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How To: Pink Worm & Diver for Steelhead

February 20, 2018 By JD 2 Comments

Diver and worm rig for steelhead fishingBacktrolling plastic worms behind divers is a deadly steelhead technique — yet not many folks fish them this way.

Of course, the fact that steelhead like plastic worms is about as revolutionary these days as saying Jimi Hendrix was an amazing guitarist. Or that Jennifer Lawrence is hot. Not exactly big news, right? But, the use of plastic “garden hackle” is most often associated with float or drift fishing.

This time around, I’m going to (re)introduce you to an old classic that is a genuine steelhead smoker!

What makes the diver & worm rig so effective is you can put your plastic bait, with pinpoint accuracy, into runs that would be hard to reach otherwise. Also, the bait stays right down in the zone the whole time so the fish have a good chance to see it. At first, you may think that a worm traveling downstream, tail first, at a slow rate of speed, wouldn’t have much meal appeal to a steelhead, but it actually has a nice subtle action that the fish seem to really like.

Technique

Running the diver and worm show is a lot like pulling plugs. I’ll have the clients run them back about 40 to 60 feet behind the boat and then I’ll slowly back down a fishy-looking run. While some pluggers slowly sweep side-to-side as they backtroll, I like to keep the worms moving in a straight line down river. I’ll let the boat slip downstream at about half the speed of the current.

Rather than hand-holding them, it’s best if you put the rods into holders to keep you from reacting too quickly when you get a strike. Speaking of bites, there are three main styles you may get while fishing plastic in this fashion. The first is a peck-peck-peck style of grab, which can be a smolt, cutthroat or other small fish…BUT…I’ve had plenty of big fish take a worm that way too. So, don’t take any bites for granted!

The second (and more common) type of grab you’re likely to get goes like this: One solid thump…a pause…and then the rod doubles over. And then there’s the third (my personal favorite): the suicidal steelhead slam. Out of nowhere, the rod tip slams down hard and pumps wildly as a steelhead makes for the horizon.

The Rig

I like to run a threaded worm on a 4- to 5-foot leader made from 12-to 15-pound mono. Now, you can go with a three way swivel between the mainline and the leader, with a dropper line for your diver off the other eye — or run a sliding dropper rig. One reason to go with the 3-way instead of a sliding dropper is because worms can get snagged when you’re backtrolling them. If your diver’s on a slider, the worm can be snagged but the diver will keep working downstream and you may not notice it until the lure is somewhere way upstream of you. The downside to a fixed dropper is that you can sometimes get the diver caught up in the net — when this happens, the fish usually uses that leverage to break free.

In either case, I usually tie a 6- to 18-inch dropper for the diver (go longer in slower water and shorter when fishing the fast stuff) and finish it off with a duo lock plug snap.

Speaking of divers, I like the clear/black bill or flat black [easyazon_link identifier=”B005AUFVOA” locale=”US” tag=”fiwijd-20″]Brad’s Bait Divers[/easyazon_link].
catching steelhead with divers and bait

Worms

There are countless worm varieties out there and all of them will catch steelhead. My favorites are Mad River Manufacturing’s Steelhead Worms but the BnR Tackle Holey Worms are cool too. The amount of colors and sizes of worms out there is pretty mind boggling. To keep it simple, start with this basic rule of thumb: Smaller and darker worms tend to work best in low, clear water and larger, more poppy colors are best in big, off-color water. There are tons of exceptions to that concept, but it’s a good place to begin. One thing I will say is big, wild bucks will often crush a hot pink 6-inch worm in any water condition!

Hooks

Octopus style hooks work well with worms fished behind divers. The size varies, depending on the worm but I generally go with No. 2 to 2/0. I’ve also experimented quite a bit with light wire circle hooks with this method. They really hold fish — provided you can fight the temptation to set the hook when you git bit, A circle hook needs a little time to work its magic — when the rod tip is in the water and line is screaming off the reel, go ahead and pick up the rod. At that point, the fish should be solidly hooked and you can start cranking. Once these hooks hit paydirt, you’ll almost always have the fish hooked deep in the corner of the jaw. And another bonus is steelhead rarely swallow circle hooks, so it’s easy to release them.

I really got into there diver & worm thing heavily back in the late 1990’s. Here’s an old school pic of some of my dudes from 2009 with an early diver rig steelie.

Regardless of the hook style you use, run a small bead or sequin between the bait and the eye of the hook to keep it from getting sucked into the worm.

Drift Bobbers

When running the diver and pink worm rig, I like a drift bobber ahead of the worm to keep it up off the bottom. A simple round Corkie, Hard Fish Pill or Cheater will work fine, and when I need a little more movement, Wobble Glos can be the ticket. The best-ever bobber, however, is the Big Poly Stik Minnow, which looks kinda like a long, stretched out Spin-N-Glo. Stik Minnows fit the profile of the worm, yet give it some sweet action. They’re deadly — and, unfortunately, difficult to find these days.

Rods & Reels

Rods for this technique need to have a soft tip but plenty of power in the lower half. The flexibility in the tip allows the fish to take the bait without feeling much resistance and the bottom end punch will help you stop a rampaging steelhead that’s hell bent on going back to the sea. Conventional reels with solid drag systems are a must and you can fill them with mono or braid — that’s mostly a matter of personal preference.

Filed Under: Steelhead Tagged With: bait divers, mad river manufacturing, Steelhead

How to tie the Egg Loop: POV Edition

January 10, 2018 By JD Leave a Comment

The Egg Loop is an essential knot for steelhead and salmon fishing but takes a bit of practice to learn. One of the reasons it’s hard to learn is every video I have found shows it from the reverse perspective — as if you are watching somebody tie it in person. In this vid, we shot from that angle but also from the first person view — so you can see how it looks as if you were tying it yourself!

Filed Under: Salmon, Steelhead Tagged With: egg loop, fishing knots, roe, Salmon, Steelhead

Steelhead Bank Fishing Technique: The “Poor Man’s Driftboat”

January 5, 2018 By JD Leave a Comment

This simple little technique has helped me catch more steelhead off the bank. Give it a try!

Filed Under: Steelhead, Techniques Tagged With: bobbers, drift boat, drift fishing, float fishing, Steelhead

How to make Spawn Sacks for Steelhead & Salmon

December 30, 2017 By JD 2 Comments

If you’ve ever dealt with loose, soft roe that just won’t stay on the hook, this video is for you!

Making spawn sacks is a quick and easy solution for soupy eggs. Spawn sacks (aka “egg bags”) are also extremely useful when you are fishing in an area that’s loaded with bait stealers like chubs, smolt, trout and squawfish, etc.

Filed Under: Steelhead, Techniques Tagged With: eggs, roe, Salmon, spawn bags, spawn sacks, Steelhead

Jig & Bobber Techniques for Steelhead

November 26, 2017 By JD 5 Comments

Fishing jigs under floats is a deadly way to catch more steelhead this season. Here’s how to do it!

This is an excerpt from my nearly 300-page book:
The Ultimate Guide to Steelhead Bank Fishing.

Why Floats?

First off, why fish a bobber? Well, a float rig will fish in places regular gear just can’t touch. Bobbers will keep your bait above the snags and right up where the fish can see it. As an added bonus, a float allows you to fish distant seams and holding lanes both above and below your position that would be difficult or impossible to fish with other methods. You can also extend your drift with a bobber by simply letting more line off your reel. Plus, you’ve got a great built-in bite detector!

The Drag-Free Drift

Before we get too far along here, let’s cut right to the meat of this technique and discuss the number one thing you have to master to be successful: The drag-free presentation.

Drag Free drift - mend

When fishing a float, your gear needs to travel downstream at the speed of the current. While there are times when steelies will grab a bait that’s traveling a bit slower than the current (more on that later), you generally want to keep your gear moving with the flow of the river.

The Best Steelhead Fishing Gear

To keep the proper speed going, you have to keep as much line off the water as possible. When a belly forms in your line between the rod tip and the float, the current will grab it and drag your line downstream too quickly. Similarly, a bow in the line can also occur upstream of the bobber (in eddies and calm spots behind rocks, for example) and that will make your bait slow down and lift off the bottom.

Drag Free drift - Mending the line diagram

To keep the belly out of your line, you’ll have to lift and “mend” it to keep it from being influenced by grabby sections of current (using floating braided line here is a big help!). When a bow starts forming in the line on the water, gently reel towards your float and then, just as you come tight to it, lift the line in the opposite direction of the belly. Take care to avoid violently jerking the float as you mend, as that can cause your bait to drift unnaturally.

The Bite

When a steelhead picks up your bait or lure, the type of “bobber down” you get depends a lot on the speed of the current. In swift water, the float goes under more quickly, while it tends to go under somewhat slowly and methodically in softer flows. Either way, remember this: Reel until you Feel. In other words, reel any slack out of the line and then, when you feel resistance, set the hook.

It’s critical that you to try to keep a reasonably tight line between your rod tip and the float when fishing so that you don’t have to reel up a bunch of slack before setting the hook.

Bobber Styles

The two basic styles of floats commonly used for river fishing are fixed and slip.

A fixed float is attached to the line via tight fitting rubber fittings that hold it in place wherever you set it. You can change the depth at which you are fishing by simply sliding the float up or down the line.The type of float you run – fixed or sliding – is part personal preference and part necessity.

Slip floats slide freely up and down your line and the depth is controlled by placing an adjustable bobber stop on the line above the float, which can be moved up or down, depending on the depth of the water.

Fixed floats are incredibly responsive and easy to rig. However, they are usually very lightweight – which makes them tougher to cast on anything but spinning gear.

Fixed float rig diagram

Fixed floats are not infinitely adjustable depth-wise, and deeper the water you want to fish, the longer you need to make the distance between the float and the weight. Even with a 9- to 10-foot rod, the rig gets pretty cumbersome for casting once you get about 6-7 feet of line between the bobber and the business end.

Jigs

The two main jig styles I use are marabou and plastic worms. I generally like the 1/8 size the most but sometimes bump that up to 1/4 in heavy water.

For general purpose steelheading, I feel the best all-around jig colors are cerise/black and cerise and white, but it’s always good to have a few other patterns on hand as well. As with most steelhead fishing, go with brighter colors when the water has reduced visibility and then tone everything down as the clarity increases. In really low, clear water, it’s hard to beat the odd-looking “Nightmare” pattern which features a white head and black and red body.

In the marabou department, I love Hawken Aero Jig and Yakima Bait Maxi Jig.

When it comes to fishing pink or nightmare worms under a float, I prefer 3- to 6-inch Mad River Worms

To learn much more, check out my book, The Ultimate Guide to Steelhead Bank Fishing:

Filed Under: Steelhead, Techniques Tagged With: jig and bobber, Steelhead

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