Hi all i am new to this forum and i am hoping to gain some insight into new methods for steelhead and possibly share some of what i know and i have a few questions aboutfishing a pink plastic worm for steelhead.I am going to give the pink worms a try for our summer runs on the willamette river here in oregon and i will be fishing them under a float as well as using convential drift fishing methods with them .As with any method there are probably some dos and donts with the plastic worm so any information on the best way to fish this way would be appreciated.

If you search the forums for "pink worms" you are sure to find boatloads of information. The worm is such a versatile bait, you can use it for drift fishing, float fishing, behind a bait diver, and plunking.

MR.WILSON,

I can say from my experience with the pink worms they dont work for summer runs I just dont what it is. The winter of 2002 is when I started using them I was hooking up with steelhead all the time. Summer rolled around and I could not get on to bite those. I have a lot better luck for the summer run using flies under a slip bobber with a 8lb leader. Jigs work all right in slightly dirty water. But remember when the water drops the water becomes more clear and the fish spook easier. That is why I go smaller in the summer but what works for one person may not work for another.

When you quoted me you also you also forgot to say that I said in the end what works for one person may work for another

The rubber worm works great drift fished and under a float.

a couple ways to rig them on a drift fishing rig would be.
to use a 28-32 " leader. a 1/0 hook and a bead above it. Then thread the worm up your line using a darning needle and starting about an inch and a half above the tail.

Slide down your line and fish...you will probably need a bit more lead with this one if you are using a all boyant worm.

try and get the non boyant or nutrually boyant ones for float fishing. only this way with a fixed float and a sliding weight system.


You can also add a spin n glow above them.
and put 3" on a white colared jig

good luck

StDream-

Try a small 2-3" off colored bass worm under the float for summers The reason the summers might not be hitting the pink is because the 4-6 inchers are just a tad too big in lower/warmer water

Yup, what works for one doesnt always work for others

I am very far from an expert but here is what worked for me.

4" pink seducer
take your favorite length drift leader slide a small pink corkie on then thread the worm woth a worm threader and slide it down to the corkie. I leave about two inches of the rail of the worm unthreaded as mentioned above.

I use a corkie because the seducers are very soft worms and rip very easily and i think the corkie offers more protection than just a bead..

if you don't have a lot of confidence start by fishing a 3" seducer off the back of a pink jig and go from there...

Okay dude.... Let me be the first to tell you that pink worms will outfish bait/jigs etc for summer run steelhead. They are literally deadly on those buggers. If you are fishing big water boondog with them instead of the traditional free drifted bait method and you will be pleasantly surprised..... In smaller water simply lengthen up the leader and drift them at or "ever so slightly" below current speed. Bob's got a great link on how to "correctly" rig them up for drift fishing. Take a look at the photos and emulate what you see. I've hooked far more drift fishing than by fishing under a float. A longer leader is also beneficial in my opinion (3.5 - 4 feet).

This I would love to see.

Fire me off a personal email, and I'll see if I can arrange a day on the river with us and Keith.

Heck, I'll even fish a worm too, and I'd be willing to bet that Keith will still outfish us with bait.

On the other hand, I've never tried a pink worm for a summer run. Could be the hot ticket, for all I know!

Hmmmmm.

I may buy into that statement for winter runs especially the nates (not that you're using bait for those anyway).

But for summer runs you would have to convince me. Summer runs just appear from my experience to be bait oriented creatures. Not that they won't bite pink worms as I have caught summer runs on them but not big numbers like with bait.

How about going to a more natural colored worm in the summer? The picture below is a Berkly "Gulp!" 6" worm.



SA

now I can say that earthworms work great for summerruns I have success with them. I like to use them in the smaller rivers when there is a lot of brush and trees . Also where the bank has eroded away.

Oh no, Parker, you didn't just.........
IT'S ON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I've developed quite the confidence in those little buggers. Most of that confidence stemmed from boondoggin at the Cow last summer so I'd be happy to test my hypothesis....

I tried a lot of purple and dark red worms in the summer but no natural colors. To date only pink worms work for me. Not to say that they won't it is just that I have not had luck with them in the summer.

P.S. And I tossed worms a lot for an entire summer.

Then again maybe I was doing it wrong :p

Let me know the results of your guys experiment!!!

Worms work better than bait??

If that were the case, then why do all of the guides side drift eggs? Oh, let me guess. They have nothing better to do in the evening so they cure eggs. Or - they like spending the extra money on cure mix, etc. Wait, it could be that they like baiting clients hooks all day. I bet the main reason guides like using eggs more than worms is from the crust it leaves on their hands.

I can't believe that the guides haven't figured the worm thing out, especially on the Cow. Maybe Clancy uses them when no one is looking. Probably doesn't want to exploit such a deadly weapon??

LT

Oh no help??? The worm trance... You'd have better luck catching summer fish on a dry fly... :p

I think one part of the confusion fromcutthroattosteelies is that a good day to most is a limit or 4-5 fish so that may be hot for you on old pinkie... But them are rookie #'s... Actually during the midst of summer if we aren't in double digits fishing 3 rods at the end of the day with bait, it was a bad day. Trips hooking over 20 fish are common during the peak and I'll put some $$ on the line that you'd have a tough time catching 2-3 on one of them pink worms.. To be truthful, a buddie of mine tried them the 3-4"ers and he hooked 1 fish to my 6... Now that was only one excursion but numbers don't lie. Heck I've spoiled myself so much with success with eggs on summer steelhead that if you took them from me I'd never fish again, well maybe if I could use my doo-dads....

If you want to arrange a trip down with Parker and that goon want's to fish pink worms too, I'll be handing fish off to you two all day if you know what I mean... Fine by me though, more fish for me to hook!!

Oh yeah and on top of that, the people that fish the corkie/yarn/scent and think it's better than bait, you are nuts too........
Keith

Alright, call me a rook...... though I am far from.... Anyhow, I'd be willing to put this dispute to the test. Not saying I'd win but I think that you would be fairly surprised to see the results...... Whenever you're down to do some experimenting count me in.....
Wait, just to clarify, a good day for me on the cow last summer drifting the pinky consisted of 10 - 15 fish PER DRIFT..... Yes, we fished out of a drift boat..... Just think: If I was to pound each hole multiple times (like the sledders) I'd be upping my odds tremendously. For a guy that boondoggs strait through and anchors up only occasionally I think 10 - 15 isn't so bad. Can't wait to pass through those hole 20 - 30 times in a sled. And you thought 20 was a good day
So when we going??????

Whoa..... I sounded a bit angry.... Not intended. This is the most fun I've had in a while on this BB...... I promise Keith - I aint mad atcha.....

Let's also remember that if we're talking about fishing the Lewis or the Cowlitz when the fish are really in, you can't really compare those numbers to anywhere else...fishing most places, four or five fish would be a good day.

You have to catch that many fish on those rivers, or it's just not worth the bumper boats and crowded launches. Makes me wonder why people do the June 1 bumper boats on the Skykomish...more fish, many more fish, more steelhead and more salmon, if you're down on the Lewis or Cowlitz. Maybe folks just don't want to drive, or really just want to fish the Sky, both of which I can understand completely.

That being said, even with confidence being a major factor in anyone's fishing, all other things being equal eggs are going to pretty much spank anything else.

The bonus of worms, of course, is that you don't need eggs to fish them. Less mess, less expense, and you can use them in selective gear areas.

Fish on...

Todd