Steelhead Reports and Pics 2012-2013

[natetreat]

Well got number 5 today and it is a personal best! 38.25 long and 19 around. Scale showed right at 18 pounds!! I was a bit worried getting this one in, as my leader was only 8# test. Fun battle

#5 12-3-12.jpg

12-3-12 #5.jpg

What a beauty! That's a nice fish, those big ones are what make the days of skunk worth it.

[luisdabeast206]

A little late, but we hit these 3 and half weeks ago. Barely made it into work, had to soak them in ice.. These summer runs seemed to have got dark since I did not "bonk them" on the spot..

[RiverChromeGS]

Holy crap marc. That is definetely the biggest cascade steehead ive ever seen. Holy freakin crap. My biggest up there is 16, yours destroyed that. Why are they so big this year??? Its like i havent even caught a single one of those little 5 pounders yet. None! All 8+ and my big one early was 16. I want one like THAT now!

[Brat Bonker]

double whoa that is a HAWG!!!!
My 6lb would break on the hookset haha, get him float fishing jigs or eggs like everyone else?

[Amx]

1 more 'member' no longer a member.

[drysuperfly52]

1 more 'member' no longer a member.

[RiverChromeGS]

Well my jealously of Goodtimesfishin's monster steelhead this morning when i looked on the way to the river was slightly satisfied with a 15lb buck as my first fish of the morning, not quite an 18lber but took a few HUGE runs and jumped completely airborne over 10 times, crazy crazy steelhead, and then between my buddy and i we landed 3 more and lost 2 others, one summer the rest winter steel!

[spoonman]

If you are where I think you are ff maybe ill run into you on Sunday. Shhhh!

[RiverChromeGS]

Cool, you most likely have the river right from there being summers, but ive been fishin up and down. Creek mouths below the main hole are deadly in high flows but the main hole been good too

[RiverChromeGS]

double whoa that is a HAWG!!!!
My 6lb would break on the hookset haha, get him float fishing jigs or eggs like everyone else?

U do not use 6lb for steelhead do you

[Brat Bonker]

U do not use 6lb for steelhead do you

yeah since june I discovered that 6lb flourocarbon and 10lb main is an ultimate combo and can handle fish up to 10lbs easy unless you play them stupidly like some on the cow. So now I use it mostly on the cookie cutter hatchery rivers like the cascade especially in clear water but have only hooked one but my dad also hooked one there too but spit the hook at the bank.
Can I take a guess at where you are fishing, is it around the olympic mtns or am I completely off? i hate it when people leave you guessing like this haha oh well I guess that just means I do not really need to know anyways got to find my own watering hole filled with steelhats.

[Steelheadin360]

god this is a tease! I WANT TO CATCH A BIG FISH!!!! High water plunking has always yeilded my biggest fish but i have got one over 20 since '99 and its been 4 years since i caught my 19#

[schu7498]

Yeah ha talk about a tease! You guys are making me super jealous.

[RiverChromeGS]

god this is a tease! I WANT TO CATCH A BIG FISH!!!! High water plunking has always yeilded my biggest fish but i have got one over 20 since '99 and its been 4 years since i caught my 19#

Big steel are awesome!! I get the pleasure to fish the vedder and get fish 17-20 every year. My biggest hatch is 18.4 and my biggest wild is, estimated with the girth length calculations, 19.5 pounds. But damn, i NEED to break 20 this year. I hope to get it on the OP!

And bonker, trust me ive fished steelhead a lot. They are NOT lineshy even in crystal water. I use 10 lb ultragreen leader on cascade and u see how many fish i get on it. Totally absolutely not worth losing a monster by running light line when they would bite heavier line just as good. Bulk up and land the monsters!!. And yea its quite a drive for me here in bellingham its kinda coastal, but its worth it. 16 steel in 2 days is worth a 60$ drive for me. I also have the advantage of fishing for a job so i get to scout a lot of stuff. Fish on!

[Brat Bonker]

Right now I am more about how many fish I can hook than how big, other rivers like on the coast I bump it up to 10lb or during high water i use 14lb but the little cascade with its clear water I can use any advantage I can to hook as many fish I can and you do good with your maxima because you know where the fish hold day in and day out and plus i do not think it matters what you throw at them on weekdays if there is not very many people there not saying that you only catch fish on weekday though.
My biggest hatchery is from the skookumchuck 16lbs 36 inches long I released it because it was dark in april. 2nd to that is a 14lb summer run at the cow.
Have not landed very many nates but hook some hawgs on the bogy a couple years ago in february.

[RiverChromeGS]

At least go 10 lb flouro then. Noooo way a steel could EVER be lineshy of 10 lb seaguar. Ever

[goodtimesfishing]

I am going back to 10 # ultragreen just because I did not like the feeling in my gut when I relized how big that fish was and I had just changed over to 8 #...Ya I landed it on 8 # but would have been able to feel more comfortable with the fight if I would have had my norm of 10#maxima. Although it did make me fight the fish a bit more cautious, which may have been good thing!

[Brat Bonker]

I use vanish by berkley or flourocast by stren but 10lb is the most I would use in the cascade IMO

[RiverChromeGS]

I use vanish by berkley or flourocast by stren but 10lb is the most I would use in the cascade IMO

Seaguar is stronger and more reliable but more expensive. Vanish isnt too bad. Yea i go 10 in cascade but those dumb brats would bite 30 lb high vis leader on a clear water day

[Brat Bonker]

tue that FF it does not matter what you use as long as you present how the fish wants it. Yeah vanish is like 10 bucks at the wal mart by me so I would rather get that and I have yet to have a porblem with it either.