The Bite - Grab - Take - etc.

[Ard]

For you steelhead fishermen, this may be something specific to certain rivers but....

Are you experiencing what I will call light bites? Light as in you feel a bump followed by some nipping type jolts being transmitted through your line. Then the nipping seems to turn into a pull but when I check the fish it isn't there.

I've only caught one on my home water this fall however this has been an extraordinary dry year followed by spate flows created by late rains. I think this has delayed the presence of fish in their normal haunts. The result of this environmental change is that there are fewer fish to hunt and long hours are required to bring one to your fly.

I know several Alaskan rivers well enough that I know where to be and when to be there but like I said fewer fish leads to fewer grabs. And that's what I'm asking I guess, are you experiencing fish that don't really commit to nailing your fly? Fish that appear to be trying it out but not hammering at it like you would want. I've had a run of this now 4 fishing days straight and have reached the point where I need to talk about it least I lose confidence.

I think that I do a stellar job of controlling my reactions when I feel a fish. The biggest response when I feel what I've been after for hours is to say "there you are" and I allow the fish to whack away until it gets hung up on a very pointy hook. It ain't the hook point! I've only had 3 fish hit like they meant it while I am approaching a dozen that I could feel the weight but they were gone within seconds.

I guess it's what keeps me going but I'm running out of time here and the river is blown out today...……. Maybe the high water will move some fish.

How's your bite?

 

[flytie09]

I've had strikes from when the fly first hits the water, to midswing, towards the end of swing and at the dangle. Hits on the dangle for me are the most plentiful and are usually just a couple of plucks. They've watched it swing for a ways. See it holding there and they swim up and investigate. I trout set the hook hard to the bank on these right when I feel a pluck. They say a trout can suck in an object and spit it out several times in a second. If it's plucking.....the fly is in their mouth. You gotta set that hook!

For most strikes through the normal swing...these fish usually hook themself. They're violent, the water explodes, almost jerks the rod out of your hand, the reel is screaming and they're on. I might set to the bank but not hard. Just until I feel pressure on the fish.

I don't hold a loop. I don't set the hook like I'm on Bass Masters. I let the fish do its thing and make sure I stay tight to him with side pressure.

For the two fish I landed a couple weeks ago they were both almost near the end of the swing. I felt resistance and a shake and I pulled back a little bit straight back and they were on. The fight was tough...but not explosive or acrobatic. I had visions of jumping, screaming reels and to my backing in an instant...but it didn't happen on these 2x particular wild fish.

But all Steelhead have different personalities. How they strike and fight is totally random based on that particular fish, time of season, time of day, water temp, sun, etc. If they're plucking at it mid swing...step upstream 10 feet and swing again in same arc and step down through the run again while speeding up or slowing down the swing. I wouldn't monkey around with changing flies as you want to maintain that fish's interest. It's a cat and mouse game. Remove the mouse and the cat will walk away.

And every time they see the fly ....your chances of hooking that fish decreases considerably. Don't be afraid to step down through the run aggressively. Like say 5-10 feet between casts. Milking a run......well you're simply giving that fish too much time to study that fly.

 

[dillon]

Over the years I have felt light taps when swinging a fly for summer steelhead. Sometimes those taps have turned into a pull and a hooked fish. IMO, the pull is the result of the fish turning with the fly. I let them keep pulling until I feel they are hooked and then lift the rod into fighting position. Often times, the fish turns out to be a trout. However, sometimes it is a steelhead. If there are no taps, just a strong pull, then it is almost always a steelhead. When I feel taps especially rapid ones as the fly is swinging and no pull I dismiss it as a trout. I sometimes feel a solid tug and no pull. The tug makes me think it is a steelhead and I will try various tactics in pursuit of a solid grab. other times I might see a large boil or splash near my fly a pull may ensue, or sometimes not. This also signals that it's a steelhead. If it's not hooked then I will try for a come back. I usually immediately deliver the same fly to the fish. If this doesn't result in a take, I will back up several steps, change flies and try again. Then if nothing happens I will fish through the run and then go back to the top and fish through again with another fly and perhaps change from my standard floating line to a sink tip.

I'm in Maupin now and fished Tuesday and Wednesday while taking today off for a little Stillwater trout fishing. On the two days of steelheading I had no action. I felt a couple bumps on Tuesday, but there were a lot of alder leaves on the water due to gusting wind. So, I dismissed them as line bumps. If it be a bump, tug or tap, I never think steelhead unless there is enough tension to turn my reel. Last night while skating a dry in a tail out a couple heads popped up around the Bomber but they looked like trout. The last time I was here was in late August. I fished prime water for three days with no action at all. I have limited my fishing because the run is very poor this year as it was last year. I heard it is estimated to be about 8 percent of normal, and normal isn't a lot. I'll give it one more try tomorrow and then again in November. Those taps and tugs have been few and far between the last couple years, but I'll kept trying and keep my rod down till the pull breaks into a run and I silently scream, FISH!

 

[Ard]

Your approach is very similar to how I've caught these fish ever since I began fishing for them. It's basically the same way I fish for any trout or salmon. What my great curiosity is today is over how many fish I've contacted recently that pulled really hard but were not hooked. Just a streak I'd guess, 2 weeks ago I caught 2 that hit in a very serious manner. Since then I've fished 4 days, caught numerous trout but none of the heavy fish I've felt and sight unseen I believe those were steelhead.

 

[flav]

Those sharp, rapid tugs are always trout in my experience. When you get a pull or pluck when steelheading it feels totally different, it's slower and you can feel that there's weight behind it. I think the difference is a size thing, but also the fact that trout are actively feeding and steelhead are not.
The trick is recognizing the pulls, plucks, and false takes, letting your swing continue and waiting for a full take to set the hook. I know lots of guys wait till line is coming off the reel to set up on the fish, but to me those fish are already hooked and nothing you do or don't do will change that. It's the ones that only stop the fly and you feel weight, but no line comes off your reel, that are the problem. I fish a river where that happens a lot. I've learned to recognize when that is happening and I set up, hard, on those fish. If you wait for line to leave your reel those fish will often drop the fly and you've passed on an opportunity to hook a fish that has the fly in its mouth. I hook a lot of fish that way, and never leave the river wondering why I was getting takes but couldn't hook any of them.

 

[Ard]

Those sharp, rapid tugs are always trout in my experience. When you get a pull or pluck when steelheading it feels totally different, it's slower and you can feel that there's weight behind it. I think the difference is a size thing, but also the fact that trout are actively feeding and steelhead are not.
The trick is recognizing the pulls, plucks, and false takes, letting your swing continue and waiting for a full take to set the hook. I know lots of guys wait till line is coming off the reel to set up on the fish, but to me those fish are already hooked and nothing you do or don't do will change that. It's the ones that only stop the fly and you feel weight, but no line comes off your reel, that are the problem. I fish a river where that happens a lot. I've learned to recognize when that is happening and I set up, hard, on those fish. If you wait for line to leave your reel those fish will often drop the fly and you've passed on an opportunity to hook a fish that has the fly in its mouth. I hook a lot of fish that way, and never leave the river wondering why I was getting takes but couldn't hook any of them.

You'll have to trust that I've been doing this a while and that this post was the culmination of 2 weeks worth of frustration. I'm catching trout but there are a few big fish present also. All the replies are appreciated and at least contribute to keeping our fledgling Spey forums active a bit but...…..

What has become somewhat frustrating is that I've tried every method that has ever put one of these fish in my net and for 2 weeks I have had nothing but curiosity over what is going on. My usual is to wait until the fish is actually swimming with the fly and then to set the hook. At least I think that's what is happening because I cannot see them. Recently I've broke with my practices that have worked for a long time and tried to hook fish earlier than I normally would and that hasn't worked. Only 3 but that's 3 I'll never know about because they were there but I put them down with an early hook set.

The strangest thing is that usually if I do nothing except wait for the fish to be pulling hard and suddenly they let go I can usually raise that fish within a ten minute wait. It ain't working that way recently. They just aren't taking a second go at the fly or at a different fly for that matter. Just a dry spell I figure and hopefully once the water drops I'll have a snapshot of that fish that I saw when leaving my stretch Wednesday. Right now the water is up another foot and I'll wait it out hoping that the rain lets up.

If there's a positive side to all of this it would be that I'm alone out there. It's a big river and I have 14 seasons on these same beats. I've been chasing after the few fish that enter the river for all these years for one reason, I'm alone out there. Even if I were to find another truck and an empty boat trailer in my parking spot next trip out the chance that that boat knows where to look is like a winning lotto ticket. That's a reward to some extent. I used to fish places all my life where I could count on being alone and although this is all the way up here finding solitude is tough.

To get back on the missed opportunities topic, it has been a very bad year for fishing here. The drought followed by these spates of high water have created a situation where I am not so sure about my normal fall haunts. There definitely are not as many fish and the Silvers are not present in their normal spawning areas. That's huge. The Silvers that is, normally you will find areas where there are large numbers hard at it but not this time around. In past years wherever you found the spawning you found both trout and steelhead trout somewhere downriver from the beds. This year I spend hours and hours searching as well as you can with a fly and when you finally raise one but fail it weighs on the mind. Could I have done something differently? Did I just screw that up? Why was that fish not firmly hooked? Yeah I had one Wednesday come flying out of the water and rip around the river then come loose...…..

 

[dillon]

Flav did a very good job of explaining the difference between feeling a trout and a steelhead. The main river I fish has a good population of wild trout, and a modest run of both wild and hatchery steelhead. I have had many strong grabs near the end of a swing that briefly felt like a steelhead, but were trout. When a trout hits a fly on a tight line hanging downstream in a fast to moderate current it can feel much bigger than it is. I've been fooled more than once and sometimes left wondering what it was if it let's go. Today I had a grab and pull like that and a little trout came flipping out of the river. In the run before that, I felt the fast tapping and immediately knew it was a trout. The line came tight and I stripped in a modest sized trout. Finally, in the last run of the morning near the end of a swing I had deliberate tug, a turn of the reel and another tug and short pull. There was no doubt in my mind that this was a steelhead. I kept the rod down but it wouldn't turn and go. However, the line came tight and I could feel the weight of the fish. So, I slowly turned the rod low towards my bank and leaned into her. She was hooked but wouldn't run until I applied pressure. The fish then took and peeled line into the midstream current and put up a good fight before I landed and released her.

 

[Ard]

Nice Jay,

At least I've got a conversation started here which is shaping up better than most of what I've read on that other forum that centers on Spey fishing

I'll bide my time and hope the water drops before ice begins to form. Once the boat launches get ice on the ramps I'm done here...……. I can still hit more heavily accessed rivers where you can walk to the runs but I prefer my boat and the quiet it affords me.

 

[Unknownflyman]

Ard, the light bite happens to me a lot, or no bite at all, the swing stops, and its not hung up, its literally feeling nothing, I set down river and all hell breaks loose and usually the fish catches air and spits the streamer back at me or turns and twists off.


I thought they were ALL smolt hits, My friend who has been swinging flies two handed for many years said, "oh hell no, they could likely be large fish, you never know.

My hardest hits are at the end of the swing or the hang down, the fish followed it, and now has decided to either return to the bucket or pound it and return to the bucket.

Usually nicer fish, hit a few times and spin the reel, zzzzzt zzzzzzzzt zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzt.

My landing stats are horrible on small barbless hooks, they all just self release, which is fine, I got the take and some action, sometimes I get to see them. it's all good, but a little frustrating.


There is an underwater video of Atlantic salmon taking swung streamers, and they suck them in and spit them out so fast, the fisherman never knows. I'll post the video but the fish handling is just atrocious, so a warning. It's very interesting however.

 

[Ard]

I've been wondering when you would join in Steve. That fish that I posted the tail shot of in trip reports a couple weeks ago was just under a yard long and when it took the fly I was sure it was a small trout or even a Dolly. Wrong. Once it ran around a while I thought it was a silver but then I got a good look and knew it was a steelhead trout. Years ago I landed a 44 pound salmon that took like a 16" rainbow so I've adapted the theory that I know what I've hooked once I get a clear look, up to that point I never know.

Funny I thought of you on Wednesday, out there in the pouring rain doing my cast and micro management thing with every swing across beautiful water but having no clue if there was a fish within a hundred yards. No clue until I feel one. I know you pay your dues too and that's what brought you to mind.

 

[duker]

Hey Ard:

This thread is timely, as I just got back from a 5+ week steelhead/salmon trip through BC and SE Alaska. Not that I got a lot of steelhead (only one, on a dry, but that's a different thread). My limited experience with steelhead in BC (Bulkley Valley--Skeena watershed) is pretty much as others have described. I've often had steelhead "lightly" hit the fly, either on the swing or hangdown, whether light tugs or gentle taps or single grabs. Sometimes they'll take the fly after doing that for a bit, sometimes that's all you get. Occasionally I've had them just hit the fly like a freight train, either as soon as the fly hits the water or on the swing or hangdown. The biggest steelhead I ever caught, a beautiful 33 incher, grabbed a blue/purple/orange tube fly pretty much as soon as it hit the water and peeled me into my backing in a matter of seconds.

One thing my buddy and I quickly learned about steelheading, at least in that part of BC, is that you need to totally re-evaluate your concept of "successful" fishing. It's not necessarily how many you get to the bank, or to hand, or in your freezer, it's whether--in the words of an old local guy I met--you were able to move a steelhead to your fly. Even if you just get some taps or a grab, that's a good day--you moved a fish to your fly. If you hook one and it gets off after 7 seconds or more that's a "rodeo fish". Actually landing one is just sort of the icing on the cake (or so you console yourself as a steelhead gets off just as you go to grab the leader). Many locals call it "getting some love"--you run into other anglers and they'll ask you if you've gotten any love that day, meaning did you at least get a tug or a hit.

One more thing I've learned is not to set the hook when I do get a grab or a tap or a pluck-pluck-pluck. Letting the fish just take the fly and set the hook itself is the better option, in my limited experience. Not to be too Zen about it, but either the fish will take it or it won't. Another old local guy told me that you'll never lose a steelhead by setting the hook too late, but you'll always lose them if you set too quick. I've definitely come to agree with that, and regret the fish I've lost when I pulled the trigger too soon.

I've still got lots to learn about these fish, but what I have learned is that they are definitely different in many ways than the Pacific salmon I've caught (coho, chum, pink) even if you find them in similar water and fish them using similar techniques. I've also learned that there is always more to learn, and those steelhead are harsh teachers.

Scott

 

[Uncle Stu]

Not to hijack the thread, but my Alaska trip last month (Southeast) was a bust. We landed only about 1/5 as many coho as last year or previous. Too hot and dry for several summers in a row, I fear. I'm sad to hear it's also happening on other watersheds, Ard.

I don't fish for steelhead so I can't contribute to the actual subject of this thread. Coho don't generally nibble on a fly like they do on salmon roe.

 

[huronfly]

Two seasons ago I started out 0 for 11, those 11 losses were anything from taps to pulls to ripping out ten feet of line off the reel only to leave me disheartened, so I know how you feel! I was just out yesterday, and had quite a successful day, bringing in two brutes to hand. It was one of those days where the fish seem extra grabby, so I felt lots of plucks and pulls and even a cpl rodeo fish(thx duker) through the day, all of which I am positive were steelhead, as there is nothing else in the system to want to move to a fly! No trout, and bass are lazy now... A lot of people believe that a pluck is a fish not committing to the fly, but I think it's more the fact that the hook just did not purchase and thus the fish could not turn with the fly.

I don't generally experience the chewing or nipping action though, most times it's a pretty distinguishable pull. Sometimes the fly just stops too, that's about the only time will set the hook, other than that I always wait til I can feel the weight of the fish before I try to tighten up at all. Even when I am using a clicker with next to no drag resistance, most times the fish will peel line and hook themselves quite well, no hook set needed. I figure as long as you're getting those grabs you're doing something right! The hooking part is mostly luck imo, there are so many variables to how a fish can hit a fly, your hook isn't always going to be in the perfect spot when a steelhead smashes...

 

[zonk1085]

Past two years I've taken steelhead trips in Washington and BC. Both were in late September through early October which I understand is considered to be the late end of "summer steelhead". Almost all strikes in both locations were had on the hangdown. In Washington the hangdown takes were very soft and hook ups did not occur until I slowly lifted the rod and the fished turned on the fly. In BC the steelhead crushed the fly on the hangdown and line was ripping before I realized "fish on".

On hangdown takes I'm curious if most steelhead are following the fly from mid river only to take at the end of the swing? Or perhaps it was not until near the hangdown did the fly enter the steelhead's "zone"?

 

[huronfly]

On hangdown takes I'm curious if most steelhead are following the fly from mid river only to take at the end of the swing? Or perhaps it was not until near the hangdown did the fly enter the steelhead's "zone"?

I think both for sure. That's why I really milk the hangdown! I've seen steelhead crush a fly after it was hanging there for easily 30 seconds...

Kind of a side note, but still somewhat on topic... I had the hardest take of my life on Friday! Me and a buddy were chatting, when all of a sudden my rod jolted and speyco screeeeamed higher than I've ever heard. So much so that the screw holding the spool together flew off. The rest of the battle was interesting to say the least, but I landed it! That was one of those zero to a hundred in a split second takes . Coincidentally, it was also my best day swinging flies ever as I went 3 for 9, all nice healthy adult steelhead.

Coming back around on topic... All grabs were definitely "committed" fish, and hit pretty hard. I think water temp plays a big role, as temps have been perfect for the last 2 weeks and my buddies and I have been getting an incredible amount of grabs.

 

[dillon]

Mark Bachman, owner of the Fly Shop in Wemme Or. and longtime Deschutes River guide emphasizes the importance of executing the same length cast consistently when working a steelhead run. Due to the fishes excellent vision in clear waters he believes a steelhead sees the fly on several swings before it finally takes it. So, as the fly swims across the currents in concentric arcs steelhead may swim up to inspect the fly or move into position to take the fly on presentations preceding full commitment to the fly. Therefore, swings of varying lengths, or erratic movements of the fly may spook the fish or make it difficult for it to move into position to intercept the fly. Because of this line of thinking when a poor short cast is made it may be better to let it complete its swing instead of rapidly retrieving to recast. Also, mending moves the fly unnatural, so it may be best to make an initial mend or two to set up the swing and that is all. The angler may lead or follow the line with the rod tip to manipulate the fly or raise or lower the tip to effect its speed. These motions will not jerk the fly. So, getting to the hang down question, a fish may decide to move into the area where the fly has been completing its swing prior to the final swing when it takes. Because of this possibility a slow steady retrieve after the hangdown might be an advisable tactic to avoid spooking the beast.

Mark and other notable Deschutes guides often watch their clients cast and swing from the railroad grade on steep banks above the river. From these vantage points they can observe the line and sometimes the fly as they swing. They may also spot a holding fish and observe how it reacts to the fly. Dec Hogan, former Deschutes guide recounts many of his observations from the RR tracks in his book, "A Passion For Steelhead."

 

[flytie09]

Mark Bachman, owner of the Fly Shop in Wemme Or. and longtime Deschutes River guide emphasizes the importance of executing the same length cast consistently when working a steelhead run. Due to the fishes excellent vision in clear waters he believes a steelhead sees the fly on several swings before it finally takes it. So, as the fly swims across the currents in concentric arcs steelhead may swim up to inspect the fly or move into position to take the fly on presentations preceding full commitment to the fly. Therefore, swings of varying lengths, or erratic movements of the fly may spook the fish or make it difficult for it to move into position to intercept the fly. Because of this line of thinking when a poor short cast is made it may be better to let it complete its swing instead of rapidly retrieving to recast. Also, mending moves the fly unnatural, so it may be best to make an initial mend or two to set up the swing and that is all. The angler may lead or follow the line with the rod tip to manipulate the fly or raise or lower the tip to effect its speed. These motions will not jerk the fly. So, getting to the hang down question, a fish may decide to move into the area where the fly has been completing its swing prior to the final swing when it takes. Because of this possibility a slow steady retrieve after the hangdown might be an advisable tactic to avoid spooking the beast.

Mark and other notable Deschutes guides often watch their clients cast and swing from the railroad grade on steep banks above the river. From these vantage points they can observe the line and sometimes the fly as they swing. They may also spot a holding fish and observe how it reacts to the fly. Dec Hogan, former Deschutes guide recounts many of his observations from the RR tracks in his book, "A Passion For Steelhead."

All awesome stuff right there.

This is why you should always start with a few short casts to work the water in front of you and is equally imperative for the angler to step down through a run after every cast. A fish can see your fly underwater quite a ways away. Making the same cast, presenting the fly at the same speed over and over and over in the same spot (arc) is not most effective. Your best chance to catch that fish is on the first time he sees it. The window of opportunity for a grab by a single fish to a swung fly closes to near zero after only a handful of swings. Maybe you rest a run a bit and swing it a second time....but after 2x times through....I move on to the next spot. We're looking for biters.

I don't change flies every 10 minutes, I am 100% convinced that the fly I have selected is going to be THE ONE! I also loves me some tailouts. I'm on high alert swinging this water.

Another technique on the hangdown is to jerk your rod back towards you back and forth with the rod parallel to the water and the rod tip aimed at your fly. This twitching can wake up a mildly curious fish that has followed a fly to the dangle but not fully committed.

 

[dillon]

Some anglers will continually fish through a run or the best part of a run. This strategy is commonly referred to as "Doing Laps" and may be effective when steelhead are moving or traveling. Of course these fish are migratory, but the time of highest movement is when a river is dropping and clearing after a high water event or "blow out". An angler could theoretically stand in place on a prime spot known as a "bucket" repeatedly cast, swing and let the fish come to him instead of stepping down through the run. This is something I would do as a spin casting young lad, but now find quite boring. Doing laps and casting stationary can also tie up the water and does not allow others the opportunity to fish it. However, it crowded conditions anglers may find it the only option. Of course the polite anglers will invite others to join the rotation if they choose. My local valley and coastal rivers are often very crowded during the winter steelhead season so i often opt out.

 

[Lewis Chessman]

Gentlemen, my experience of steelhead is absolutely zero but I wonder if I haven't experienced something similar with grilse on several occasions?

There I am, casting away in the same old manner, when I get a pull. I wait an appropriate time to allow the fish to turn and return downstream, watch a few yards of line leave the reel, then lift into it.
Nothing!

One year on the Spey I had five fish lead me on this way over a couple of days and, on talking to others, I found we were all suffering the same fate. The fish were 'taking short'.
I saw this again this summer on a different river where guests lost countless fish over a week and suspect it is a behavioural issue I'll see again someday.
Why they might take short evades me but the general consensus is that they are grabbing the tail of the fly only, not taking the hook into their mouths. Hence you lift into nothing.

The remedy seemed to be to use either a smaller fly which they might take more confidently or to use a fly with a shorter tail which the fish can't simply nip at.
A third remedy might be the use of a flying treble, a flying single or a tandem fly if your waters permit such a tactic.

From memory, both periods of 'taking short' have occurred during sunny days with blue skies and middle-to-low water levels. Being summer I guess water temperatures would be in the high 60 F/low 70F region, however I've never felt that low water was discouraging these frustrating fish from taking wholeheartedly and can recollect several occurrences where there was plenty of depth for a fish to take and turn with confidence, yet they did not.

I appreciate that this might all be utterly irrelevant to steelheading but wondered if there might be some cross-over?

 

[duker]

Totally agree with Dillon and flytie09's comments about casting effectively and stepping down to "work" a run instead of just standing there casting to the same pool. With steelhead more than any other fish, I think, you need to cover the water as completely as you can.

Also agree with twitching the fly on the hang down. I leave it on the dangle for a good while, occasionally moving it back and forth (I call it "giving it the pokey pokey"--don't add that to the glossary), trying to entice any fish that's followed the fly through the swing. I also think that a lot of steelhead like to hold in the softer water closer to shore, especially in higher water, and you need to concentrate on your hang down for these fish.

When I first started fishing for steelhead a lot of locals and more experienced steelheaders told me not to bother stripping the fly back slowly after the hang down as steelhead never take a fly that way; you'll only get them on the swing or hang down. These guys just leave it on the dangle for a while, then strip the line back as quick as they can to get set up for the next cast. This struck me as counter-intuitive, as I figure as long as the fly is in the water you might as well fish it until you can't, and indeed the very first steelhead I ever caught (a small one, on a commercial purple egg sucking leech) I hooked stripping the line back after the dangle. So now I make sure not just to fish the fly on the hang down, I'm also alert to the possibility of a take when I'm stripping back. You just never know.

Nor do I change flies much, or at least I try to resist the temptation to change. Lewis, to your point one of the few times I will change out my fly for something smaller and less gaudy is if I've had a pluck or grab but no take. I'll keep working down the run with the same fly to see if I can pick the fish up, but if not I'll change out and work through the run with the smaller fly to see if that gets any love. As flytie09 says, I won't work a run more than twice in a row though.

Scott