Ahh man; this video was so fun to watch; feels like I was right there. I honestly needed this; on my lunch break; crappy day. Thanks a ton for posting this. This is gonna sound weird, but it was nice to see your choice to not mend on a lot of those runs. Good choice IMO, for what its worth. Tight lines
@user-yp4yp4tg3x Can you explain your comment about not mending? I am headed to the Trinity at the end of this month, and have only fished for steelhead out of a drift boat, but plan on wading for a couple days and am curious about the comment. Thx. in advance.
Of course! You see lots of people make the cast, then pull back a bunch of line or throw a big loop upstream to slow the fly down: slow it, and get it deeper. The mend. This is very necessary on many runs, especially for lethargic winter steelhead, but looking at a lot of these runs, I'd say a mend is not needed at all on many of them, and it seems to be the case since he did so well without mending. I feel like it's an automatic habit for many, and we gotta be thinking about where that fly is and what it's doing in every run, every cast, IMO. No daydreaming! Shallow, walking speed run, steady flow, a reasonable sink tip: no mend needed unless the water is insanely cold. In later winter/spring, a lot of times, I actually like a little belly in the line, a speedy, broadside fly; a presentation they don't see every day and sometimes makes them grabby! @@patsheridan
@@patsheridanI think what he means is that I let the fly swing. Line speed, depth and fly presentation are the main factors when swinging for steelhead. If you over/under mend, you can mess up one of those three factors and it will prevent you from eliciting strikes from fish.
I envy you and your little boat and your two-handed rod. Wonderful. I'm headed up to the Trinity at the end of this month, staying in Lewiston for 3 days. Never fished it before. Any suggestions on where to wade in the area? BTW, love the quick release of the fish . . .
I definitely enjoy my gear! I have a difficult time ditching all of the amenities my boat provides when I go wade fishing. As far as wading spots - I'd go to the Trinity Fly Shop in Lewiston and meet with Herb. He can point you in the right direction.
@@patsheridan you sure can! I've skated up fish in the winter. You just need to time it right - usually the warmest part of the day in the transitional water where you'll catch moving fish. I typically skate in the fall, for the bulk of my skating.
@@AndrewHarryOutdoors Awesome, and thanks. Looks like the days I'm planning on going Jan. 27 - 30) will be relatively warm - topping out at about 60 degrees. Might give it a try. Do a riffle hitch on a Muddler more than likely. Hoping the warm weather doesn't put the fishing down! thanks again!
I really want to get into steelhead on the fly. I love in Fresno, Ca and go up north quite a bit for work. Do you have any recommendations as far as gear I should get that's good and won't brake the bank, since I'm on a budget
Hey! Boy, that's a tough one- Have you done *any* fly fishing? Steelheading is kind-of approached from two different mindsets: Do you want to catch fish, or do you want to enjoy the experience, scenery and have a high likelihood of catching nothing? Neither answer is wrong, but if you want to catch fish- look into a bobber setup. If you want to enjoy the experience, consider spey. That said, spey is far more expensive to get going because you need the rod/reel, line (probably skagit starting out) and then some sink tips. Bobber rigs you just need a rod, reel and a floating line and you're basically set. I'd really urge you to look into a guide this fall, and consider going to the Feather River, the Trinity River or maybe there's something in more local San Juaquin county I'm not familiar with that isn't as much of a drive. Steelheading can be an absolutely frustrating experience, especially since you're out of your element in a fishery you're unfamiliar with, the access can be questionable and the competition (other anglers) can be... uninviting. A guide can really set you up with a lot of the answers you're looking for. Just know that it's about $600-$700 for a day (depending on where you go), which can be the equivalent of an entire rod/reel setup. So if you're strapped for cash you have to decide if you'd rather learn the skill set and get dialed in, or would you rather have the gear and figure it out on your own. Sorry I don't have a better answer!
Great video mate! Nice casting technique
Thanks 👍
Good stuff man!!
Glad you liked it!
Ahh man; this video was so fun to watch; feels like I was right there. I honestly needed this; on my lunch break; crappy day. Thanks a ton for posting this. This is gonna sound weird, but it was nice to see your choice to not mend on a lot of those runs. Good choice IMO, for what its worth. Tight lines
Glad you enjoyed it! I had a great time, and I sure was lucky!
skill and patience but yeah, what a privilege to have a day like that @@AndrewHarryOutdoors
@user-yp4yp4tg3x Can you explain your comment about not mending? I am headed to the Trinity at the end of this month, and have only fished for steelhead out of a drift boat, but plan on wading for a couple days and am curious about the comment.
Thx. in advance.
Of course! You see lots of people make the cast, then pull back a bunch of line or throw a big loop upstream to slow the fly down: slow it, and get it deeper. The mend. This is very necessary on many runs, especially for lethargic winter steelhead, but looking at a lot of these runs, I'd say a mend is not needed at all on many of them, and it seems to be the case since he did so well without mending. I feel like it's an automatic habit for many, and we gotta be thinking about where that fly is and what it's doing in every run, every cast, IMO. No daydreaming! Shallow, walking speed run, steady flow, a reasonable sink tip: no mend needed unless the water is insanely cold. In later winter/spring, a lot of times, I actually like a little belly in the line, a speedy, broadside fly; a presentation they don't see every day and sometimes makes them grabby! @@patsheridan
@@patsheridanI think what he means is that I let the fly swing. Line speed, depth and fly presentation are the main factors when swinging for steelhead. If you over/under mend, you can mess up one of those three factors and it will prevent you from eliciting strikes from fish.
I envy you and your little boat and your two-handed rod. Wonderful.
I'm headed up to the Trinity at the end of this month, staying in Lewiston for 3 days. Never fished it before. Any suggestions on where to wade in the area?
BTW, love the quick release of the fish . . .
I definitely enjoy my gear! I have a difficult time ditching all of the amenities my boat provides when I go wade fishing.
As far as wading spots - I'd go to the Trinity Fly Shop in Lewiston and meet with Herb. He can point you in the right direction.
@@AndrewHarryOutdoors Thanks Andrew. Looking forward to the trip. You ever skate flies for the steelhead? Can you even do this in the winter?
@@patsheridan you sure can! I've skated up fish in the winter. You just need to time it right - usually the warmest part of the day in the transitional water where you'll catch moving fish. I typically skate in the fall, for the bulk of my skating.
@@AndrewHarryOutdoors Awesome, and thanks. Looks like the days I'm planning on going Jan. 27 - 30) will be relatively warm - topping out at about 60 degrees. Might give it a try. Do a riffle hitch on a Muddler more than likely. Hoping the warm weather doesn't put the fishing down!
thanks again!
@@patsheridanI've gotten my blowups on muddlers. Let me know how you do!
I really want to get into steelhead on the fly. I love in Fresno, Ca and go up north quite a bit for work. Do you have any recommendations as far as gear I should get that's good and won't brake the bank, since I'm on a budget
Hey! Boy, that's a tough one- Have you done *any* fly fishing? Steelheading is kind-of approached from two different mindsets: Do you want to catch fish, or do you want to enjoy the experience, scenery and have a high likelihood of catching nothing? Neither answer is wrong, but if you want to catch fish- look into a bobber setup. If you want to enjoy the experience, consider spey. That said, spey is far more expensive to get going because you need the rod/reel, line (probably skagit starting out) and then some sink tips. Bobber rigs you just need a rod, reel and a floating line and you're basically set.
I'd really urge you to look into a guide this fall, and consider going to the Feather River, the Trinity River or maybe there's something in more local San Juaquin county I'm not familiar with that isn't as much of a drive. Steelheading can be an absolutely frustrating experience, especially since you're out of your element in a fishery you're unfamiliar with, the access can be questionable and the competition (other anglers) can be... uninviting. A guide can really set you up with a lot of the answers you're looking for. Just know that it's about $600-$700 for a day (depending on where you go), which can be the equivalent of an entire rod/reel setup. So if you're strapped for cash you have to decide if you'd rather learn the skill set and get dialed in, or would you rather have the gear and figure it out on your own.
Sorry I don't have a better answer!