Being able to See your target is a tremendous advantage when steelhead fishing.  A good Fishfinder is the one tool you need on your next steelhead fishing expedition.  With a Fishfinder, you will know exactly where you are most likely to make the perfect catch.  Knowing exactly where the steelhead is laying will give you more time catching and less time searching for steelhead.

You want a Fishfinder designed to give you fast and clear information when you need it.  The Fishfinder needs to have excellent shallow water performance.  You will want one that is very capable of locating steelhead in deep water as well.  A dual-beam transducer is a good option.  These normally have user-selectable views going from narrow to wide.  This will help you see more fish in shallow water this is also very important when searching for steelhead. 

There are a number of Fishfinder manufactures out there today.  Some of the better-known brands are Lowrance, Humminbird, and Garmin to mention a few.  There are many other as well these were some that I have used over the years and I am familiar with is all.

Once you find the right fishfinder for you become as familiar as possible with how it works and what it is telling you.  I have seen a number of steelhead anglers using fish locators that were not sure how they worked.  They could have done just a well locating steelhead staying home and reading a comic book.

For those of use that do not have a boat we can jump into when ever we go fishing Humminbird has come out with a fishfinder just for us.

Humminbird SmartCast RF-35 Wrist Mount Fishfinder designed to be worn on your wrist.  It is just like a watch for the ultimate in portability.  The Humminbird SmartCast RF-5 Wrist Mount Fishfinder features the Advanced Remote Sonar Sensor (RSS).  It has the wireless technology to provide precise information about bottom contour.  It will even give you depth and water surface temperature.  You wear it like a watch and get precise readouts easily.  They are viewable on the 1.25”, 48V x 32H LCD screen.  While the screen size does seem a little small once you get use to the size, it does provide you with some amazing information.

Using a Fishfinder will have you spending more time fishing productive water and less time search for that mystical steelhead.  You will have an informed advantage among the other steelhead anglers.  The pay off will be better steelhead fish stories than ever before.

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When fishing for steelhead in large bodies of water pulling plugs is a deadly steelhead fishing technique. This technique works well throughout the season and is one that I prefer when the water temperatures fall and the steelhead become sluggish. You are able to keep this plug waving around in front of them longer and encouraging a strike. In order for this to work for you, it is important that you know where their holding spots are or at least what a holding spot would look like. You could spend the day drifting your plug through nothing but open water if you are not familiar with steelheads habits and knowing where they like to hold is necessary in order for pulling plugs to be successful.

Some of the popular plugs here in Oregon, Washington and Idaho include:
• Hotshots,
• Wiggle Warts,
• Tadpollys,
• Kwikfish,
• Flatfish,

Just about any bass plug that dives from six to fifteen feet and is available in good steelhead colors will work for steelhead. Hotshots and Wiggle Warts would be my first choice if you were just starting out or on a tight budget.

Some of my favorite colors are red, blue/silver, chartreuse/silver, red/white, and bright blue. The angler should have several colors to use throughout the day, as different colors seem to be preferred at times by that crazy steelhead.

Plugs are commonly used from a jetsled or driftboat. However, side plane drifters are also becoming popular throughout the area. You begin at the top or upstream portion of steelhead holding water and backing down slowly trying to keep the plug in the steelhead face. Usually they will get irritated when the rattling plug is near pushing them out of where they want to be and they will slam it violently.

Pulling plugs is a very exciting way to spend the day on the river and when the fish are active, it will keep you in suspense waiting for one of those violent strikes that are so common when fishing this way. If you ever have a chance, I recommend giving pulling a pug a try.

Steelhead fishing in Oregon, Washington and Idaho has some of the finest steelhead fishing found anywhere in the world.  The abundant rivers and rainfall that frequent the Pacific Northwest coast provides for ideal steelhead and salmon fishing opportunities.  Just about any time of year, a steelhead angler can find an opportunity to pursue steelhead.  Idaho thanks to the Snake, Clearwater, and Salmon Rivers offers the angler fishing opportunities from August through the end of April. 

Steelheads are the most sought after game fish here in the Northwest and possibly the world.  There are some excellent runs of native fish that angler can fish for along the coastline.  These native fish are on a catch and release basis only however. 

     Most rivers in Oregon and Washington have both Summer Steelhead and Winter Steelhead.  The summer run fish begin arriving in the spring and stay in the rivers until the next winter when they spawn and head back to the ocean.  These summer fish are very aggressive and will take lures, flies, bait and most anything, that is presented to them.  The summer steelhead when they come back into the rivers are aggressive feeders and they actually revert back to the behaviors of a big rainbow trout as they live in the rivers for many months before actually spawning. 

Fishing for these fish can be very exciting as they are very acrobatic and jump frequently and are very strong fighting fish.  The summer fish are a very colorful fish with similar markings to a trout.  One exception is the metallic looking head and the big red stripe down the side.  Steelheads are also much bigger than a trout.  Winter Steelhead begin coming into the rivers in the late fall usually with the first good rainfall.  The first to arrive are the hatchery fish, which traditionally begin to show around thanksgiving on some rivers with the bulk of the runs occurring from Christmas to mid January. 

The native fish usually come in later beginning in February and continuing until April or so.  These winter fish are chrome bright as they enter the rivers and will be a dark blue on the back with bright silver white sides. 

The winter steelheads are not as aggressive biters as the summer fish and can be quite challenging to catch.  These fish are coming in to spawn and they usually do this quickly after entering the fresh water.  Because they do begin to discolor quickly and begin there spawning activity almost immediately after entering there home rivers it is very important to be on the river in the right spot at the right time with the right river conditions to be able to catch a beautiful chrome bright winter steelhead.  It is a very good idea to go with someone that knows the river well or hire a guide if you wish to have good success on the winter fish.