Tongass Steelhead

Well everybody, its almost here. What may possibly be the greatest time of the year. Steelhead. Season. You may now take a moment to freak out. Ok now that you've calmed down let's get down to business. Whether you are new to steelhead or a seasoned veteran I hope I can offer a few tips that might help you catch more fish.

We will start this thing off with some habitat talk. Just about every stream, creek, or river of decent size in the Tongass gets some sort of run of steelhead. It could be as few as 15 fish to as many as a couple thousand. Once you have picked a body of water to fish, you can just go start casting anywhere and catch a fish right? Wrong. You need to figure out where they are going to be laying. When there are only 20 fish in 5 miles of creek, it can be difficult to pin them down. Look for deep pools, cut banks, and logs. Expect to do a lot of casting at nothing. If conditions are right and you have a good pair of polarized glasses, you can look in the water and spot fish. I have found, however, that on days when you can see fish, you typically don't have much luck catching fish.

This brings us to the next topic: weather. It would be great if you could go out on a nice sunny day and bring in fish after fish. That is sooooo not the case though. Typically sunny days mean low water and low water means tight-lipped fish. The few fish I have caught in the sun have been the day after a rainstorm when the water levels haven't had a chance to drop yet. The best day of steelhead fishing I have ever been a part of was during a torrential downpour that lasted all day. We caught 13 fish between three people that day. I always get a little giddy when I see decent rain in the forecast in early April.

Now that we have covered where and when to fish, let's go over what to fish. You can be the guy with a spinning rod and pink worm but where's the fun and skill in that? Part of the allure of steelhead fishing for me is the challenge of catching them on a fly rod so that is what I am going to go over. For the waters I fish, a 9 foot 8 weight rod works the best. I have been through a few rods and the Echo Ion has worked the best for me. I have also been through quite a few reels. I have used a few cheap reels before I got the one I have now and I can tell you confidently it is worth it to get the nicer reels. Having a smooth drag and tight connections around the reel is a game-changer when it comes to managing line and fighting fish. I use a Hatch reel and absolutely love it. For line, I have found that the Airflo Indicator line is exactly what I need. Even with a heavy steelhead fly and an indicator on it will roll cast like a dream. I use a 12lb test mono leader with no tippet. Maxima Chameleon blends in nicely with the brown water I fish around here. I will put links to all of the products at the bottom of the page. If you buy from those links it won't cost you anything extra but it will help me out with a small commission.

So we've covered where to fish, when to fish, and what gear to use. I imagine the only thing left is to go over fly selection. As far as color goes, it is pretty hard to go wrong with pink or green. There are a million different color combos but a few of my favorite are pink and orange, pink and white, pink and green, or pink and black. As for patterns to use I generally stick with the staples like dolly llamas, liquid wrenches, or deep sixes. The best thing you could do is talk to the great folks at Alaska Fly Fishing Goods (alaskaflyfishinggoods.com) in Juneau and they will set you up with all the flies you need.

Ok, I know I said flies were the last thing to go over but I changed my mind. Probably the most important thing to do is practice proper fish handling. I prefer to use a rubber net to land fish in. It helps keep them contained for pictures or if you don't want pictures you can safely remove the hook without even touching the fish. If you are going to touch a fish for a picture make sure to wet your hands first and keep at least the fishes head in the water at all times. If you feel like you just have to take the fish out of the water (not recommended) do it for no more than a couple of seconds. Don't be the asshole who drags a fish up on the shore to release it. Nobody likes you if you do that and if it were up to me you would be ticketed and beat over the head. These are precious fish and we must do what we can do protect this special fishery. If you don't want to carry a net, bring the fish into some shallow and calm water and do a tail grab and pop the hook out.

Good luck out there and let me know how you do!

Product Links