Northwest Fishing Reports

I was at my local sportsmans warehouse and heard some fellow fisherman speaking of this set up for steelhead. How exactly does this work? I have simply stuck with the corky/yarn, spinners.spoons and always am looking for different ways to catch fish. Anyone ever try this method and care to explain the basics?

I've tried it and read about it in magazines. You get one of those floats that has a bead stop that you can adjust. The trick is adjusting the bead and getting the depth right so that your jig is bouncing off/staying in contact with the bottom. You can tell because your float will pause and bounce as the jig hits bottom acting as an anchor. Use a pencil lead to get the jig down near the bottom (your weight will depend on the strength of the current), and then about a 2-3 foot leader off the lead to your jig. This can be deadly, but be prepared to lose some gear. If you're not in contact with the bottom, you're not fishing right.

Good luck! :bounce:

I saw this technique on Hawg Qwest a couple of weeks ago. It was very effective. I kept the episode on DVR so I could figure out how they rigged it. Thanks to Drewp for explaining the rig.

Do you mean jig and bobber fishing for steelhead?

yep jdimonda I meant for steelhead. have any knowledge? I saw it on Tv not too long ago also it might have been Hawg Qwest. is that the one on FSN?

ive fished this way a few times and it was very productive, we never bounced the jigs off the bottom though, kept them up anywhere from a few inches to a foot up, depending on the drift, i guess it kind of depends on where your fishing. i just used a normal clip-on weighted styrofoam bobber and a jig.

Just like Jacob said you don't want it to bounce the bottom. You want it to be just off the bottom. The water a few inches off the bottom is almost always much slower than the water above it. Some good patterns to use are the nightmare and anything with pink, but get a variety just incase they are biting something else. I always have atleast 35 jigs tied up and ready. Two good brands that are cheap and have worked well for me are John's Jigs and Aerojigs. You want to use light line usually the same rig you use for corky and yarn will do. If you need to know anything else then let me know.

thanks for the help guys. im headin out tomorrow evening to try it out! ill let you know if i catch anything

Just another vote for "do not bounce" when using the bobber. The reason for the bobber is to keep the bait / jig just off of the bottom, and give you an indicator of a strike. If you want to bounce your bait / jig off the bottom, loose the bobber. You will be able to tell the difference between the bouncing of the drift and a strike better if you go by feel than watching a bobber.