Fly fishing for steelhead in the northwest is an endeavor that is shrouded in mystery and tradition, with legends of days gone by that approach mythical proportions. One can get the impression that catching steelhead is a quest pursued with passion approaching that of religious devotion, where church services take place on cold, emerald colored rivers.  Among this “cult following,” when famous steelhead rivers, such as the North Umpqua or the Deschutes, are mentioned, it is as if a reverential moment of silence is expected to follow. I have a friend that I think aptly captures the aura surrounding the pursuit of these mystifying fish by affectionately calling it the “unicorn hunt.” They truly are an incredible creature, and having a fresh, chrome colored, steelhead tear the fly line off a reel is without a doubt one of the ultimate experiences in fly fishing.

A steelhead is an anadromous fish, which means its life cycle includes living in both freshwater and saltwater. After hatching in a stream or river these fish behave much like a trout. They spend anywhere from one to four years feeding on aquatic insects and growing in the freshwater before making the long journey downstream to the ocean. You may wonder why these fish travel several hundreds of miles to the saltwater, the answer is simple: Food!!! There is a reason that there are so many big fish in the ocean, and that is because of the abundance of baitfish and other food available for them to forage on. Once in the ocean very little is known about the steelhead, it’s almost as if they disappear. They don’t travel in schools like salmon, and very few of them are caught in nets or hooked by saltwater fisherman. All we know is that they take their eating seriously, and we see this in both their size and ferocity when they return to the freshwater about a year later. This is when the fun begins.

The sole purpose of an anadromous fish coming back to freshwater is to spawn, and they become obsessed with the pursuit of returning to their home stream and finding a mate. We see this obsession in the fact that they essentially stop actively feeding; most researchers are actually unsure why they even take fly or any other type of tackle. Some people say that it is their instincts make them hit, others that they just get aggravated by a flashy fly swimming by them; all we know is that it is a lot of fun when they do.

There are essentially two ways to fish for steelhead when using a fly. The first way is the more traditional way and is called swinging flies. This is accomplished by casting a fly at about a 45 degree angle down river from where you are fishing. The fly then swings across the current on a tight line until it hangs directly below you. The idea is that as the fly swings over or in front of an active fish and it will pursue and hit your fly. Then hang on! These fish are powerful and acrobatic, and you’re going to be in for a battle.

The second tactic that has in recent years gained in popularity is nymphing with a floating line and indicator. This technique is the technique trout fishermen are the most familiar with, being that it is similar to nymphing for trout. Indicator fishing for steelhead can be very effective because it allows the fisherman to consistently present and keep flies down deep where the fish are holding. The most commonly used nymphs are big stone flies and smaller egg patterns, but it is not uncommon for trout fisherman to accidentally hook into a steely using any number of nymph patterns.

Steelhead fly fishing rods require a heavier weight to both handle these aggressive fish when they take off down the river, and to be able to effectively cast the heavier tackle that is used. The general rule of thumb is that for summer steelhead a 7 weight will suffice, but for winter fishing an 8 weight is needed to handle the heavy flies and sink tips that get down to where the fish are holding.  In the past steelheaders have fished with two types of rods; the first being your single handed rod in the 9 – 10 foot range. The advantages of the single handed rods are that they can be used effectively whether you want to fish with an indicator or swing flies, and they are usually the first choice when fishing from a boat. The disadvantage is that you need enough space to back cast, which is often hard to find in our overgrown northwest rivers.

This is where the spey rod, another traditional steelheaders’ tool, has come into use. Spey rods are cast using two hands, and are about 12-16 feet in length. Spey casting does not require a back cast, but uses long roll casts to shoot a substantial amount of line. In the hands of a skilled spey caster these monstrous rods allow a fisherman to cover a lot of water, and can easily deposit a fly along with a heavy sink tip well over a hundred feet across a river. Spey casting takes a little work to get the hang of, but it is easy to see the advantages of this method when fishing big steelhead rivers.

Spey rods, however, do have their disadvantages. They tend to be too big and awkward to allow them to effectively fish an indicator or use from a boat. This is where an innovative new tool called the switch rod has begun to gain popularity among northwest steelheaders. Many fishermen over the course of a day on the river want to be able to switch back and forth between swinging and nymphing, and, depending on the amount of cover along the river, would also like to be able to spey cast or use a normal overhead cast. The switch rod is a hybrid between a single handed rod and a spey rod, and it gives steelheaders a lot of options with regards to their casting. They are long enough and built with a handle that is designed for both spey casting and swinging flies, but they are still short and light enough that a fisherman can cast them with one hand and effectively fish an indicator setup. They are generally about 10”6’ to 12 feet, and are the perfect rod for rivers that have a lot of overhanging trees.  They are truly a pleasure to fish with their refreshing versatility, and many fishermen are beginning to consider the switch rod the ultimate steelhead fly fishing rod.

Recommended steelhead fly fishing rods that we at True West build are:

• Single Handed Rods
• Winston- Boron IIIx or Boron IImx
• Sage- Z-Axis or TCX
• Orvis- Helios
• Thomas & Thomas- Horizon II or Vector

Steelhead fly fishing rods by Winston, Sage, and T & T all have many options of switch and spey rods to choose from in various lengths and weights:

• Switch/ Spey Rods
• Winston- Boron IIx or Boron IImx
• Sage- Z-Axis or TCX
• Thomas and Thomas switch and spey line