Steelhead Fishing – Gear

Winter Steelhead:
February – April

During the winter season, our experienced guides will lead you down these pristine rivers and you can expect your prize to be Winter Steelhead averaging 6 to 20+ pounds in weight. All fishing is from the drift boat using a side drifting technique.

Fly fishing for winter steelhead is available too.  Get down and dirty with nymphs and egg patterns for winter steelhead.  Casting can be a challenge in the winter weather but a challenge can be fun!   Our fly fishing trips are also from the drift boat in winter. The Rogue and especially the North Umpqua are extremely ledgey rivers and currents are very swift in winter.  Again, casting can be challenging so we recommend spey rods and/or accomplished casters for fly fishing in the winter season.

Summer Steelhead
July through November

Imagine your visit during the summer steelhead season. You are sitting in a comfortable drift boat, sipping your favorite beverage and twitching a fly down stream. Suddenly, the rod is nearly ripped from your hand as 8 pounds of Steelhead comes cartwheeling out of the river! And the scenery is excellent too. These silver bullets weigh in from 3 to 15 pounds.

Fly fishing for steelhead in September and October is very “friendly”. The river is low.  Spring and Fall Chinook Salmon are spawning on each riffle. The steelhead lay behind them picking up single eggs.  As you may have guessed, egg patterns work very well at this time.  Fly fisherman can expect to use a variety of techniques in summer including sub-surface streamers, nymphing and the delicate presentation of a dry fly.

In summer we use traditional methods from the boat for those who do not fly fish.  We realize that not everyone has learned to fly fish and there are other successful ways to fish even using a fly without mastering the fly cast.  All gear is provided for traditional gear fishing.