Are downer steelhead really…well…”downers?” Lots of folks think so because when you catch them they’re usually skinny, colored up and not the greatest of fighters. Some people even get bummed out when they hook a downer (also known as runbacks, kelts or spent fish) but there’s actually a lot to love about ’em.
How to Pick 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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Steelhead in the Saltwater: The Purple Unicorn
What the heck happens to steelhead in the ocean? Where do they go? While ocean anglers catch tens of thousands of salmon every season off the West Coast, steelhead are encountered about as often as purple unicorns.
Well, here’s maybe a hint: A couple buddies of mine were trolling big plugs at 8 mph for albacore 20 miles off the Northern California coast when something strange happened…they caught a steelhead.
When the 8-pound hatchery hen hit, it started going bananas, jumping all over the place behind the boat. The thought that it was steelhead never entered their minds. At first the guys figured they had a dorado on. Then they thought it might be a yellowtail. As it got closer, the steelie looked like a coho.
But when they got her boatside, the fish was obviously a steelhead — and a gorgeous one at that.
After a few quick photos, they let her go, knowing that they had just seen something that few anglers ever witness — a steelhead in saltwater.
A small sample size, to be sure, but perhaps this sheds a bit of light on the ocean migration patterns of sea-run rainbows. Could it be that they like a bit warmer water than do their salmon cousins — and thus live much furthers offshore? If steelies spent most of their salt time well off the coast, that would explain why so few are caught by salmon trollers.
I donna…just taking a guess here!
Best fishing in the World: Baltavia
Little Bear & Frenchy with a 125-pound king
The largest king salmon and steelhead in the world live in the streams of the island and I can tell you with absolute certainty that, after seeing what I did last month, this sport will never be the same. The following is a journal of my trip…Click here to read more…
The epic tail…er…tale of Steelie Dan
Aiming for the bright light above, the little guy — we’ll call him “Dan” — struggled through the pile of gravel where his mother had buried him several weeks before.
As he reached the top of the stones, Dan poked his tiny little head into the light, and without warning, he was rudely greeted by a swift current.