Presentation for Steelhead on the swing??

[Sandspanker]

So with many failed attempts at catching a steelhead on a fly. I am drawing a blank. So when do I know when my presentation is right??? And how would I get this done. How many of you guys have any tips for this for me?? Summer,winter either way would be very helpful..

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I think the hard part here is that there are not too many Steelhead left in most rivers.

Around here most of us learned on the Lower American River and then went off to better rivers like the Trinity, Klamath, Rogue and Deschutes. October is prime time on most of these rivers.


I would take a Steelhead class locally from Jeff Putnam, Andy Guibord or Bill Lowe is you want to learn the water to fish and then how to swing flies for Steelhead.

It is location, time of year, time of day and then technique.....


You can also learn from books and even better DVDs.

John Hazel has a DVD that is the best one made for learning to fly fish for Steelhead using classic methods.

"Spey Fishing Steelhead with by John Hazel" is $24.95 plus we rent it at the shop for $1.00/day.

This is a Spey casting video but all the info can be used for single handed casting for Steelhead too.

http://speyshop.kiene.com/speyfishingsteelheadwithjohnhazel.aspx

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[Bruce Slightom]

Bill has made some very good points. I might add hiring a guide for a day and make sure that you tell them before you book what you want out of the trip.
Two basic methods for summer fish are the down and across method and the greased line presentation.
The down and across is a wet fly swing and the trick is to control the speed of the fly as it comes across the current under tension. This is achieved by the angle of the cast and manipulation of the line by mending and placement of the rod tip. As a general rule the faster the current the more downstream angle the cast will be, the slower the current the more you cast across the current. Casting across the current will have more influence on the line to push it through the slower water. The angle of your cast will change as you move down a run. Do not get in habit of making the same cast all of the time. This is the most used method and can be modified for winter conditions.
The down and across basically presents the fly with the tail downstream. The greased line method is an attempt to present the fly broad side to the fish, but at some point the fly will be pulled into a downstream swing.
Good practice to learn to control the speed of the fly is to fish a waking fly that you can see.