Combat Steelheading
Combat Steelheading
Whack! The sound pinged through my ears after my slender rod snapped backwards, colliding with a tree limb. "This place is not for me," I snapped at my friend. We were after spring steelhead in the brushy headwaters of a Lake Ontario tributary. The spacious deep pools permitting long, effortless drifts that I usually fish in the lower reaches seemed far removed from the snarled forest surrounding me. Journeying towards the first pool, fallen logs had seriated my waders and tested my patience. Was this worth it? You bet. The pool teemed with steelhead, but the experience made me rethink my tackle and tactics. Sometimes you just have to get down and dirty for steelhead, but the reward is having a stretch of stream to yourself.
The dense forests encompassing most Great Lakes tributary headwaters are intimidating. You often have to vault over collapsed trees or stumble through overgrown fields to reach them. Although some headwaters are no wider than a noodle rod, if they have cold water and flow uninterrupted down to the lake, there's potential for spring steelhead to be there. Prime areas often require lengthy treks, but steelhead stack up in hidden haunts. Holes, bends, overhanging limbs, and logjams are top places to drift an offering.
Steelheaders who venture to Lake Huron or Lake Ontario tributaries usually favour the open mid- and lower sections. Lake Superior anglers are not so lucky. Many smaller streams there are brushy hell-holes right down to the lake. Even larger rivers are brush-lined, often making some stretches virtually impassable. Southern-Ontario anglers tend to be spoiled by big open rivers and avoid brush-filled headwaters. Superior anglers have no choice, but even many of them spurn the worst stuff and miss out on forgotten fish.
Using suitable equipment is imperative. Tackling steelhead in unforgiving waters requires setting aside those long noodle rods and 2- and 4-pound-test lines.
Toting a shorter rod makes more sense. Eight- or 9-foot spinning rods matched with a spinning or float reel are my choice. Other anglers use a sturdy fly rod and reel filled with monofilament. Regardless of rod choice, keep it under 10 feet, so it's manageable in tight quarters. OOD's fishing editor, Gord Ellis, honed his trout fishing ability by venturing deep into brush-clogged tributaries of Lake Superior. For the worst areas, his equipment choice is a limber 7-foot spinning rod with an exposed-rim fly reel spooled with 8-pound or heavier mono. He says the compact size and simplicity of a fly reel is an asset in the bush. Stripping off a few yards of line, Gord sends his yarn fly trickling downstream to waiting fish.
If the water has a tinge of colour to it, you can get away with using 8-pound-test or heavier line, but in clear water 6-pound line is often needed to coax strikes from headwater steelhead. It's a tradeoff on how heavy a line to use to get strikes and still be able to handle giant trout determined to wrap you around obstructions. Losing some fish, however, is part of the challenge of combat steelheading. Often anglers over-compensate. Scaling down to miniature hooks and less than 6-pound test leads to frustration and too many lost fish. If headwater steelhead in one hole become spooky and difficult to fool, leave and search for other fish. Let the spooked trout rest before you sneak back later. Even then, make the first cast count; it's usually your best chance.
Stealth is important. Weaving around a small bend last spring, I unintentionally surprised three steelhead, sending them scrambling underneath the roots of a toppled cedar. I moved quickly downstream and returned slowly after a dozen minutes. Creeping along behind bushes, I spotted the trio of trout holding out in open fast water. As I readied myself for a cast, the fish panicked and returned under the roots. Having barely moved a muscle, I was puzzled as to why they scurried off. Just then, a pair of anglers charged through the trees, scanning the river with their polarizing glasses. One of the two called out to me that he hadn't seen any fish and suggested I try another pool. Only when the other anglers were well downstream did the trout return to the fast water. Two drifts later, a long silver hen gobbled my spawn bag. The trick is to move softly and scan each area for trout. Donning a dull or camo coat helps you blend into the river's surroundings.
For years a spawn sac impaled on a No. 10 or 12 wide-gap hook, with a few tiny split-shot crimped a foot ahead on the line, worked well for me. I've since added a float above this simple rig for areas where extended drifts are possible. When fish spook at the sight of a float, however, I return to the basic rig. Keep bait selection simple, as well. Armed with spawn sacs, worms, and single salmon eggs, any angler is ready to tackle headwater steelhead. An assortment of nymphs, beadheads, stoneflies, and yarn flies are useful extras. So are small wobbling plugs, such as Flatfish or Kwikfish. They're great for backing down to steelhead nestled in logjams, under banks, or in brush-lined pools. Lightweight Colorado spinners swung downstream in front of obstructions also produce steelhead.
Pairing up with a friend is invaluable. Most headwater pools lack areas to beach a fish. A partner can slip either a hand or net under a trout to help you land it.
Negotiating through tangled timber and underbrush is taxing and tough on waders. After patching his waders three times in two weeks, my father searched for a cure. The remedy was a discarded pair of nylon camo pants over his waders. They shielded them against everything except the sharpest of limbs. After four seasons without a leak, this little trick seems to work.
Tackling steelhead-stream headwaters can be difficult. For many anglers, the risk of ripped waders or a busted rod is too great to warrant the trip. However, experiencing total combat with sleek steelhead is worth a few patches on my boots any day.
Before heading out this spring, however, carefully check the fishing regulations. Some headwaters are sanctuaries. Don't worry. There are plenty of other places to sneak away from the lower-river crowds and do battle with entrenched steelhead in hidden havens.
This article is written with permission by Fish Ontario. Visit their website, http://www.fishontario.com, for more Ontario fishing information.
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