Steelhead fishing on Vancouver Island

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Steelhead migration

Trying to learn a new river system here on Vancouver Island. My question is, do winter steelhead tend to stack up in the lower reaches before scooting up to the spawning grounds in spring? Or do they generally scatter themselves throughout the river system? A fish entering a river in December is still awhiles away from spawning, so I am wondering whether there is a general rule of thumb on where they would hang out until spawning time.

From my experience the early fish rocket to the upper reaches in a short time. Late running fish (april-may) tend to stay a short time and spawn lower down. Tough to find bright fish in the upper late in the season. There is proven stack holes on nearly all rivers at all water heights. If encountered try not to reveal locations.

Gill seems to know what he is talking about. I would suggest walking many miles on each river to find out where obstructions to fish migration occur. Often fish hold up below major obstructions(long riffles, rapids, cascades, falls, etc.) Where rivers are complex with holding water between obstructions look for the lowest pool in the complex and a few of the upper pools. You could always be like the majority of city fishermen. Just follow everyone around all day. I have watched guys follow my tracks in the snow and walk right by where I was sitting without even seeing me. Try to be a leader not a follower because someday there will be nobody around to lead.

Interesting information. Where do the summer runs go during the winter? I don't recall ever catching colored fish in December or January. On another note, its been my experience that early winter fish are bigger than the later fish. Fluke or fact?

Maybe you have never fished a river with summer run fish in it. What rivers have you fished? How early in the winter and how late in the spring?

Generally, summer run fish will either move through the system to the head waters and hold, but they can also stay in the lower river and mingle with winter run stocks. Summer and winter run fish in any river can be progeny of the same parents but have different genes that tells them when to come back (its called genetic variability - an inherent way of ensuring the stocks are perpetuated)

We did some radio tagging of steelhead on the Englishman river several years back and found that some fish move into the system and shoot right up to the upper limit of migration and a few days later, they are right back at the mouth of the river. So they can, and do, move around a lot (remember they are in the river for several months before they spawn)

I have hooked many coloured fish in December - April on the Vedder and the Chehalis, both of which have summer run fish. However, colouration is not necessarily an indicator of season of entry into these systems. I have hooked "kelts" (spawned out steelhead) in April on the Vedder that are still quite bright with little colouration other than some red on their gill plate. I have also hooked kelts that looked like old boots. Are they summer or winter run fish? Who knows. Perhaps they are just genetically different races.

The same goes for size. I find that early fish on the Vedder tend to be bigger than the fish that come in in the middle of the run, but then there is a later run of big fish too. Who knows?

I guess the only rule of thumb is that most river systems are unique, with a generous level of unpredictability, which all adds up to making it a very challenging sport. For the past 2 seasons I have been taking 2 rods with me. One rigged with a plastic bait ( pink worm or jenson egg ) and the other with a spoon. This allows me to thoroughly fish a run with 2 different approaches, however I don't cover as much water at the end of the day. Am I better off covering more water in a day or fishing fewer spots but much more thoroughly?

Hey John, I was told there were no summer runs in the Vedder from many sources. Or Is the run so tiny you won't even notice.

It is much better to cover lots of water in a day. Steelhead usually bite in the first couple of drifts through a spot. Don't waste your time standing in one spot all day like the city boys do. If you cover the water in a spot and there is no fish move on. Why are you carrying two rods for the same job? It is real easy to switch from spoon to drift gear. You can move much easier with one rod and you can be fishing instead of packing.

There are summer runs in the Vedder but the run is small and so are the fish (6-7 lbs). I had one day in July, 1996 where I hooked and landed 6 of them. I guess I was just in the right spot at the right time. Haven't hooked any since.

As for staying in one spot or covering water, it depends. If you are hunting for fish, its best to cover as much water a possible. Once you find them, however, you may just be in a glory hole where you can hook 5-10 fish if you stay there. Its been my experience that these fish "turn on" and bite for about 1/2 - 1 hour then stop biting. If you stick around, you'll pick up the odd one between bites then they''ll start going crazy again.

Its a matter of personal preference I guess. Also depends on what is happening that day.

Maybe a dumb question, JohnW, but does that mean you can't spook a hole like you can with rainbows ? With the latter, I've found there's no point in casting to the same water (for at least 20 - 30 minutes) once you've had a fish on the line. I would have assumed the same for steelhead ... and maybe passed up another couple of eager fish.

Or does it depend on other factors ? (By the way, I have Zero steelhead experience ... planning to get some this winter though.)

The best thing you can do with a good size pool is let the fish run around for a while. After that the bite comes on like you wouldn't believe. Actually if there are 2 of you then the other guy should get his gear out there while you are fighting the fish. Steelhead and salmon get excited when they see one of their own slashing around. I think it brings back their ocean feeding instincts and triggers the bite. If you watch coho in the ocean they will chase a hooked fish and if you have a sliding jig on they will often try to bite it. Steelies don't want to miss out on feeding opportunities. Remember they have to eat to survive in the wild and just because they are in the river doesn't mean you can't re awaken that instinct.

i wouldn't say you can't spook a hole. it all depends on the water conditions, fishing pressure, and how the fish react. small streams, in low clear water fish may bolt when you hook the first one. bigger water with a broken surface where fish feel succure may lead to multiple hook-ups one cast after another.i usually find that where there's one, there's another, so you might as well try it for a bit after the first one, what do you have to lose. you can even hook steelies after someones stoned the pool. i have hooked fish right after a jet sled has gone past, you can't hook'em if your gears not in the water. persistence is one key, patience is the other. that along with the proper gear in a productive spot will put you into fish.

Let me tell you a story.

My fishing partner and I arrived at the Vedder one day in 1995 at about 10:30 am. We went to the old Ranger Run. Why? Because we were there a few days prior and had hooked some steelhead. We thought we'd give it another try.

When we got there, there were about 30 other fishers fishing the run. They had been active since sun-up. We polled several of the anglers and it seemed no-one had caught any fish up to that time.

I immediately went to a part of the run where I had hooked fish earlier that week. The water conditions (height, colour) were the same. However, I couldn't even get close to the river because there were so many guys there. My partner walked downstream to find a piece of water where he could get his line wet. Knowing that fisherman eventually leave for the day, I plopped myself down on a stump directly across from the piece of water I wanted to fish and waited and watched.

After about 20 minutes I saw one fisherman cast across the river and he plopped his rig right into the same spot where I had hooked my fish earlier in the week. I watched his drift and saw a fish hit his lure (he didn't see it). He cast to the same spot again and hooked into a fish. The fish jumped twice and broke him off. Aha! I knew they were still there.

About 5 minutes later, his partner walked up to him from downstream and I saw them start to break down their rods. The guy that hooked the fish looked back and saw me sitting there waiting patiently and said "you want this spot". I said "Yup" and he said "Go for it".

I moved down on to the rock and began to cast. In short order I hooked into a fish in the same spot where he hooked his. I landed it and released it and continued casting. The next two casts drew fish. My partner who was fishing downstream saw what was happening and came up to fish beside me. Over the course of the next three hours, I hooked and landed nine steelhead and lost two. My partner hooked and landed seven. All in the same piece of water. Noone else on the entire run hooked anything.

You see, steelhead are creatures of habit. They seek out certain types of water to hold in. Generally it is water that offers them cover (in this case depth and boulders and broken water on the surface) and a resting place (a current break offered by the boulders). These places are called steelhead "holts". When you find them, remember them, because fish will always be found in those spots if they are around.

Water conditions (height, speed, colour) will dictate how fish move around and position themselves in a run. For example, three days after the day I wrote about above, the water was much higher due to recent rains. The current was stronger as well. We went back to fish the same run in the same place and guess what? No fish. So I moved downstream about 50 metres to some quieter water and there they were. It turned out to be a five fish day!

Yes you can spook fish out of a hole, but bet your bottom dollar, they will come back to it. It's their nature. They seek out the optimal conditions for holding. When you find such a place, you can hook fish all day long without moving. There will be periods throughout the day when the fish won't bite. This may be due to changes to the angle of the sun in the sky, spooked fish, whatever, but they always come back.

Some steelhead will stay in a holt for weeks at a time. How do I know this? Well, there have been times when I have hooked the same fish in the same spot as many as three times over the course of a week.

To find such a place though, you have to move around and learn the river. This only comes with experience, unless you are lucky enough to fish with someone who already knows good "holts".

Tight lines!

Hi John; Try something new when fishing for steelhead. Since most of you fish a very crowded river and most of the good fishing spots are taken, try fishing the rapids. Lots of people don't bother, but steelhead like to sit in shallow fast water. I start at the top of the rapids and work my way to the bottom. They hide behind rocks and are in the very fast water. I find most people have a casting contest when fishing for steelhead or they stand in the water. Which is a no no. Give it a try.

Good advice. Been there, done that and continue to do it with a great degree of success. But heck, I didn't want to give all the secrets away at once.

The problem is my partner, his mobility is limited. He shattered one of his knees in an accident several years ago and it still really bothers him. When I fish with him we don't move around a lot and he can hardly walk on boulder/cobble areas where you typically find rapids. So, we go to easily accessible areas (some of which are not crowded, by the way). Even so, we still catch lots of fish and usually outfish most people on any given run (We've been at it quite a few years).

Back to "spooking a hole".

I have to say that I have become befuddled about that issue when it comes to steelhead. I have fished holes on clear, bright sunny days where you can see virtually every fish holding there (sometimes as many as 20-30 fish). The fish are out in the open, in shallow water well away from cover (like the big tree along the bank with the big raft of logs built up behind it). On these days I have sometimes nailed fish on 3,4, sometimes 5, successive catches through the same spot and they still keep biting (even for other fisherman). On those days it seems that nothing can spook these fish.

Then I have gone back to the same hole on another, similar day (sunny, bright) and ya can't find a fish. They're all hiding under that big raft of logs upstream of the fallen tree and they never come out. Go figure.

I have fished runs (sometimes for hours) where I can see the fish, without inducing a strike. Then, some idiot in a kayak or a raft comes by and spooks the fish out of their holding water and then Wham!! the bite is on. Other times, I'm catching fish and a rafter comes by and the fish disappear and the bite is off for the rest of the day.

I have fished holes loaded with fish, along with 10-15 other fishers and only one guy is hooking them. He's not using anything special. He could even be a rookie. Hell, sometimes he's even fishing in the section of the run that most of us would say would be the least likely spot to hold fish.

Other times, I have been forced to fish unlikely holding water because of crowded conditions in the better spots and I've been the one getting all the fish.

I have fished with fishers who are casting to the far side of the river (You know, to that really nice looking, fishy piece of water over there), while I hook fish after fish in two feet of clear water right at their feet, 5 feet from shore. And they turn to me and ask "Hey! What are you using?".

(he puts his finger horizontally to his lips and flicks it up and down making his lips flap while he mumbles "BbbbbBBBbbbBBBbB").

We all seem to be forgetting something far more important than your ever so tall tales.Steelhead are not any different than anything else,fish the Yakoun,Tlelle and other smaller streams in the province and you might learn something new.They are where you think they are,mostly when you think they are and will take almost anything.They are big,dumb rainbows,end of story.If you've any amount of steelie fishing at all,you'd notice that if you hadn't taken one in the first 10 casts,you aint gonna.Time to move about and find some more holdin' water.Many times I've seen my buddy,first or second cast,boom into a fish.He'll be the first to say,it don't matter so much as to what,but rather knowin' where to put it.He'll work hole no more than 1/2 hour,then move.Only 1 or 2 times have I taken 1 behind him.Most of you are over thinking the steelhead game,it rather a lot simpler than you believe,you just need someone to show you that.Good to be home.

Chumthumper,

I would suggest fishing in front of your buddy once and a while. I fished with a guy once who was famous for first casting pools. He would run ahead and flip casts out even if he had his fair share of fish. It got to the point where it was comical. He would first cast, run, and try to catch more fish than the rest of us. He was such an intense fisherman that he once broke his rod after I hooked a fish behind him. I don't even know if he fishes anymore.

Welcome back Chumthumper good to see a tree didn't get the better of you.I think the answer to John W's delema is the lesson I got from two old timers when I moved to Nanaimo from Toronto some 29 years ago.I was a fishing nut and wanted to know everthing right now.They owned the Nanaimo Sportsman Tackle Store and I bugged the hell out of them daily to show me the secrets of West Coast fishing.Finally they agreed that if I brought them their favourite spirit in one month from that date to the store after it closed and in the mean time fished every opportunity I had they would tell me their secret.Needless to say my success improved over the 30 days and their secret they told me was put in my sea time.Sometimes they bite sometimes they don't sometimes they turn on like a light switch and turn off just as fast.I've experienced that in the rivers on the lakes and on the chuck.Some say it's solar tables ,hatches,tides,etc.and to some degree they contribute but the bottom line is you got to be there when it happens and if you put in your sea time you'll get you share of fish and great experiences.good fishin'

hey I am going out this thurs as a pre_exam tension breaker here on the island.....any hot spots or even luke warm on S. van isle.....
fly patterns......? I am still pretty new to area
any infor would be greatly appreciated
thanks fellas

there's lot's of places to fish on the island better narrow down what type of fishing your after. lakes, rivers, ocean.

oops ...........river fly fishing of course
any suggestions??? want to know if its worth braving the elements tommorow

might want to try the upper cowichan.i drive over the bridge in duncan everyday and would say that fishing the lower is out of the question. i don;t know the area around the chemainus very well but i have heard that there has been good fishing for sea-runs and cohos down low. i beleive it is closed above the highway bridge though. it's levels are higher than average but the color is good.

you won't know how it is unless you go.

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Steelheading the Valley Part 2

Apr 2007

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Mar 2007

Steelhead migration

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