River Fishing Tips and Techniques Grab Bag!

[Mike Carey]

The whole point of fishing web sites is to share knowledge and information. Do you have some knowledge you want to share with those just starting out? If so, post it up here. It can be anything from gear to bait to optimal river levels to locations. Let's help each other be more productive on the water!

*Keep it helpful and positive, if your post is just to tell people to learn it on their own don't be surprised to see it get deleted.

[buzzardbait2]

here is an article that all noobs and some old timers should pay close attention to.

http://www.leeroysramblings.com/Scent.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Thanks to author Leroy Wisner and i would like to acknowledge him in my post.

[natetreat]

http://waterwatch.usgs.gov/index.php?id ... _gmap&r=wa" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Black dots mean stay at home.

[Mike Carey]

nice resource, thanks.

[buzzardbait2]

thank you nate, very informative section of USGS.

[Bay wolf]

Thank you Nate!!

[jd39]

Based on my own learning curve, if you're new to drift fishing skip it and go straight to bobberdogging. The strike indicator is a huge help and there's other advantages to it as well, less snags and breaking off being a big one. I'm still pretty new, so I'm sure there's a reason, but I don't know why anyone drift fishes the traditional way anymore.
Quick bobberdogging description, set-up same as drift fishing but with a bobber/float 1-2' past the depth it'll take to bounce your pencil weight/slinky across the bottom.
Have fun! It's a great technique, have mainly used it for steelhead but looking forward to testing it's effectiveness on coho this year.

[natetreat]

Start a new thread about drift vs. float fishing hehehe.

Another good resource - http://wdfw.wa.gov/fishing/reports_plants.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Fish counts, smolt plant reports, escapement...

[skagit510]

keep a journal. water flow, clarity, success or failure with a date and weather conditions. get your friends to do the same then compare and share. its the old school version of some of the things this site provides. also, fish allot fish hard. be ever observant to all the details and ask those that you see as being successful for advice. a beverage will help loosen lips. info is generally far less guarded when asked about on the river. i know that if i see someone on the river from time to time there is,a repiore built even without speaking and I'm very likely to assist in any way to help them being successful. lastly, have fun, enjoy the skunks along with the banner days.

[buzzardbait2]

skagit, way to catch the spirit of this site! Mike this thread may work out far better than just a river level report. Now, for all you guys that ever thought you might like to try fly fishing, one handed flyrod or two handed spey, guess what. every saturday from 9am to 12 noon at the bridge on the river at fall city there is a great group of guys that devote themselves to teaching, for free, anyone who would like to learn to cast one handed or two handed flyrods. Aaron reimer, who runs the show brings about 15 to 20 different fly rods and will allow anyone who shows up to use one of them. they call themselves river run anglers. you can type in www. speyshop. com for yourselves if you would like to see Aaron Reimers site.

[skagit510]

skagit, way to catch the spirit of this site! Mike this thread may work out far better than just a river level report. Now, for all you guys that ever thought you might like to try fly fishing, one handed flyrod or two handed spey, guess what. every saturday from 9am to 12 noon at the bridge on the river at fall city there is a great group of guys that devote themselves to teaching, for free, anyone who would like to learn to cast one handed or two handed flyrods. Aaron reimer, who runs the show brings about 15 to 20 different fly rods and will allow anyone who shows up to use one of them. they call themselves river run anglers. you can type in www. speyshop. com for yourselves if you would like to see Aaron Reimers site.

this is great advice. Spey and fly need not be intimidating to learn.

[Steelheadin360]

Biggest piece of info I share with people. DO NOT LIMIT YOURSELF. Learn 3 different ways to fish the river, jig fishing, drift fishing, spoons and spinners, etc. Sure if you fish with one technique you will catch fish, but you wont be fishing effectively. As I look at a river I can see deep slots that slowly work up into a shallow on the side of the river I am standing on, that looks a good slot to swing a spoon through. Maybe a deep holding slot against some big rocks? Jig water.

I see so many people that just fish a jig and float, corkie, etc all day long, and your not fishing 100% of the water you could be. Be versatile, fish every piece of every hole. catch more fish.

And another thing, I catch 75% of my Steelhead in water less then 3 feet deep. Don't wade out into the pool until you have fished the shallows.

[mizm05]

And another thing, I catch 75% of my Steelhead in water less then 3 feet deep. Don't wade out into the pool until you have fished the shallows.

This is probably one of the biggest mistakes I've made in the past. Especially in high water. Before you step too far into the river, or into it at all, fish the seam right in front of your feet. Make a few passes, and then cast your next few passes just past the area you previously fished. "Fanning the grid", I believe it's called.

Another thing I've learned, use the lightest weight possible in most situations. I would use too much weight so I could feel the bottom, but I've found that as I lighten up, I still feel the bottom, and the drift of the lure/bait looks much more natural as it matches the speed of the river flow. Most times now, I don't even use a cannon ball or slinky weight...I'll use a couple split shot on my leader a few inches below the swivel and that's been working great. Less snags as well.

Third, when in doubt, set the hook. If you're drift fishing and you see your line pause or stop, bring in a bit of line and give it a set. If you keep getting a pause or stop at the same point of the drift, there's something under there like a rock or branch, etc...but if you're making a pass and aren't sure what's causing the pause/stop, give it a set...I've hooked many a fish where I wasn't totally sure whether it was getting caught up on structure, or a fish. Over time, you'll learn to feel different scenarios, but even today it happens that I'm unsure of what it is out there, and I'll give it a set and see what happens.

And I love the suggestion by skagit to keep a log. I've recently started doing that with my phone. I'll shoot a 30 second video of the river section, and give narration of what the date is, the weather conditions, the river level and what my experience was. I take pictures as well. When I get back home, I've got an ongoing document on my computer that I add that days info to. I can't wait to see what it looks like a few years down the road.

In my mind, there is ALWAYS something to learn, tweak, get better at.

[Mike Carey]

Biggest piece of info I share with people. DO NOT LIMIT YOURSELF. Learn 3 different ways to fish the river, jig fishing, drift fishing, spoons and spinners, etc. Sure if you fish with one technique you will catch fish, but you wont be fishing effectively. As I look at a river I can see deep slots that slowly work up into a shallow on the side of the river I am standing on, that looks a good slot to swing a spoon through. Maybe a deep holding slot against some big rocks? Jig water.

I see so many people that just fish a jig and float, corkie, etc all day long, and your not fishing 100% of the water you could be. Be versatile, fish every piece of every hole. catch more fish.

And another thing, I catch 75% of my Steelhead in water less then 3 feet deep. Don't wade out into the pool until you have fished the shallows.

For bass anglers that's standard operating procedure. I'll have 4-5 rods at my feet and constantly switch up depending on shoreline, bottom structures, depth, etc. I love bass fishing for the shear gluteny of rods and gear I get to play with.

[natetreat]

Biggest piece of info I share with people. DO NOT LIMIT YOURSELF. Learn 3 different ways to fish the river, jig fishing, drift fishing, spoons and spinners, etc. Sure if you fish with one technique you will catch fish, but you wont be fishing effectively. As I look at a river I can see deep slots that slowly work up into a shallow on the side of the river I am standing on, that looks a good slot to swing a spoon through. Maybe a deep holding slot against some big rocks? Jig water.

I see so many people that just fish a jig and float, corkie, etc all day long, and your not fishing 100% of the water you could be. Be versatile, fish every piece of every hole. catch more fish.

And another thing, I catch 75% of my Steelhead in water less then 3 feet deep. Don't wade out into the pool until you have fished the shallows.

But drift fishing is so much more fun! I admit, I'll stick to something because I like it, even if it's not the most effective way to catch fish. Do as I say, not as I do! Besides, swinging a fly is the only way to fish for steelhead

[natetreat]

An addendum: You should learn one method of fishing well before you try others. Because if you fish one method effectively rather than everything in the box poorly, you're going to have more take downs. It's the subtle things that make the difference. Learning the difference between a soft take on the bobber. There is the tap, tap of a jig on the bottom, then there is the tap tap of a fish swimming downstream with your jig in its mouth. Don't be embarrassed to set the hook! Learning how much distance between the float and the bottom. Managing line and keeping tension. Skating a jig across the tail end. If you simply rotate through the box, you're relying on luck rather than the knowledge that you worked through the box effectively. That's one of the first things that I teach my guys, and often it takes a whole lesson to get someone fishing a float effectively. One thing that I learned when I started doing this is the stuff that I take for granted because I've done it so much. Intuition tells me to drop that jig down with a heavier weight behind the boulder, because I can see it. If you're just starting out, save your money and get set up to fish one technique well.

[buzzardbait2]

here ya go noobs, this site will tell you how to spool up line, set drag, how not to make other fishermen MAD at you, and many other things it is good to know to start your fishing journey. you will have to type it in for yourself.


http://fishing" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; noob.com/sitemap/

[mizm05]

He said lubrication...

[TyeeMatt]

For those that make their own jigs...I have a "Jig Hall of Fame" collection of jigs that I've tied and that have caught fish. I include notes on the date, river level, weather conditions/temps, and how long I'd been fishing the spot before I hooked up (can be either number of casts or number of minutes). When I started tying them I got a bit carried away with color schemes/materials and this has helped me narrow down patterns and is pretty fun to reference.

[buzzardbait2]

Peninsula is four hour drive for me, hmmmm, what if there was a place closer with awesome fishing. Look North young fisherman. Steelhead, Salmon and sturgeon and my personal favorite technique, plunking. you will have to connect all the words for yourselves: fish chilliwack. com

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pLk14kySgR4/T ... unking.png" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

once on the fishchilliwack website move curser to fishing info, when the drop down appears click on fishing videos, when that page appears drop down to salmon and click on fraser river bar fishing. there is a lot of other good info on this bc website.

also go to fishing info, when the drop down appears click on fishing tips, when that page comes up scroll down to the fishing time line chart and you will know where and when to go on four rivers. notice that steelhead fishing for hatchery fish on rivers 3 and 4 is best jan., feb., mar. and april.!