Fly Line Setup For Steelhead

One of my favorite parts of guiding steelhead anglers has always been watching the glowing line swing across the blue and green currents.

Fly line setup for steelhead.

The set up looks something like this. After your line straightens out below you get set up for another cast up into the slot. Steelhead fly fishing for rivers the duck and chuck. Check out the ultimate.

Conversely an 11 to 12 rod feels right at home on smaller coastal rivers in the west and the majority of great lakes tributaries. Below are diagrams and descriptions of how we like to rig for each method. There are 3 techniques we like to use to target michigan steelhead on the fly. Your barrel swivel is a built in break point which you will useful when get stuck on bottom debris.

Once you ve decided the correct length the line size should be dictated by two factors. As your line moves by you and downstream you can extend your run by feeding slack into the drift. The floating line method is a more traditional presentation of a fly on the surface of the water. Indicator nymphing swinging streamers and chuck and duck.

The leader set up i use consists of 1 foot of 30 maxima chameleon attached to the fly line and 10 maxima ultragreen 6 8 ft in length for the large deeper rivers with a barrel swivel tied at the end. You position your line at the lowest point of the current by using a heavyweight and then above the weight you also have a lure or a spinner. To set up a drift fishing rig tie a swivel on the end of your mainline and then add a leader with a drift bobber. The goal is to achieve a dead drift that essentially floats naturally downstream with the speed of the water.

7 1 2 foot 0x fluorocarbon leader clinch knotted to a barrel swivel. Fly fishing for steelhead can be a more expensive way to fish from the bank. Look for the seam lines when chasing steelhead. If you plan on fishing large steelhead rivers where 90 to 120 casts are the norm a 14 to 15 rod is the weapon of choice.

Each method can be effective on certain rivers during specific times of the year. The duck and chuck is one of the most common fly fishing techniques for steelhead in both the great. A tapered leader from seven to nine feet will work well like the salmon steelhead leaders from rio. These lines are designed specifically to turn over heavy rigs easily and offer the ability to mend and control your drift at a distance.

This is important because to fish our hard bottomed rivers effectively anglers must accept losing flies as a necessary evil.