Fly fishing for Steelhead.......

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I have fly fished for Steelhead sense before indicators were invented.

Fifty years ago most people in Nor Cal fished Steelhead with big 9' #9 line fiberglass fly rods with 30 foot shooting heads behind mono running line.

That is what I started on in 1965.

We actually were part of the change to swinging flies on smaller fly rods on floating lines in Nor Cal.

"Greased Line" (floating line) fly fishing for Steelhead started in Oregon and Washington and then worked it's way down here to Nor Cal.

It actually started for Atlantic Salmon in Europe way before that.

I was fly fishing and selling fly fishing tackle before the invention of the sinktip fly line too.

People in Oregon started making custom sinktip lines for Steelheading too.

Local Nor Cal fly fishers like Hal Janssen, Evan Jenkins, Mike Murphy, Al Perryman and Bob Long were among the first to use smaller fiberglass rods with floating lines and the new sinktip lines for Steelhead in the Lower American River in the 60s and 70s.

Indicator fly fishing came along for trout about 20 years ago and has worked it's way into the Steelhead areas now too.

I am not putting down indicator fly fishing for Steelhead but just want to get more people exposed to classic Steelhead methods of swinging flies.

I think the two-handed craze has actually brought back classic Steelheading methods in Nor Cal.

Here is an article I wrote to try to shed some light on this area:

http://kiene.com/articles/indicatorfishingsteelhead.shtm

Here is an article by Jim Zech on the subject as well:

http://www.jimzech.com/article_nymphorswing.html

[bigtj]

Bill,

Great post. I have gotten away from indicator fishing over the past couple seasons. Jason Hartwick has had a big influence on me. If you believe in yourself and go for it, catching steelhead on the swing is incredibly rewarding. You catch less fish but it's the equivalent of climbing solo...without all the extra gear and junk you really feel a lot "freer" fishing the swing.

These days I just pick my rivers and seasons to fit the swing. July, August, September and October are my steelhead months now. A floating line, a 13.5 ft 5/6 wt 2 hander, and a small box of dries and classic wets is all I need. Steelhead fishing is so less complicated and so much more fun than lobbing hunks of lead and indicators.

To each his own but for me swing is the way to go.

-John

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thanks Big TJ

You have it all figured out.

All we need it more time off.


For swinging flies with a floating line for Steelhead I like the '4th of July' till the water get below 50 degrees ( Nov ? ) is kind of what I go by. That's just a rough idea of mine.

Some fly fishers go all year round and use sinktips.