LMAO! Gotta love The Kid’s bobber references!
Haha Im not sure what these bobbers are he’s referring too but I have a feeling its the giant 6 inch tall rainbow things that cabelas has a boat load of?
What would be some quality bobbers?
Just remembered, I have a co-worker that grew up fishing for salmon/steelies and all sorts of others in Washington… Why am I not asking him?! 
Clear drift or west coast floats…
There are dozens upon dozens of books written on how to catch steelhead. Look for them at your local library. You can also learn a lot about different techniques by watching videos online. Fishing from shore you generally have the option of drift fishing, float fishing, plunking or casting spinners and spoons. You can also use plugs, but plugs are usually fished from a boat. If you really want to try that, you can use planar boards but it’s a hassle. The type of water you choose to fish in will determine which method works best.
The most important thing about fishing rivers for steelhead is learning to read the water and thinking like a fish. Just like any body of water, 20% of the water holds 80% of the fish. Finding those spots where the fish congregate will do more to get you bit than anything else. They stop feeding when they enter fresh water. If the water is warm, they might give chase but in most cases you need to put your lure or bait right in front of their face.
Steelhead usually sit on the bottom of the river in holes when they are holding. The water is slower near the bottom due to drag, which means they don’t need to work as hard to keep their place.
If they are on the move, they will seek the easiest possible route upstream. Look for places where a fish can stop and rest, like behind obstructions that break the current, or places where they can move with the least possible effort like areas where slower water meets faster current.
Oh, and avoid three-way swivels. They suck. If you need to make a three-way rig, get two snap swivels and connect the snap on one to one of the rings on the other.
As far as flies go, get some heavy wire jig hooks, some big brass or chrome beads and stainless steel straight pins. Then you can make your own hand-tied jigs. You can also use normal poured leadheads. Most steelhead jigs use marabou, schlappen feathers and rabbit strips along with some flash. Combinations of pink, white, black, chartreuse and purple all work well at times.
Here are a couple of informative videos to get you started:
Sorry for the late reply been working non stop trying to get some extra change for a reel.
Thanks Stacy! I will check those videos out when I get back to my computer.
Here’s a poll, what class reel? I have always bought bigger reels than I needed not sure why I guess I have always just figured getting the larger reels for the same price as the small ones. Anyways I was in cabelas playing with the 4000 size reels and the guy at the counter said I will never need anything that big that a 3000 is big enough. Does it really matter what size? I might look like a blow hard on the river with a 4000 size reel but I am hoping that I could also use this rod for some bigger game fishing and figuring the 4000 would just be a nice safety. I don’t know if the rod I got would work for pike/musky/tiger musky but I want to start fishing for them. They don’t run like steelhead but I have seen a tiger pull my cousins 3000 class reel almost to the end of its spool. Even if the rod wouldn’t work it would be nice to be able to use the reel for both kinds of fishing untill I can get more gear.
For me its a weight thing. I have an old Mitchell 308 that I would use for bobbers and it would flat out wear me out. I now have a pflueger supreme 9235XTX and it is all of the difference in the world. I chase steelhead daily from October through April so I want the lightest most durable gear I can get my hands on. I have fished several days 12 hours or more and the heavier reels will put the hurt to you even if you aren’t hooking fish.
That does make sense, I never imagined weight would matter till I got my first fly rod/reel. Both were budget items and both were heavy. After 5 hours of good fishing It was tough for me to cast I was just too tired.
I was figuring that I would only be running mono so being able to hold a decent amount would be nice. Always seem to loose a small bit due to birds nests and always tieing on new tackle.
Then I started wondering about how well mono will perform in cold weather. I 2 spools of brand new Trilene in 12 and 14 pound test that I was planning on using but I dont think they will be good for this winter. If I went to a braid I could easily down grade to the 3000 size reels. Only thing that worries me there is the braid ruining my rods guides?
I fish braid almost exclusively EXCEPT for in the cold winter months. Never had braid grove out the eyes of a rod and I steelhead fish ALOT…
I spin cast fish for steelies and yes it is worth it. I use a 8.5 foot ugly stick lite with mid range shimano reel, that part of setup about $150. What I like about bobber fishing is that it’s not that expensive, don’t lose much gear. If you are up north there are a lot deeper holes to fish on the Clearwater and you can be very effective with a spincast setup. Try Jim Dodge’s tackle in Orofino and he can set you up with jigs and gear pretty inexpensively
Thanks all! Finally made it back to school. On the way up I stopped and fished for some trout through Riggins then I headed over and fished the clearwater.
Caught some trout and also scouted the river out looking for areas to fish. Hopefully now I can make it over and get a spot on the river!
Still havent had a chance to ask any shops about tackle but that will come.
Got a question for you guys. I caught a fish on the middle fork of the clearwater that I cant ID.. It was only 4" long and it was a lighter green. No real distinct markings but it had teeth, IMHO big teeth for its size. It did not really fight at all it just did not want to leave the water, sort of fought like a walleye, just dove back to the depths. Any idea what it was? I could have sworn it also had spines on its back like warmwater fish have.
smallmouth aren’t uncommon up there
Ok thats sort of what I was thinking. It was in a section of water that looked pretty good it just didnt have many markings so I wanted to ask.
Thanks for the help all!