I use a size 1 or 2 Octopus hook and use eggs w the yarnie. I fish yarnies when the river is high. Dime size egg cluster or bead when water is average depth/clarity or lower. If you can tie a descent egg loop, a yarnie is one extra process. I like pink/red, white and blue/black combo.
steelhead yarnies
I am interested in trying out yarnies drift fishing, does anyone know a good place to buy some?
I found this place on esty that sells yarnies. what size and type of hooks do you use with yarnies?
1. do the yarnies come on the hook or do you put them on then hook each time?
2. do you fish the yarnie by itself or do you add bait? Do they work for spring steelhead ?
I found this place on esty that sells yarnies. what size and type of hooks do you use with yarnies?
1. do the yarnies come on the hook or do you put them on then hook each time?
2. do you fish the yarnie by itself or do you add bait? Do they work for spring steelhead ?
1 - 20 of 27 Posts
I love fishing yarn balls, one of my go to’s in most water conditions with some color. I make them separately and put them through the hook and use the bait loop to pin it down. I almost always use some kind of bait with them. I prefer dime or nickel size in all kinds of colors. Although, I mainly stick to orange, pink, white, red, and chartreuse. Look up a YouTube video on how to make them. All you need is some sharp scissors, some yarn, and stretchy string.
Adam, let’s back way up. Who are you????I am interested in trying out yarnies drift fishing, does anyone know a good place to buy some?
I found this place on esty that sells yarnies. what size and type of hooks do you use with yarnies?
1. do the yarnies come on the hook or do you put them on then hook each time?
2. do you fish the yarnie by itself or do you add bait? Do they work for spring steelhead ?
Just kidding sort of. Tell us a bit about yourself and how you entered this crazy world and site?
For where you are at in your journey, you need to focus on bait under a bobber. Live in that space and you give yourself the over all best chance at a hook up. The veterans on here will clown me but they forget how hard the beginning of the journey is, I don’t. It’s my least favorite way to catch a steelhead and my go to at the same time.I am interested in trying out yarnies drift fishing, does anyone know a good place to buy some?
I found this place on esty that sells yarnies. what size and type of hooks do you use with yarnies?
1. do the yarnies come on the hook or do you put them on then hook each time?
2. do you fish the yarnie by itself or do you add bait? Do they work for spring steelhead ?
Don’t get too discouraged this year, it’s a tough one for sure
Keep at it.For where you are at in your journey, you need to focus on bait under a bobber. Live in that space and you give yourself the over all best chance at a hook up. The veterans on here will clown me but they forget how hard the beginning of the journey is, I don’t. It’s my least favorite way to catch a steelhead and my go to at the same time.
Don’t get too discouraged this year, it’s a tough one for sure
I’ve been fishing Steelhead for 30+ years and I can count on one hand the number of fish I’ve hooked under a bobber. I think it’s more about where you spend your time and what you enjoy. For me it was and always will be drift fishing.For where you are at in your journey, you need to focus on bait under a bobber. Live in that space and you give yourself the over all best chance at a hook up. The veterans on here will clown me but they forget how hard the beginning of the journey is, I don’t. It’s my least favorite way to catch a steelhead and my go to at the same time.
Don’t get too discouraged this year, it’s a tough one for sure
Right, so for 1/3 of that time, float fishing didn’t exist in present day form and braid was something you used in the ocean, in the tropics.I’ve been fishing Steelhead for 30+ years and I can count on one hand the number of fish I’ve hooked under a bobber. I think it’s more about where you spend your time and what you enjoy. For me it was and always will be drift fishing.
I can’t recall how many years ago, early 90’s? I was below Rivermill drift fishing and loosing a ton of gear. Saw this old dude chucking a plastic yellow egg and some purple feathers. Was so odd I had to Wade over and ask “hey, lama, so what gives?”, Jim Bradbury proceeded to explain floats and jigs to me.
Drift fishing is my favorite as well but I have to maximize my opportunity on the water.
tight lines brother
As mentioned above, YouTube is your friend. There are a lot of different ways to make them. If you do want to buy them, the yarnies Steelhead Stalkers sell on their website look pretty good. Good luck!
Don't buy yarnies. They are so CHEAP and EASY to make. Just look up a video on how to make them and do it yourself. I see your also the guy asking about hook sizes on the drift fishing thread...look it doesnt matter if your using corkies, beads, yarnies, bait...there is no set hook size for any of those. You just want to match the hook to the size of whatever rig you pick. If fishing corkies you want that corkie to be able to fit between the hook point and shank.
Don’t over think it. One of the best steelhead fishermen I ever knew used a strand of red and a strand of white yarn tied in a granny knot above the hook. He caught more fish using that than any other rig....
I'm a 70 year old 'old school' type of fisherman. Back around 1977 I was fishing below Marmot dam using corkies when I noticed a really old guy (probably 50 or something) who just caught a steelhead on a piece of yarn. He and I spoke for a while, he said he could mimic any color corkie I had with just 2 or 3 pieces of yarn. Yarn is a whole lot cheaper than corkies, so I started experimenting with just yarn. It is still my favorite way to fish for steelhead, probably caught 2K - 3K steelhead this way. All I do is use two alternate color pieces of yarn, each about 1 inch long attached to the hook through an egg loop. No where near as pretty as those 'yarnies' I see, but Steelhead aren't looking for a pretty round ball of fuzz, just colored fuzz. I never use any scent or bait whatsoever. Maybe it may help, but I'm looking for simplicity and I don't want to be checking my bait every second or third cast. Believe me this method works.
favorite colors are
red and white
red and pink
pink and white
red and chartruse <===== all time favorite
favorite colors are
red and white
red and pink
pink and white
red and chartruse <===== all time favorite
I've done this too and when I do I make my egg loop very small, maybe 2-3 wraps long, then finish my tie with a few extra wraps below the egg loop to give me maybe 10 total wraps. The nice thing about the very small egg loop is that after tying it, you can just slip in 2-3 short strands of yarn and just pull it tight. Trim and fuzz the yarn up with your finger tips and you have any easy yarn ball. The small egg loop does a remarkable job of keeping the yarn in place, and there's no need to tie any overhand knots in the yarn to do so. If you don't want to add a corkie or a cheater above the yarn, take an EZ Egg and pierce it with the hook point and slide it up the shank and right over and above the yarn. That way you get a little flotation and scent as the EZ Eggs are infused with shrimp scent. Works great and you don't need to mess with bait. Give it a try. Good luck!I'm a 70 year old 'old school' type of fisherman. Back around 1977 I was fishing below Marmot dam using corkies when I noticed a really old guy (probably 50 or something) who just caught a steelhead on a piece of yarn. He and I spoke for a while, he said he could mimic any color corkie I had with just 2 or 3 pieces of yarn. Yarn is a whole lot cheaper than corkies, so I started experimenting with just yarn. It is still my favorite way to fish for steelhead, probably caught 2K - 3K steelhead this way. All I do is use two alternate color pieces of yarn, each about 1 inch long attached to the hook through an egg loop. No where near as pretty as those 'yarnies' I see, but Steelhead aren't looking for a pretty round ball of fuzz, just colored fuzz. I never use any scent or bait whatsoever. Maybe it may help, but I'm looking for simplicity and I don't want to be checking my bait every second or third cast. Believe me this method works.
favorite colors are
red and white
red and pink
pink and white
red and chartruse <===== all time favorite
I used to tie piles of yarnies in the off season while watching TV. Use the straw method (McDonalds are the best) I also used an egg loop, but I took the leader and pulled it out of the eye of the hook, ran it through the yarnie with a bait needle, then ran it back through the eye of the hook. I liked the way the hook is more exposed, without sticking too far out to the side like if you just put the yarnie in the egg loop. I also wasn't a big fan of scent on yarnies since it seemed to mat the fibers down and ruins that nice little pulsing flutter action the yarn has under water. Now that's not to say I wouldn't use them with eggs, normally when I was on the last of a really effective egg cure, stretch them out longer
Radke... Agree, two colors is what gets it done. Favorite colors are dark and light pink. Agree with the pretty round ball thing too. Pretty round balls catches fishermen.
LargeEdward reminded me of something I hadn't thought of in years. One day on a whim, I threaded a 'Jensen Egg' on my hook, up past the eye and onto my line. In my egg loop I added a single piece of chartreuse yarn, about an inch long. Snugged the Jensen egg down to the eye of my hook and started fishing. Over the years I caught so many winter steelhead on that combo. I called it the 'Radke Nymph'. Stole the name from Jim Teeny and his famous creation the 'Teeny Nymph'.
Makes sense. I just haven’t taken the time to get good at bobber fishing. My time is limited and I’d much rather be drift fishing - it’s effective and satisfies my ADD way more than other methods. I’ll skip water that is not drift fish-able and it’s the rare occasion I put on a bobber. I guess what I was trying to impart on the OP was to choose your method(s) not based on what is easiest, but what you enjoy most, then get really good at it. Wish someone would have told me that when I was just starting out - would’ve saved a lot of money! 😁Right, so for 1/3 of that time, float fishing didn’t exist in present day form and braid was something you used in the ocean, in the tropics.
I can’t recall how many years ago, early 90’s? I was below Rivermill drift fishing and loosing a ton of gear. Saw this old dude chucking a plastic yellow egg and some purple feathers. Was so odd I had to Wade over and ask “hey, lama, so what gives?”, Jim Bradbury proceeded to explain floats and jigs to me.
Drift fishing is my favorite as well but I have to maximize my opportunity on the water.
tight lines brother
I do this exact same thing with chartreuse and white yarn. I even have a bunch of Jensen eggs left from when I bought about 100 jars.LargeEdward reminded me of something I hadn't thought of in years. One day on a whim, I threaded a 'Jensen Egg' on my hook, up past the eye and onto my line. In my egg loop I added a single piece of chartreuse yarn, about an inch long. Snugged the Jensen egg down to the eye of my hook and started fishing. Over the years I caught so many winter steelhead on that combo. I called it the 'Radke Nymph'. Stole the name from Jim Teeny and his famous creation the 'Teeny Nymph'.
Part of the reason I like drift fish is ADD related as well! I can’t watch a bobber all day! I do need to bite the bullet and experiment with lighter or different weights after I get snagged up instead of declaring, with authority no less, that this water is not driftableMakes sense. I just haven’t taken the time to get good at bobber fishing. My time is limited and I’d much rather be drift fishing - it’s effective and satisfies my ADD way more than other methods. I’ll skip water that is not drift fish-able and it’s the rare occasion I put on a bobber. I guess what I was trying to impart on the OP was to choose your method(s) not based on what is easiest, but what you enjoy most, then get really good at it. Wish someone would have told me that when I was just starting out - would’ve saved a lot of money! 😁
1 - 20 of 27 Posts
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