The Best Bait for Spring Steelhead

If I could use only one bait for spring steelhead, it would be, without question, a big, juicy nightcrawler.

‘Crawlers are the perfect choice this time of year. Think about it – the high flows of spring often wash a good smorgasboard of goodies (including worms) into the water, which steelhead, of course, key in on. Rivers also run pretty cold in the spring, so the fish will be more lethargic and a big meaty hunk of garden hackle is often the only thing that will get them excited. In addition, nightcrawlers also give you a nice “changeup” bait to use on streams that receive lots of angling pressure.

Furthermore, I’ve found spring steelhead act a lot more like resident trout than their winter cousins. They’ll spend more time in a river and, eventually, start to revert back to their old ways of eating invertebrates like nymphs — and worms.

And we can’t overlook the fact that ‘crawlers stay on the hook way better than eggs and shrimp. In reality, it’s the only steelhead bait that can “die of old age” before it falls off the hook. Less time spent rebaiting means…yep, more time in the water and, hopefully, more steelhead.

Technique
The cool thing about using worms is they’ll fit right into most styles of fishing you’re into. ‘Crawlers can be side-drifted or boondogged from a boat just as if you were using roe; they can be drift-fished from shore, suspended under floats or backtrolled behind a diver.

You really don’t need to alter your techniques when fishing with nightcrawlers and only need to make a slight adjustment or two to your tackle.

Rigging Up
For this article, let’s take a look at basic side-drifting or bank fishing. Either way, I’ll attach a Slinky-style sinker via a slider rig to my main line and then run an 18- to 36-inch leader down to the hook. Now, here’s the only area where rigging up for worm fishing is any different than fishing eggs – the hook. Instead of the classic octopus style hook, you’re going to want to run a baitholder like a size No. 2 to 1/0 Gamakatsu. The barbs on the shank will help keep the bait from sliding down around the hook, which is key because you want your ‘crawler to look as straight as possible in the water and the bronze color will blend in with the bait.

Baiting Up
With a bait threader, slide the worm over the hook and up the leader. Traditional drift bobbers like Corkies, Cheaters and Spin-N-Glos don’t work all that well for this technique because they ride on the leader above the bait and push down on it, causing the worm to bunch up. To that end, I’ve found that foam “puffballs” like Fish Pills work best. After the worm is threaded and the hook is situated just beyond the head, I’ll slide a puffball onto the hook and let the barbs on the hook shank hold it in place. You can also run a Fish Pill on the leader above the hook instead if you prefer.

Glide Your Way to More Steelhead

Looking for a new technique to help you put more steelhead in the boat — especially in clear, snaggy rivers? Give side gliding a try! A modified form of side-drifting, side gliding allows baits to be presented to steelhead quickly and naturally with minimal bottom contact by keeping the lines slightly downstream of the boat. Here’s a mini lesson:
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Fiberglass Fish Mounts

By having a fiberglass fish mount made of your trophy catch, you can have the best of both worlds: a fish for the wall that you didn’t have to kill!

A mounted trophy from a past trip is an awesome addition to an office, sports room or den – and they’re not as expensive as you’d think. Now before I go on here, guys, I know what you’re thinking – you’d love to have a fish mount in the house, but your wife would sooner let you buy another boat than have you hang a dead fish on the wall. And you know what, she’s right! I’m not too into the concept of having a dead critter hanging in the house, either. Just seems kinda weird…
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Rigging plastic worms for steelhead fishing

It’s no secret that steelhead love pink plastic! Here’s a quick and easy way to rig up…

What’s the best plug color for steelhead?

With winter steelheading in full force along the West Coast and portions of the Great Lakes right now, it’s time to talk plugging!

Backtrolling plugs such as Hot Shots, Wiggle Warts, FatFish, Tad Pollies and the like is extremely deadly at times and is a great way to get inexperienced or young anglers who don’t cast well into some fish.
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Tuning Steelhead (& Salmon) Plugs

You can have the world’s hottest new steelhead plug in fishiest color of all time, but if that thing isn’t tuned right, you’d be lucky to catch a squawfish….

How to tie an Egg Loop….Back by Popular Demand

It must be steelhead season because I’ve been getting a bunch of “how do I tie an Egg Loop?” emails lately. So, I drug an old classic back outta the vault…

See how to tie the “Pimped-Out” Egg Loop here.

Wait…wait…wait to set the hook on salmon & steelhead plug bites.

Save yourself from yourself…put those rods in the holders and wait until the line is ripping off the reel!

Salmon and steelhead plug bites: wait, wait, wait! from Fish with JD on Vimeo.

The best water temps for steelhead?

One of the biggest keys to catching steelhead is knowing your water temperature and how it affects the fish. Since steelies are cold-blooded beasts, their metabolism slows down in colder water and increases as the temps go up (until they got too hot).

In general, when water temps are low, you’ll find the fish in the softer water along the edges of the river and in slower, deeper runs, pools and flats. They seek out these spots to avoid fighting the current. Conversely, the warmer the temps, the faster, choppier water you’re going to find them in.

The really interesting thing is — and I have yet to ever hear anybody talk about this — that water temps affect fish differently depending on where you are fishing. Again, they’re going to be governed by their cold-bloodedness but steelhead also react to what they’re used to.

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Egg Loop Video

Ever wondered how to tie the egg loop — aka “roe knot” or “egg snell?” Well, if you’re into steelhead & salmon fishing, this one’s a must! Hit the play button for a quick lesson…

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