I've dabbled in the steelhead game,but I really want to dedicate some hrs on the river this year. I have a rainshadow 1143 and an abu 5500 c-3,that I've caught a few steelhead on.

I'm gonna buy a vest and I need to know what the essentials are. I want to have a selection of gear to cover different water conditions,but don't want it to weigh 40lbs.

Are eggs the best overall bait? I'm going to seiku in a couple days and hope to have enough eggs for a few trips. If I cure them now will they be good in a couple months?.

Is there a certain strech of river on the Sky,that's taylor made for a cracker like me.

Sorry to be so long winded,but I've only caught a couple steelhead,and they may have been by accident.

Ok, here's my worthless $.02:

Gear - Dink floats, 1/4 to 1/16 oz. jigs in cerise/white, red/black, orange/red. These basic combinations will get you started, though there are a myriad of possibilities to choose from. Small corkies in assorted colors, small assortment of colored yarn, size 4 - 2/0 hooks of your choice (as long as they're SHARP) 10 - 12# leader material, snap swivels, pencil lead (1/4 & 3/16"), surgical tubing, pliers, scissors. This is a basic list to get you started.

For steelhead, eggs aren't essential. They are more aggressive thas salmon in fresh water, and are more visual oriented, than smell oriented, when it comes to presentations.

The "Cracker bar" in Sultan, sounds like it would be perfect for you.

Use the search function here in the sight. I'd bet that almost every possible location, technique, and timing of runs has been discussed at one time or another.

Good luck to you.

I won't try to tell you what to take, because I have yet to figure it out myself. I take two rods, a 1265S for floats and jigs (or bait) and spinners/spoons, and a 1025C for drifting.

I swore i was going to do like you and put in some hours this year, but it didn't happen. I was 0'fer two days, and I'm done with 'em. I'm waiting for silvers and chums.

As far as a stretch on the sky, probably Reiter if you want to see what works best by presenting it to fish that are there! The hard part for me is finding fish, as I hate fishing in crowds.

I usually fish the Cracker bar area on the north side of the river, or upstream of the Sultan River. The stretch below the Sultan, on the south side is REALLY where the crackers are...20lb. test on 5 1/2' trout rods with spin casting reels and rusty steelie spoons with treble hooks, the works.

Why the different size pencil lead? 1/4 vs 3/16 ? In my attempts at steelhead,all I've used was 3/16.

1/4" is heavier, and will help get you down if you're fishing higher flows, say, like in winter. I like the variety because I sometimes fish smaller water where a lot of weight isn't necessary. That's where the 3/16" shines.