Every October the Great Lakes tributaries fill with chrome, and the anglers who catch the most fish are rarely the ones making the most casts. On our Steelhead Month episode, the voice behind the long-running Steelhead Manifesto blog walked us through how he approaches a run in Michigan and Steelhead Alley, and the lessons travel to any river with steelhead in it. Here is how I would put them to work on your next trip.
Slow down and read the run first
Our guest's first piece of advice for walk-and-wade anglers is simple: stop at the top of the run and study it before the first cast. Fish that are new to a pool, especially in fall and winter, jockey for position, and you will often catch a flash of silver that tells you exactly where they are holding. He has floated past anglers standing right where the fish were and casting well beyond them. Steelhead frequently sit close to the bank, so wade in last, not first.
Ask yourself where you would hold if you were a steelhead at this water temperature and time of year. Then position yourself so you can fish the run down and across, and start at the top and work down in steps so you never wade through water you have not yet covered.
Mend upstream to get the fly down
Many newer steelhead anglers underestimate the mend. After the cast, an upstream mend lets the fly sink faster and slows the presentation, which makes the fly work through the run instead of racing across it. The guideline from the episode is that steelhead typically sit a few inches off the bottom, so getting deep is usually the right answer. The exception is a fish holding high in a pool: there you mend less so the fly does not sink past the fish. Adjust the mending to the depth of the lie rather than mending the same way every cast.
Respect the dangle
If you are swinging flies, let the line fully straighten and the fly swing all the way through the run. Assume a steelhead is following it the whole way. Many grabs come when the fly slows or stops at the end of the swing, the moment we call the hang or the dangle. The advice here is to be patient with it. Twenty seconds, forty seconds, sometimes a full minute, and the fish that was trailing your fly finally commits. Impatience at the dangle costs more fish than almost any casting error.
Why Steelhead Alley is worth the trip
The Great Lakes states stock several million steelhead every year, and natural reproduction is turning out to be more significant than anyone assumed. Fish run smaller than ocean-run steelhead in British Columbia, but for numbers and a great day on the water it is hard to beat. Our guest also leaned on two habits worth copying: practice catch and release, and organize a river cleanup on your home water. Volunteer turnouts on a pressured Michigan river routinely hit dozens of people, and families bring their kids.
One more tip from the episode: if you want to improve, take a casting class at your local fly shop. Even a long-time steelhead angler said he learned his spey casting from people who do it every day.
Gear
Rigging for depth and managing a swing both reward good fundamentals, and our Tips and Tricks for Fly Fishing eBook covers leaders, rigging, and the habits that save time on the water. When the weather turns cold and wet, a Brown Trout Hoodie is a good layer for the walk back to the truck. For rods, lines, and spey lessons, your local fly shop is the best place to start.
