Steelhead FishingThe Dropback TechniqueSteelhead fishing is not for the faint of heart. “Dad, I don’t think I can hold him anymore.” “Hold him or lose him,” I replied. “That’s a good fish, and he’s yours all the way.” The words had barely left my mouth when the steelhead on the end of Chad’s bucking rod made still another run. We were five or six minutes into the battle. But, when you’re only ten years old, and this is your first ever really big fish, five minutes can seem like forever. That last run had broken the fish, though. And a few minutes later steelhead fishing guide Emil Dean dipped the net and a nine pound steelie came over the rail. Not bad for a first fish. But not that untypical, either, when river boating for steelhead. Although Chad’s fish is a quarter-century memory, the technique used is still as effective now as then. It’s called the “drop back” method, and had been pioneered by Dean when steelhead fishing in the late 1960s. Dropping back can be thought of as trolling in reverse. With this system, the boat stays still, anchored in mid-stream, and the baits are drifted further downstream to work in the current until a fish hits. The heart and soul of the drop back system are wobbling plugs worked in the current so they tick the bottom. This obviously requires a selection of diving crankbaits, chosen to work with the speed of the current. The idea is to let the bait bob and weave in front of the fish’s nose until he hits it. When steelhead fishing in rivers you can’t depend on the fish finding it. You have to work it right down in front of his face. To accomplish that, anchor your boat above a known lie. In the fall and winter that means the deeper holes. In the spring, when the steelhead are spawning, that means working the shallow gravel beds. Rods in the seven to nine foot range, and level wind reels loaded with braided Dacron line are preferred. You don’t want to use monofilament when steelhead fishing with the drop back technique, because there’s sometimes as much as a hundred yards of line out, and mono has too much stretch to set a hook at those distances. Initially just enough line is let out so the lure, working in the current, can reach bottom. On Midwestern rivers that’s usually about 20 feet. Leave the reel in free spool, using thumb pressure to hold the lure at that distance. If there’s no action after 30 seconds or so, suddenly release about three more feet of line. This causes the bait to stop fluttering and sudden drop back that distance. Continue with this action until a fish hits or the hole is worked thoroughly. The drop back system works for trophy size fish only. Very rarely will a steelhead smaller than eight pounds hit one of these plugs. Fish in the double-digit pound class are more the rule. Nor is there anything indecisive about the hit. When a steelie makes up its mind to take that plug he does so with a vengeance. Even so, it’s best to slam the hooks home a couple of times to be sure he’s hooked solidly. Bait fishermen can use a variation of the drop back system when steelhead fishing. Tie a dropper loop two or three feet above the hook, and attach it to a dipsey sinker with just enough weight to hold bottom. For bait, salmon eggs in the skein work better than spawn sacks. Lower the rig overboard on a free line until it rests on the bottom. After a short wait, lift the rod with an overhand sweeping motion. This lifts the rig back into the current, which carries it downstream a few feet. Release a little slack each time you move the bait, and the entire hole can be covered in this manner.
Enjoy Steelhead Fishing? Check out a slightly different game - Fishing for Wilderness Trout
Click Here to Return to the Top of this Steelhead Fishing Page Click Here for the Main Trout and Salmon Fishing Page
Click Here for the Main Fly Fishing Page
|
