Steelhead fishing for winter steelhead & summer steelhead, float fishing from the bank for some nice steelhead on what i thought was going to be a trip to the Oregon coast, with just a quick stop or two to throw some casts in search of some steelhead along the way. It's hard to make a trip to the coast without wanting to stop along this river to try your luck at whatever may be in season. In this case it is summer and winter steelhead. It's the end of March which means this run SHOULD be beginning to wind down, but it is a later returning run of broodstock steelhead which come back to the river with their large wild counterparts, which can make steelhead fishing on this river a blast if you manage to find yourself hooked into one of the beastly broodstock steelhead. Being that the water is back to being a bit low and clear, i decided that float fishing with a bobber and jig or throwing some beads would be the way to go, though i am also bringing my new rod for casting spinners just in case.... plus i really just wanted to get this rod out and make some casts with it. I have always wanted an X-series rod from Okuma but considering how rough i am with my rods and reels, having a higher end rod like this was always put on the back burner.
Considering the water level and clarity i decided i'd just target some of the slightly deeper pools and tailouts. My first stop proved to be a good decision as i found my first steelhead on my first cast, and my second steelhead wasn't far behind. I ended up spending the rest of the day jumping around different spots with good bank fishing access and never ended up making it down to the coast, which was totally fine with me. I was having a lot of fun running around, exploring, and chasing steelhead. On my final stop i hit a hole that i have always seen steelhead in around this time of year but have never actually caught one.... doesn't mean i'm going to quit trying.. The bobber down here was pretty exciting considering just seconds before my bobber dropped i could see a come out from behind a rock and make a b-line for my bait. This was by far the biggest steelhead of the day! though it broke me off, the fight was exciting and my vantage point from the rocks made for a clear view of what was going on under the water while fighting this fish.
Overall it was another fun adventure and i was happy to be able to get a few fish on the line... keeper or not.
Gear Used:
Rod 1
Okuma Cascade Pro 9'8" Medium
Reel
Okuma Helios SX HSX-40 amzn.to/3IUhl6P
Rod 2
Okuma X Series 9'3" Medium X-S-932M amzn.to/36HBhNe
Reel
Okuma Helios SX HSX-40 amzn.to/3IUhl6P
Net
Beckman Coated Landing Net amzn.to/35sIkcf