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.















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











They will lay in current seams above and below boulders.











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






Another good tailout. This tailout is full of boulders.






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!

[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.






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