farther down a hole without moving positions. A lot of times that means tailouts and other applications that I might not be able to drift fish effectively. It also helps the people who aren't good at telling bites from drift fishing. It's pretty much a no brainer when it goes under. Hope this helps.

tc

KingFisher85 · 11-26-2002, 02:35 PM

Bobber with eggs and sand shrimp. Works killer.

excuse me · 11-26-2002, 03:39 PM

KF85, not sure if you mean to fish an egg and shrimp combo for steelhead like we do for chinook or you mean they both work killer individually? If you do mean a combo that's interesting. I've never tried that for steelhead. Obvisouly combos work great for chinooks with a good sized egg cluster and whole shrimp so using a small egg cluster with a sand shrimp tail for steelies seems like a good idea. Most of the posts above show a preference for float fishing sand shrimp instead of eggs for steelhead, but good eggs work great for that also.

Another thing that works great is to put a smaller sized whole sand shrimp or tail from a large one onto a jighook to float fish for steelies. And salmon too. Use a Jensen egg to hold the shrimp on better and to add some anise scent and opaque cerise color.

KingFisher85 · 11-26-2002, 04:10 PM

Ya, use the egg and shrimp as a combo. I thought that the way I said it would mess someone up. That's a killer way to fish for the spriggers also. I have gotten a good number of steelhead going with the combo.
Silvers hit it
spring/fall Chinooks both hit it
both winter/summer steelhead hit it
good luck.

First Light Bite · 11-26-2002, 04:23 PM

I seen one caught last thursday on the Wilson in tidewater using the same egg/shrimp combo we were all using for Chi. Nice fish too.
It definently works. :grin: :grin:

big guy · 11-26-2002, 08:12 PM

I to like the way you can cover alot of water with different variations of this set up.

djb · 11-27-2002, 08:07 PM

I do real well on some of the smaller coastal rivers with a bobber and egg setup. Ive never floated shrimp with my bobber setups for steelhead. What I do is run a fixed foam bobber ( nick amato specials available at fishermans) and set my weight so that is running about 6 inches of the bottom of the river. Ive found that it is real important with bobber and eggs to make sure the weight is down near the bottom. Set the bobber length till the float starts ticking( weight scraping river bottom) then adjust your bobber in about three inch increments till it flows naturally with the current. Works killer on Eagle Creek

Bobby Ray · 11-27-2002, 08:21 PM

djb,

Just curious how long of a leader do you use when you float just off the bottom?

BnB

KingFisher85 · 11-27-2002, 08:30 PM

Just to let you know, I use a 6 to 7 foot leader when doing all my bobber fishing.
just my 2 cents

djb · 11-27-2002, 08:59 PM

I dont go more than 12 inches usually, 16 inches max. A guide friend of mine got me into canadian bobber fishing with eggs about 6 years ago. On alot of the smaller streams where it is hard to drift fish. bobber fishing can be the ticket. I personally prefer to fish jigs with thill fixed bobbers for steelhead but sometimes a fixed foam bobber and eggs works better.

ampersat · 11-28-2002, 06:40 AM

isn't your leader supposed to be at least 18"?

husker · 11-28-2002, 07:17 AM

UG:

i was taught to hang my shrimp with the head hanging down, but your post says to do it tail down. When i rig a shrimp i always run the hook through the 1st tail section then about the 4th tail section up finishing with the hook straight through the head section finished with a half hitch around the tail. The shrimp hangs perfectly straight with that presentation but my sucess is poor.

[ 11-28-2002, 08:18 AM: Message edited by: husker ]

snake2 · 11-28-2002, 07:45 AM

I have done well on bobber/eggs although I try to save my eggs for backbouncing for springers. Shrimptail w/ a Jensen egg bumber is very effective. That little plastic egg does wonders for holding that shrimp on as well as a more aggressive bite. Whatever way you like to do it, Bobber fishing kicks tail! Happy Thanksgiving.

KillerDave · 11-28-2002, 07:54 AM

Leaders: On small streams and pocket water, short (12" to 15") leaders are the way to go. In big water, I'll jump up to a 4' leader.

Weights: Small chunk of 1/4" hollow core pencil lead, pinch on a mono loop. Clip in on a snap swivel. I never go heavier than 1/4oz and usually 1/8oz. Remember, a steelhead's eyes are on the top of it's head so whatever is on your line is hanging right in it's cone of vision. Smaller is better.

Floats: I'm a big believer in small fixed floats, like the Thill Turbo Master. The new weighted Thills work great when you need casting distance.

Wog · 11-28-2002, 07:56 AM

I have fished the Bobber/Egg setup and had success with it for both Summer and Winter Steelhead. It is generally not a technique I go out and "Target" fish with as I prefer to Drift fish instead.
I have caught alot more Steelhead using Bobber/Sandshrimp and Bobber/Jigs but Bobber/Eggs has produced fish.
Using Bobber/Bait is one of my favorite techniques when fishing out of a driftboat. When I get to a section of slack water where the current is too slow to side drift, I toss out this setup making sure to cover all the water as I make my way down stream.