03-24 REELLIFE DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 11
fishing
conditions during the
wet, winter months are
constant, forcing us to drop
First off, winter Steelhead
what we are doing and
fishing in Washington is
go when the conditions
unique and different from
are best. We also need to
many of our other fisheries
change up our techniques
based on one simple fact,
based on river conditions.
the weather. The winter
One more thing worthy of
generally brings cold, dark,
and wet days which makes mention is that there are
limited hatchery program
this type of fishing a bit
more extreme. So then, why opportunities left, so much
do we do it? Great question, of our Steelhead fishing is
the catch and release of
but the bigger question is,
wild fish. I find that wild
why would we not?
fish tend to fight better
There is an allure to
and to me, there is nothing
Steelhead fishing that is
quite like battling an
hard to describe. I know
amazing fish and holding
that there is nothing that
onto its tail as it builds up
I would rather do. On top
the energy to swim off to
of inclement weather,
where it came from.
Steelhead are more elusive
For those of you interested
than our migrating salmon
in winter Steelhead, I
and less predictable,
making them more difficult would like to share some
information that might
to catch. Changes in river
Winter Steelhead fishing…
where do we start?
help in getting started. I am
only sharing what I have
learned but I hope that the
information is useful. Also,
if you have followed my
articles in other outdoor
magazines, then you
probably know that I spend
a lot of time fishing with
professional guides all over
the Pacific Northwest.
This helps as I can share a
perspective that has been
obtained across many
experiences and years of
fishing.
Most of my Steelhead
fishing has been
done in the rivers in
NW Washington, SW
Washington, and the
Washington Coast,
specifically Forks and the
Quinault and Queets Rivers
within the reservation.
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