03-15-2009, 11:05 PM
I would use the same tactics that you used on the Boise River. Of course the river structure is different and fish will hold in different places but the tactics I have used are basically the same. They are all real steelhead and most of them want the same things (hypothetically speaking anyways, some steelhead tend to have lock jaw). I had a blast on my 5/6 wt last spring on the Little Salmon. We fished for probably 10 hours total and I caught 8 or 9 fish. The thing about catching steelhead is being where they are at the right time. I am no expert by any means but I know that being in the right place at the right time can make a huge difference. My craziest steelhead story is when I caught a 29" out of the Boise while I was fishing for whities at the end of march. I caught it on my 4wt with 6x and a size 20 Hare's ear. I just thought it was a huge rainbow but then I saw the hole punch in its cheek. I had no idea they stick around in there that long. I have always had luck catching them on an egg sucking leech pattern and even a basic wooly bugger with a beadhead. That time frame you have off was the same time we hit the Little Salmon. So I guess you could go there, then head up to the Clearwater if you wanted to, depending on how the fishing was. Wherever you go, you will have a blast. Good luck!
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