I am liking this addition for those of us who like to fling fly's. How about this to stir up some discussion.

At what point in the season do you switch from summer tactics to winter tactics for steelhead? Is it strickly a water condition thing that forces the use of sink tips or does it have more to do with the race of fish? I am guessing this weekend the water will look like the winter sinktip situation that I am used to, however the fish are likley the same as those I targeted near the surface. Do I stay near the top and assume they are looking up or go dredging for them? When and why do you change up tactics?

Cheers!!

flyboy
(generally just a lurker of the boards, psyched to have a fly forum)

You should probably change tactics when the first winter runs start to show up. I think it's more about the conditions now. With water levels rising and clarity decreasing a dry fly would be out of the fishes window. By swinging a fly behind a sink tip you're back in their zone.

In bigger rivers I can swing a fly in the deeper holes year around. But I look for lower levels and the right holding water to throw a dry. You find that later summer and fall.This holding water looks a lot different with winter rains.

I think it would be cool if we had success for winter runs on a dry. But I think I'll stay with the odds and keep it wet.

Flyboy,

Winter tactics apply when conditions look like winter. Rivers have had that serious winter look for the past week now. I'm checking my sink tips and leaders, counting my marabou flies and such. Maybe need to set up the vise; I go thru a lot more flies when fishing deep sunk.

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

If I am chasing after winter-run steelies, then I employ your typical winter-run tactics as in the ones that Salmo g. mentioned above.

The summer-runs will remain active and more surface orientated then winter-runs will ever be...this is especially true of Inland wild summer steelhead.

A couple weeks back, myself and a good freind had no problem raising fish to the surface fly in 39 degree water and you talk to some Thompson River regulars and they routinely hook fish on the surface in late Nov. and December when the water temps are coming close to the freezing mark and the Nicola is dumping in ice!

I switch my tactics solely on conditions. Of course I'm not going to be swinging a big popsicle in gin clear July conditions, nor would I throw a small dark skater on a glaciel silt river an high/dark water conditions. Will this hold 100% true? Nope. I've had years where I was fishing very odd drought conditions and hitting winterruns in late Nov a couple years ago on summerrun flies.

As I said, it's all in the conditions. Unless it's a pink bunny leech, then she pretty much goes with me everywhere I go.