Steelhead holding water

[shawn kempkes]

Over the last two weeks I have been out fishing several times and I have encountered several people that were new to fly fiishing for steelhead. They are fishing water that doesn't hold fish or is to fast. I am posting some pictures of some good holding water on a local river too help some people shorten their learning curve.


Steelhead for the most part are traveling stopping to rest only to regain there energy.
Sometimes they will only lay in a spot for a few minutes or several days. They like laying around boulders. This stretch of river is at the top of several long rapids in sucession.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v689/fishhawk1/Holdingwater.jpg













Wild steelhead dont like to lay on sandy bottoms and the water pictures is to slow.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v689/fishhawk1/IMG_0786.jpg









They will lay in current seams above and below boulders.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v689/fishhawk1/fishlayhere.jpg








And they especially will lay in tailouts above and below long stretches of whitewater


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v689/fishhawk1/seam.jpg



Another good tailout. This tailout is full of boulders.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v689/fishhawk1/IMG_0765.jpg




I hope these pictures help somebody.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

Thanks Shawn

That is really good stuff........

[Kurt P]

What a great post, Shawn. Very helpful to those of us just getting started Steelheading. I hope to see more posts in the same vein; educational, without giving away secret surf spots, and not slamming anybody.
Thanks,
Kurt

[Scott V]

Thanks Shawn, next time I get out to some steelie water I feel I will have a better cahnce of possibly getting one.

[Hairstacker]

Shawn, yours is the kind of post I think everyone will view with great interest. It would be great if we had more of these types of posts for all kinds of fish. Thanks for taking the time! :cool:

[Mike R]

Shawn,
Great pics. If people pay attention to what you've said it will put them ahead of 75% of the anglers out there.

Steelhead, like all anadromous fish, are inherently lazy. They will always take the path of least resistance and hold in areas that cost them the least amount of energy. They are not trout. They do not trade an energetically-costly holding area for a high food probability (i.e. a riffle). Steelhead have only a fixed amount of energy to get them to their destination.

Thanks for the insights.

Mike

[Rick J]

Great post Shawn and really cool photos!!

Another thing to consider is often times a particular run can be broken down into different types of water. A typical run could have a relatively fast deep run down the middle with a distinct current edge and slower, softer water on both sides. If it has a cobble/rocky bottom, the fish could be either in the slow water or the faster, deeper water and you can't effectively fish both with a single system. If there are two of you, rig and fish different water. If you are by yourself fish it twice.

For the slow edges you might use a short tip (maybe 6 or 7.5') with an unweighted fly. Cast just into the fast seam and try to hold it on the edge for as long as possible and let it swing across slowly and fish until the hang down and the line stops swinging.

The second guy through (or the second pass) rig with maybe 10.5' or 12' tip and a heavier fly and cast either across or angling down and feed line to get it down quickly and let it swing across again as slow as possible but don't carry the swing into the slow water or you will hang up and you have already fished it. So swing to the current edge then step down and recast.

Depending on how wide the run is and how wadable, on this second pass I will wade out as far as I can to the edge of the fast water or beyond and try to get my cast across the fast current into the opposite side seam - put a big mend and really hold the rod high to keep line off the water and try to slow the swing as much as possible.

Often for winter fishing, I will cast then step down to help things sink a bit more

[jbird]

Good stuff Shawn. I love the glacial color. that water just wreaks of big wild steelhead!

[wjorg]

Beautiful photos. Nice way to present reading Steelhead water. Thanks for giving me something to pass on.

[shawn kempkes]

Rick

this water is on an olympic pennisula river. It is basically the same run it's about 250 yards long so you have to split it up into several different pieces of water . Also when the river is high it fishes differently.Most of the time I fish it from the other side of the river because your hang down stops right were the fish lay in high water. Plus it is about 250 yards from my house.

The river looks glacial because we had alot of snow and what is left is still melting. We had one big pineapple express and it was gone the next day.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v689/fishhawk1/IMG_0731.jpg




it is nice seeing a river that goes from near record flood stage to being gear fishable in about 4 days.

[shawn kempkes]

Great post Shawn and really cool photos!!

Another thing to consider is often times a particular run can be broken down into different types of water. A typical run could have a relatively fast deep run down the middle with a distinct current edge and slower, softer water on both sides. If it has a cobble/rocky bottom, the fish could be either in the slow water or the faster, deeper water and you can't effectively fish both with a single system. If there are two of you, rig and fish different water. If you are by yourself fish it twice.

For the slow edges you might use a short tip (maybe 6 or 7.5') with an unweighted fly. Cast just into the fast seam and try to hold it on the edge for as long as possible and let it swing across slowly and fish until the hang down and the line stops swinging.

The second guy through (or the second pass) rig with maybe 10.5' or 12' tip and a heavier fly and cast either across or angling down and feed line to get it down quickly and let it swing across again as slow as possible but don't carry the swing into the slow water or you will hang up and you have already fished it. So swing to the current edge then step down and recast.

Depending on how wide the run is and how wadable, on this second pass I will wade out as far as I can to the edge of the fast water or beyond and try to get my cast across the fast current into the opposite side seam - put a big mend and really hold the rod high to keep line off the water and try to slow the swing as much as possible.

Often for winter fishing, I will cast then step down to help things sink a bit more

To add to what you do Rick . I fish a plastic tube fly with a t-14 tip or 10 ft of 500 gr deep water express. The fly rides just above the tops of the submerged boulder. I dont loose as many flies that way.

[Rick J]

So Shawn - what is your address? My truck is packed and I am on my way!!!! Love the photo of that last run!!!! It just screams steelhead.

Picking the side to fish as you discuss if you have that option is also a great thing to consider - if they tend to hold on the other side it can be tough to hold you fly in the productive water and move it slow enough. The long rods can sure help at times by letting you keep much more line off the water. But if you can be on the right side so now your fly swings slowly into the seam, your chances just went up big time.

Runs with large boulders can sure by fly grabbers - The unweighted fly as you suggest is a great option.

[robdog]

I was thinking of going to either BC or Olympic National Park. Man Shawn, your picts are making me think Olympic is the place to be :smile:

[shawn kempkes]

I was thinking of going to either BC or Olympic National Park. Man Shawn, your picts are making me think Olympic is the place to be :smile:

Truth be told If i had to choose between B.C or the O.P. I would choose a couple of zipperlip rivers on vancouver Island. The hottest fish I have ever hooked was a ten pounder on a tiny river. The fish tore me a new one, I lost it. I pulled up my line and checked my fly to see if it was still there. I let my line straight out To recast it. It went under the tree on the near bankwhere I lost my fish. Low and behold my indicator went down and I hooked the same fish again.


If you do come to the Penisula Make sure you wear a garlic necklace to repel the Vampires. LOl The stupid twilight fans are taking over the Penisula. Somebody even moved here from the east coast to open a stome to sell twilight momorabilia.

[Rick J]

Robdog,
Gee I would hate to have a dilemma that sucked that bad. Just so I can make things a bit tougher for you, my friend Bruce and I signed up through Keith Kaneko for a trip to Nicholas Dean out of Terrace a couple of springs ago and thought I would share some photos.

Fished alot of types of water from rather small systems to the Skeena. The most beautiful steelhead run I have ever seen was on the Kalum called Stumble Run due to all the big boulders

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/stumble2.jpg

We had asked our guide Sky to please fish with us and he was fishing a light single-hander with a small streamer pattern behind us just in the soft water and came up with this beauty - so don't forget the soft water

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/NicholasDeanLodge002.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/NicholasDeanLodge014.jpg

Another fish from the Kalum

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/DSCF0066.jpg

Here is a smaller river we fished:

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/NicholasDeanLodge047.jpg

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/NicholasDeanLodge054.jpg

And finally the Skeena and my biggest fish

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a395/RickJ/rj-skeena.jpg

Wherever you decide to go I am sure you will have a great time and lots of luck!!!

[robdog]

Man, those picts are very kewl. You are makin' me twist my arm. ](*,)

[bigtj]

Good pics. Just wanted to add, some times steelhead hang out in slow water. If it's really cold - especially a cold snap after the water was recently a lot warmer - they will almost ALL be in slow water. As slow as in that picture, although probably more at the head and ideally in a bit deeper water say 6-9 ft. Otherwise they use up too much energy holding in faster water. I've experienced this phenomenon from California to BC. The fish would be against the bank in the fastest part of the slow hole and it would hold more fish if there were boulders in there. The only difference from those pictures is you'd see snow on the riverbank.

If I had the pick of all those I'd take that tailout above the rapids. That is so fishy it's making me jones for my March trip to Forks.

[bigtj]

Robdog,

If you are going to do a long steelhead trip go to BC. Fall in BC is so incredibly awesome. You can fish a floating line the entire time and catch fish on dries and catch a lot more numbers than forks.

Do both if you can but if you have to choose one trip go to BC. Just make sure you know what you are doing or hire a guide at either place.

[robdog]

Robdog,

If you are going to do a long steelhead trip go to BC. Fall in BC is so incredibly awesome. You can fish a floating line the entire time and catch fish on dries and catch a lot more numbers than forks.

Do both if you can but if you have to choose one trip go to BC. Just make sure you know what you are doing or hire a guide at either place.

Thanks for the tip. I have been practicing (mostly getting skunked) here in my local Cali rivers, but today was a good day :D
http://www.geocities.com/jayrob6/fishing/elman_fish2.jpg

[wjorg]

No longer a drought blog! Way to go Robdog!

[robdog]

No longer a drought blog! Way to go Robdog!

Nope, I will keep the blog the way it is. I think it helps me to relate of what I did & the show the world that you don't need to keep all that you catch. A good story is just as good as full belly. In fact, I like to think that I am providing food for the mind. Or at least fish for the mind:unibrow:

[Hairstacker]

Congratulations Jason! :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[bigtj]

Robdog you gotta go to BC, on the Kispiox that fish would be considered "bait"!!!

Just kidding, way to go keep it up.