We are having this same contest on our BB. I want to see how you doughballs up here stack up with your knowledge by comparison to fishers in Oregon. The first prize for the best tip for fishing high murky, almost muddied out, water for steelies is ... a non-expense paid trip for 2 to the Kaskilof River on Alaska's Kenai Peninsula and a non-paid booking with your site moderator and AK guide Bob Ball. The only 'catch' to this is you have to make booking arrangements with Bob, because he doesn't know about this contest in advance. In the event that Bob is fully booked, you will recieve the alternate prize of a public statement to the thousands of peer fishermen that read here, by me, that you are 'One hell of a good high water steelhead fishermen and a real cool dude." And if the winner here has a better tip than the winner from our Ifish BB, I will publicly state that 'Washington fishermen aren't as bad as I thought they were'. I will start this off with a tip ....

When the water is really high and almost muddy, not so bad you could plant potatoes in it, just a few inches of visability; I prefer to rig a 28" leader (that will get the rig up off bottom a little further because the fish will be up a little more too because of the extra mud and silt running along the bottom) with a size 4 Spin N Glo in flame red and chartruse combo color with a 2/0 hook and egg cluster with shrimp oil all over the whole rig. Use a toothpick jammed bead a bit above the SnG, in addition to the one below it, to keep it nearer to the hook. "Work" this rig thru the softer seams out of the strong currents, by a combo of slow driftfishing, backbouncing, and plunking. I will sometimes very slowly retrieve it thru almost slack water right next to shore where the fish will often lie in these conditions. ...

Lots of other techs out there for this. Bring 'em on. - Steve Hanson (RT)