Steelhead floats

[outlawknox]

how r yall doin? i am pretty new to steelhead fishin and have a few questions... last year i tried driftin for them. i only had a few hits but nothin landed. i hear about alot of you guys float fishin. how is this done?? is it just a bobber with salmon eggs?? any other good technuiqes on how to get these steelies would be awesome.

thanks,
outlawknox

[Anonymous]

Here's a photo of a basic steelhead float setup. The corky above the float is to help me see the rig in low light situations and because I'm basically blind.
And a youtube video: gnPzm7209lE

[bionic_one]

I set mine up pretty much how Big D shows in the picture, with slight changes.

bobber stop
bead
bobber
bead
swivel
split shot (1/8 oz)
jig (Beau Mac SMJ 2)
tip with gulp night crawler or pink maggots
(distance from bobber to jig is usually 20 to 30 inches for me)


I always keep my line on the deep side of the river within 5 feet of the bank. I have all my take downs in 2 to 3 feet of water... and do most of the fishing on the wynoochee. You'll have to adjust to different depths and weight for other rivers like the Cowlitz for example, because it's generally a little deeper with faster moving water.

[scott080379]

there are many of ways to set this up....some use egg sinkers, other use spitshot. hollow pencil lead works as well. The main point is getting your presnetation at the right depth.

[Gringo Pescador]

I set mine up same as the video. Never seen a corky above the float. Like Scott said - depth is key.

Here is another recent WL thread with some more info for you

http://www.washingtonlakes.com/forum/ya ... River.aspx

[ingi]

this might help, http://www.piscatorialpursuits.com/reso ... ishing.htm .... i fish mostly in the super slow moving water of snake river where the river is hardly moving at all, i have found it extremely important to constantly keep your line tight by doing that i am always giving a little jig with the end of the pole moving the float a couple inches. good luck

[scott080379]

here is a great website as well.

http://www.steelheaduniversity.com/education_index.html

Lots of great info on fishing for steel

[outlawknox]

thanks everyone for the info! i will be tryin it out tomorrow mornin on the sky.


-outlawknox

[akochman09]

yeah i usually just use a bottom drifting rig under a float. I like the wrap around style floats. use a shorter leader when using a bobber. I go as close as 2 ft and as far away as 3.5ft. usually use eggs and yarn. no corky on the business end as it usually floats your gear too high. If your having trouble with your gear getting down, you can increase the distance between your bobber and weight, as well as add a couple split shot to your leader. I would also try flourocarbon as it sinks faster than mono, so it gets down a little better. plus its invisible. This is my favorite rig for steelhead. Its awesome to see the float just drain under with a fish. good luck to you, float fishing is really effective!

[Matt]

I would be hesitant about putting split shots on my leader, it would likely crimp the line and cause it to be weaker at the location of the sinker. Instead, if you want to use just eggs under a float use a dead weight or "cheater". It looks just like a corkie but it is a painted piece of lead that rides right on top of the bait to get it down quick. I use this setup frequently when fishing just eggs below a float, or whole sandshrimp below a float.

[bionic_one]

My mainline is 30lb braid and leader is 20lb flouro coated mono. Splitshot don't hurt it. Some people call that overkill, but I've never had a fish break off and I don't lose gear to snags very often.

[Gringo Pescador]

I would be hesitant about putting split shots on my leader, it would likely crimp the line and cause it to be weaker at the location of the sinker. Instead, if you want to use just eggs under a float use a dead weight or "cheater". It looks just like a corkie but it is a painted piece of lead that rides right on top of the bait to get it down quick. I use this setup frequently when fishing just eggs below a float, or whole sandshrimp below a float.

Thanks for the tip Matt. I've wondered about those, now I'll have to try em!

[akochman09]

My mainline is 30lb braid and leader is 20lb flouro coated mono. Splitshot don't hurt it. Some people call that overkill, but I've never had a fish break off and I don't lose gear to snags very often.

would that flourocarbon coated mono be P-line cxx Premium?

[bionic_one]

pline something. The paper wore off the spool so I don't know the exact version. Stuff works great though. Thin, stretchy, and durable.