Quick Strike Podcast: Secrets of a Great Lakes Steelhead Guru

Catching a bucking Nice Lakes steelhead in the course of the coldest months of the yr actually will get the blood pumping. That’s a very good factor, as a result of it’s nearly a assure you’ll want as a lot blood as doable flowing to your fingers and ft. Attacking the tributaries from New York via Michigan in January and February isn’t for the faint of coronary heart, however for the proud “frozen chosen,” winter isn’t any match for his or her habit.

Danny Colville joined their ranks way back. A well known character within the Nice Lakes scene and a maker of fine custom center pin reels, Colville has steelhead fished throughout the nation, making use of what he’s realized in locations like Alaska and the Pacific Northwest to the rivers of Ohio, Pennsylvania, Canada, and all the things in between. His data of how these fish transfer, behave, and adapt in the course of the coldest months runs deep, and whereas the primary key to success is having the fitting situations, Colville has some pointers for maximizing your effectiveness should you resolve to courageous the bitter chill.

Hearken to this week’s episode of the podcast on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Oil and Water

All through the vary of the Nice Lakes steelhead, your capacity to focus on them in the course of winter is dictated by Mom Nature. Interval. As examples, New York’s Salmon River is a tailwater and infrequently stays freed from ice. Giant rivers in Michigan will keep open because of the sheer quantity of water shifting via. In the meantime, although, many Ohio and Pennsylvania rivers will lock up, solely providing pictures at fish throughout warming tendencies and thawing occasions that bumps the flows. However regardless of the place you’re fishing will probably be chilly, which might wreak havoc in your gear. That’s why Colville takes measures to make sure that frozen guides and damaged rods are of as little concern as doable.

“I actually like to make use of one thing known as Stanley’s Ice Off Paste,” he says. “It nearly looks like a lip gloss, and I all the time have it within the entrance pocket of my waders. I’ll simply get slightly bit on my finger and I simply sort gloss in between every of the guides. It doesn’t cease the guides from freezing fully, but it surely slows the ice down, which is nice as a result of it lets me get in just a few extra drifts earlier than I’ve to essentially clear them.”

While you’re already standing in water that’s close to freezing, something you are able to do to remain fishing and never remedying gear points is a plus, however Colville takes it a step additional than rubbing paste on the guides. When he builds heart pin rods particularly for winter use, he provides outsized guides, together with on the tip. It would look a bit awkward, however the wider the guides the longer it can take them to freeze up.

Financial institution on It

As soon as the water temperature hits the mid to low 30s, all steelhead spawning exercise grinds to halt. At this level, the fish are simply holding within the tributaries till spring after they return to the lake. Although there are exceptions to the rule, for essentially the most half steelhead are going to hunt particular refuge.

“The fish are on the lookout for gradual water that they’re not going to expel an excessive amount of power in they usually’re on the lookout for an undercut financial institution,” says Colville. “That’s usually the place you’ll discover a ton of them. These areas additionally allow them to keep away from ice flows or particles if the water bumps up”

The issue is that these slower sections of excellent holding water usually ice over first, particularly if the water is low. Colville says excessive water in winter is all the time most well-liked, however you can even have an excessive amount of of a very good factor. Full-on winter blow-outs that dislodge an excessive amount of ice and particles could be lethal for steelhead, and Colville notes it’s not unusual to seek out some lifeless fish on the banks after these high-water occasions.

Swing Large

How steelhead piled right into a wintering gap reply to your choices can range, however the extra angling stress they’ve on them, the more durable they are often to idiot. At instances they are often so thick that you simply by chance snag them. Colville’s best situation is a discovering a very good winter run on a quieter river, but when that’s not doable for you, his suggestion is to go large proper out of the gate.

“Typically in winter you don’t have numerous choices,” he says. “Let’s say there’s just one open gap and you realize the fish are in there. In that situation I’ll begin with egg sacs and I’ll use a fairly large one, or an enormous bead. I’m attempting to catch essentially the most aggressive fish within the gap. I need the fish that desires that greater meatball, that’s keen to maneuver round loads. I need the alpha of the outlet.”

Learn Subsequent: A Primer for Winter Steelhead Fishing Around the Great Lakes

Whether or not he’s profitable or not with the go-big-first method, Colville will begin scaling again the scale of his providing little by little. However what he is not going to do is beat on a single run all day if he can keep away from it. Moderately than get colder and extra pissed off attempting to force-feed fish that don’t wish to chew for hours, he’ll transfer on to a distinct run and begin over with a big egg sac or bead.