who wants to talk about steelhead??

[Derrick-k]

I would say 7bs nice steelie it has some color in it but that is to be aexpected over in eastern wa. Male?

[travislikesfishing]

ya it was a male, hey do u know if the silver 1s taste better or fight better or anything?

[travislikesfishing]

ya i forgot to say i smoked that steelhead its really good better than the smoked salmon i bought from eggers meat the other day!

[Derrick-k]

ya it was a male, hey do u know if the silver 1s taste better or fight better or anything?

The Chrome fish are fresher from the saltwater. They still have all there fat perserves so they fight better and tast alot better. You can get an occasional chromer in eastern wa. Here is what a chromer should look like this one had just a little bit of color in it, but its should be nice and fat.

[travislikesfishing]

thats a nice lookin fish how far westwould i have to go to be in a good spot to catch those

[Derrick-k]

occasionaly you can get chromers in the upper columbia and snake but if you want a better chance for one your gonna have to go to western WA, Olypic peninsula fish the lower parts of the rivers.

[Fisherman_max]

i went steelheading today and almost hooked a nice 7lb+ chrome steely but he pretty much missed my lure, i was on the east fork of the lewis river, also my buddy i was with hooked into a fat spawned out silver that was almost a dead and it fought good when he was trying to bring it in, but yet again the fish got off. he also hooked the same fish(i think) again and lost it yet again i dont know what was up with us losing fish. but it was a fun day. i think we will hit it up again next week and see if we cant change our luck

[travislikesfishing]

ya it sux to lose steelhead last time i went fishing it was a hour after i caught my 28 incher it was fighting way more then the 28 incher like twice as much but it broke my line 20 lb test

[A9]

Travis,
You might wanna gear down on 20lb test. That's some pretty thick mono if thats what you got spooled, and with good line and a properly set drag you shuold be able to handle much bigger fish, plus that thick line is going to turn off steelhead, which are already wary enough when it comes to the details...

[travislikesfishing]

i heard that i wasnt sure if it was true but the line does make a difference

[A9]

Oh yea it does. The cheap fred-meyer or walmart line is gonna break on you. Good line from fishing stores (Pline, Maxima, Stren, etc) aren't going to break...

[travislikesfishing]

ya i wanted to go with Pline but my uncle bought the line and he got berkley big game hunterwhat test do u really need for steelhead in 4-12+lb range and i bought a larger pole so i dont hurt my nice 1 i bought but do you think it will be ok it a fenwick eagle gt with im6 graphite Med action and the reel is a fluger president

[A9]

Yep, Skykomish is a popular spot as there are several trib's and hatcheries along it. You can float or drift fish a PW, and for beginners, a jig under a float would be the easiest to catch on to, although spoons would also do the trick as well...

Edmonds, Sent you a PM...

[A9]

Personally I can't stand anything Trilene. Knots, bad memory, never would let it hit my reel again. So i'd get rid of the Berkley Big Game and stick on some Maxima Ultragreen or P-Line CXXX in Moss green color. 10-12 lb test for what you need I'd say...Just make sure you don't have any nicks or frays in your line, cause rivers put it to the test and make sure your drag is set and you aren't horsing the fish in, and you should be good. If the steelhead wants to run, let him, don't tighten your drag. Let him tire himself out..

Oh and release the nates...

[travislikesfishing]

ok thx i was just afraid of them running around snags when they run do u think steelhead do that or just take off in open water< and do u think im in any danger of braking my pole if i use my smaller pole

[Fisherman_max]

FINNALLY, i got myself a nice steelhead/salmon pole that should hold up to even the biggest native steely. i cant wait to try it out. it is like an 8'6'' MH and i got a nice shakespear dimension reel on it.

[Derrick-k]

I got a Cabela's home made 25$ 9ft med light action 4-10lb test rod I use 10lb mainline the ultra limp version of Maxima, with 8lb leader and I fish small creeks with it and it works great!

[Fisherman_max]

sounds like a nice rod, and only 25 dollors u got a deal. i really like having a long lighter action rod so i can huck my lures a country mile if need be haha

[A9]

Travis,
yea steelies will run into log jams and such if they are nearby. They will also peel off line any direction away from you.

[travislikesfishing]

i spent a lot on mine but its nice and i got a good job soooo u no but anyway its frenwick eagle gt 7ft med action 60 bucks and fluger president spinning reel 65 bucks they both have worked really good so far