Yet another Northwest winter is upon us.  Dark and rainy days, wind, snow, chilling temperatures and even some more rain…….and of course……STEELHEAD!!!

    Although I’ve seen my fair share of better years for winter Steelhead fishing, there is still Steelhead to be had in most coastal rivers throughout the west.  However, with the recent lack of rain and dropping river levels, adjusting your presentation is going to be a must to be successful.

    Try downsizing your leader to 8lb (6lb if in a smaller than normal river) If you’ve never fought bigger fish on lighter line, adjusting the tension on your drag is going to be necessary.  Along with this, I have also trimmed down the clusters of roe i am drifting to penny size, sometimes even dime size.  For you jig and float fisherman, the same rules apply.  Cold clear water often times mean lazy lethargic fish. Although they are lazy, they are not stupid.  I’ve also found pulling plugs to be effective lately, often enticing a bite from an annoyed fish. 

  For bank fisherman, dress as if you were hunting fish.  Wear clothing that blends in and that breaks up your silhouette.  Stick with the more neutral colors of clothing.  With my experience the past few days, I think the best piece of advice i can give my fellow northwest Steelhead fisherman, is to get out of the house and go tear up some water.  You cant catch fish if your not fishing!  Don’t be afraid to try new presentations or baits. Get out and see what works for you on your local water. 

Feel free to comment on what has worked for you lately or post pictures of your recent catches.

Good fishing!

Steven Frambes

Headed out this weekend in the middle of the rain and 30 mph winds along the Oregon coast in hopes of just seeing a steelhead jump. The day started out perfect, while I landed this 13 pound hen on the first cast.  It must have been my lucky day because a few casts later, I caught and quickly released a chrome 8 pound native buck.

My action for the day was then done. The downpour quickly turned the small coastal river into a brown mess sending me home early and wondering what could have been if the weather cooperated.

We headed over to the Steens mountains in southeastern Oregon for a week long break from the city life.  The plan was to thin the coyote population out a bit, and hopefully get into close enough range to capture some great photos of big muleys, bighorn sheep, and antelope.

Arriving at our hunting/camp spot, we found conditions more than perfect.  A foot of snow had fallen, which congregated the animals, and made spotting coyotes ideal.  Although the snow made sleeping conditions a bit rough, seeing the deer  everywhere, and antelope herds healthy was well worth the restless nights freezing in the sleeping bag.

Although spotting over 40 coyotes, we ended up with only calling 10 dogs to our credit. But I am happy to say that all 10 dogs would later be by our side.

When we weren’t positioned calling yotes, or glassing the hills for other four legged critters, we found a nearby stream to produce Redband trout in the 20 inch range.

An absolutely amazing week, and a place I will never forget.  There was never a dull moment and always something to do.  Truly the ulmimate  sportsmans week.