pere marquette

[Guest]

ISnt there a parking pass / permit you need to fish the PM?

 

If I go up there this weekend, I need an idea as to what I need to use. I have my 8 wt rod, my okuma 8/9 reel. I got backing put on it today, and my new line. What leader do I need? I have slinkies, and somewhere I may have some chuck and duck latex and lead stick stuff. How are you guys fishing for the steelies, like a dead drift nymph presentation, maybe under an indicator? or chuck and duck?

 

Also, help me with a work argument here. My bait fisher freind says that steelhead will not take a fly. That all fly fisherman are doing is lining the steelhead. I have never caught one myself, but when I tried it wasnt like I was drifting it in front of the mouth and snagging it, I fished it much like I would a trout and hoped he would take it.

 

john

[jfink 0]

You do need a parking pass $3/day or 20/year i think.

I will be fishing with under an indicator with floating line but i do have a spare spool for chunk n duck. Steelies can be caught on flies as well as salmon be it aggressive or whatever. Swing a big bugger in front of a buck and see how hard he hits it. Thats what I am waiting for.

[Fishboy 0]

Hey John-

I just fished a tributary to the Big Man last weekend and got two steelies and some decent trout just indy fishing and one nice brown swinging a McCune's Sculpin...if you're chucking and ducking I can't help you with a set up, as I've never done it. But whenever I indy fish streams like the P.M. I like a 9-10 foot leader, with about three feet of it being a 30-lb. test butt. I used a 2X tippett this weekend as the water wasn't too clear, but if the rivers clear up a bit 3X or even 4X maybe better (I wasn't using fluorocarbon, for what it's worth).

As for your buddy who says steelies won't take a fly...

Ask him why when sight fishing to a steelie in the fall or spring when the water's warming you can see him move a foot to take a stone nymph or even further to take a swinging Egg-Sucking Leech coming into his lair. Or ask him if all we're doing is lining a fish, why the strike on a Spey pattern can just about tear the rod from your hands. With all due respect, I think he may be a little full of poop.

I agree, a lot of fisherman are lining fish, but I think that mostly just happens when a bunch of drifts are thrown at fish on shallow redds.

Derek

[Frank G. Swarner III 0]

Your friend is either pulling your leg or outright wrong. Sure they take flies. They may not "eat" flies such as streamers during spawning season, but they will attack them.

 

Drift a nymph or whatever fly you like near the bottom, not on it, like you would for trout. If they seem more active take the weight off and see if they will chase a streamer.

 

Good Luck,

Chip

[Fishboy 0]

Here's another one to ask him (now you got me fired up)-

If all we're doing is lining fish, how come guys get steelies on dry flies?

Admittedly it's rarely done here in the midwest and east (more prevalent with waking flies and that in the west), but its definitely been done. In fact, in his book "Steelhead Dreams" Matt Supinski has a picture of a beautiful drop-back fish his wife took on an Isonychia spinner.

Derek

[Guest]

During the spring when the steelhead are thick in the river there is a chance of foul hooking a few fish with flies or bait.

But any fish that don't have the fly in the mouth always get released.

Lining fish or snagging can be done by either bait fisherman or Fly fisherman

You will be able to tell who’s trying to snag fish by watching them.

The reason your bait fishing friend thinks that steelhead don't take flies is because he's never caught a steelhead on a fly.

I have caught steelhead on flies that have finished the drift and came to rest on the bottom only to have a steelhead pick it up off the bottom and almost tare the rod out of my hands.

I tie flies that represent eggs i.e. (spawn sacks) and flies that represent wigglers, waxies, stoneflies and even Worms.

Now what is it about his bait that’s so special?

if he says its the smell he’s crazy the scent of spawn will be all thought the water at that time of year and most of the feeding is done by sight.

 

 

OSD.

 

 

[Guest]

I know he is not pulling my leg, or just trying to get me fired up. But what I dont understand is that he uses spin tackle and has hooked steelies on my hex nymph and egg sucking leech flies. Just never landed one, but he insists, to the point of banning me from his boat once for arguing with him about it, that all fly guys are just lining.

 

john

 

 

[Guest]

Ah Just let it go in one ear and out the other.

Guys like that think they know everything about steelheading.

The drifting of a fly is done very much like the drifting bait.

So why is it that people fishing with flies are lining fish and the bait fishermen aren’t?

 

 

[SALMONATOR 0]

QUOTE

If all we're doing is lining fish, how come guys get steelies on dry flies?

 

Good question fishboy. I couldn't post the pic for some reason, but here's the link to it. I got from another site taken during the hex hatch last summer. Yup, all caught on dries. Two nice browns and (gasp) a steelhead. I guess the steelie just must have been a dumb one or something. Everybody knows that hex duns don't smell like fish eggs or waxies. Show this one to your buddy ridderbos3. He sounds like a great fisherman. Maybe he could explain it.

 

Here's the story

 

Al