Winter steelhead fishing February 2021

This is the time of year that the die-hard steelheaders manifest themselves. These are not the same woosies who think ice fishing in their heated shanties is tough. These are the guys and gals who stand in freezing water and are willing to freeze their fingers and toes until they hurt so bad they feel like throwing up.  These are the anglers who make 2 or 3 casts then clean the ice out of their rod guides and in 2 or 3 more cast do it again, and again, and again,  all the while smiling and chatting with their partner,  These are the guys and gals who are willing to trudge through 2-3 feet on new lake effect snow to get to their fishing spot. These are the anglers who willingly sit in an open drift boat with no protection from a westerly head wind all day.   

The last few weeks have seen several -0 starts to the day and later starts to the day due to skim ice on the river. However, the fishing is very good and we are having some nice days on the upper river from Altmar to Pineville.  Right now the flow is 494 cfs at the Pineville gauge with a release of 350 cfs. This is very fishable for both the boating angler and the wading angler. Typical flies for this time of year are your go to trout nymphs like the Copper John (try these in red, green, Chartreuse and hot pink - size 12), GR Hares ear in #12, Flash Back Nymph #12 and, of course, a Globug in Cherise or Chartreuse with a pink dot producing well. If you are bead fishing a 10mm bead on Chartreuse or Cherise are working too. If you want to fish eggs, fresh steelhead roe is the way to go. Tie these in a blue or pink netting and you should get some action. 

 Of course, the water temperature is hovering just above freezing most of the time now so be careful wading is the rule. If at all possible fish with a friend and wear some sort of spikes or cleats. As the sun begins to show itself more regularly and higher in the sky the algae bloom in the river will also increase, this is as slippery as it gets for the angler. A fall in the river right now can be life threatening and at the least, a temporary interruption to your day until you can get into some dry clothes and waders.  You also want to take a break every so often to warm up and have something hot to drink as well as eat something with high carbs to fuel the body.

This is a great time to fish steelhead, and soon we will see these fish setting up to spawn, kickung off the spring season.  Take some time to fish the Salmon River this spring and please stay safe.

Tight lines