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2021-22 surface steelhead/dry line thread

12K views 74 replies 28 participants last post by  Singlehandjay 
#1 ·
I was fortunate enough to get to meet up with @jimlucey (we also ran into @Fish Tech) and fish bamboo together on the Salmon River.
Cloud Water Sky Natural landscape Tree

This was a planned outing which is something that I normally don’t do, my fishing days tend to be spontaneous. But, because I knew we were fishing together I started to watch water levels after a major rain event here and tried to come up with a plan. Instead of trying to get a fly sunk on the dry line in higher water I was more thinking of areas that wouldn’t hold fish during normal flows but during higher water would be optimal. This is the type of water that I’ve really started to gravitate toward as I’ve embraced the muddler and fishing the surface/film/upper water column. The dry line has the advantage in these spots, you can hover a fly in areas that anything else would snag and hang up. With this in mind, I tied up a muddler inspired by one of Bruce’s dee patterns. My wife casually mentioned that Charlie has a pattern and she doesn’t, so I showed her the fly after and she approved. I now plan to fish it until it catches a fish.
Feather Natural material Brush Wood Electric blue

What I didn’t anticipate was 3” or so of snow/slush falling during the morning commute.
Snow Wood Garden tool Freezing Grass

As we made our way to the water I mentioned a spot that I like to fish that as far as I know gets overlooked, since we would be passing by it might be worth swimming a fly through quickly.
Toward the very end of the tailout, as my fly was picking up speed there was a flash, a big splash and a tug….. my line came tight quickly and then slack. I could see the wake of the fish heading downstream. I made a few more casts and then reached for the flask while Jim was finishing up. My day was already made, the new muddler idea had risen a fish. Water temperatures were 46-47 degrees today but this gives me the motivation to stay fishing the surface throughout the winter once again on my first pass. I’m getting more confident with my approach to the dry line and each season these occurrences are happening a bit more regularly. I’ll continue to update this thread this season when I get the opportunity to fish and maybe those of you fishing the same way can share and compare notes here
 
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#7 ·
Awesome stuff. Doesn’t get any better. A tug is in your future.
That's the game! And you're a major player. Inspiring thoughts, Upstateonthefly!
Man if this post doesn't excite you, I don't know what will. This is exactly why spey has taken hold of my heart. @Upstateonthefly congrats on the tug with a beautiful new fly. Please keep posting story's like this. 🔥🔥🔥🔥🤘

-Austin
Thanks everyone! Every so often I question why I have chosen to play the game with such difficult rules, today was the reason why. It gives something to think about before my next outing
 
#8 ·
Steve, what you wrote: "The dry line has the advantage in these spots, you can hover a fly in areas that anything else would snag and hang up" resonates quite a bit with how I approach atypical holding water.

Truly, I prefer to fish what most think of as typical steelhead water...bouldery, 3-5 ft deep, fast walking speed flows. But over the years, I have found enough steelhead in that slow- almost-crawling speed next to froggy water where most wet flies (let alone sinktips) dare to venture.

As a visual example:


Water Sky Plant Water resources People in nature


The red arrows represent the faster walking speed flow (most of the current in this pool pushes outside to the right of the image).

Yellow arrows represent that transition where most of us feel groovy on the swing. That's where we want and expect that fly to get crushed.

The teal arrows get soft and we start thinking about stripping our line in to recast because we prefer the the groovy yellow zone. This is the zone our Steelheader's Attention Deficit Disorder manifests itself.

In the pic, my pal is standing in the white arrows... one would think Kermit might live there, but along with Kermie is Miss Piggy steelhead. I can almost guarantee that a wetfly angler cannot swing his fly thru there. First of all, he can't see where his fly is at. Secondly, there's not enough flow and he worries about snagging.

With your dryfly, you can manipulate the fly to swing into the white arrows water. You can twitch it right into those soft holding areas (the red Xs - Miss Piggy's chaise lounge).

It'll take patience...and sometimes one might feel harried if fishing with a partner. Slow currents take a long time to fish (especially with a wetfly angler behind you). But it has paid off for me many times over.

It's not the sexiest water but it produces.
 
#10 ·
Steve, what you wrote: "The dry line has the advantage in these spots, you can hover a fly in areas that anything else would snag and hang up" resonates quite a bit with how I approach atypical holding water.

Truly, I prefer to fish what most think of as typical steelhead water...bouldery, 3-5 ft deep, fast walking speed flows. But over the years, I have found enough steelhead in that slow- almost-crawling speed next to froggy water where most wet flies (let alone sinktips) dare to venture.

As a visual example:


View attachment 387817

The red arrows represent the faster walking speed flow (most of the current in this pool pushes outside to the right of the image).

Yellow arrows represent that transition where most of us feel groovy on the swing. That's where we want and expect that fly to get crushed.

The teal arrows get soft and we start thinking about stripping our line in to recast because we prefer the the groovy yellow zone. This is the zone our Steelheader's Attention Deficit Disorder manifests itself.

In the pic, my pal is standing in the white arrows... one would think Kermit might live there, but along with Kermie is Miss Piggy steelhead. I can almost guarantee that a wetfly angler cannot swing his fly thru there. First of all, he can't see where his fly is at. Secondly, there's not enough flow and he worries about snagging.

With your dryfly, you can manipulate the fly to swing into the white arrows water. You can twitch it right into those soft holding areas (the red Xs - Miss Piggy's chaise lounge).

It'll take patience...and sometimes one might feel harried if fishing with a partner. Slow currents take a long time to fish (especially with a wetfly angler behind you). But it has paid off for me many times over.

It's not the sexiest water but it produces.
Excellent points and diagram to show. It also brings to light another issue of how far out to wade and who goes first. There have been times that while walking out to start casting I have spooked fish in that softer water, or have followed a partner through a pool but noted they were standing in that transition water and would most likely prevent anything from happening while I made my way down.
I also think that for my river the atypical holding areas also hold less pressured fish that might be more inclined to move to the fly or even the surface.
What I’ve told myself this season is that if targeting that type of water I should probably be floating and fishing as much of it as possible rather than multiple passes through a known productive pool. I’ve only been out a few times but that’s one of the goals for this year. I too have noticed that type of water is too productive to disregard.
 
#9 ·
The diagram above is very helpful. While wetfly anglers are at a disadvantage in the white line / red x zones, they can fish that water to some degree by first leading the fly hard to that left side in the latter half of the swing to move the line belly over there, and then subsequently lifting the rod tip upwards, back upstream (move the rod hand from the dangle towards one’s face) to artificially pull the trailing fly towards remaining left-bent line belly.
 
#11 ·
I was fortunate enough to get to meet up with @jimlucey (we also ran into @Fish Tech) and fish bamboo together on the Salmon River. View attachment 387767
This was a planned outing which is something that I normally don’t do, my fishing days tend to be spontaneous. But, because I knew we were fishing together I started to watch water levels after a major rain event here and tried to come up with a plan. Instead of trying to get a fly sunk on the dry line in higher water I was more thinking of areas that wouldn’t hold fish during normal flows but during higher water would be optimal. This is the type of water that I’ve really started to gravitate toward as I’ve embraced the muddler and fishing the surface/film/upper water column. The dry line has the advantage in these spots, you can hover a fly in areas that anything else would snag and hang up. With this in mind, I tied up a muddler inspired by one of Bruce’s dee patterns. My wife casually mentioned that Charlie has a pattern and she doesn’t, so I showed her the fly after and she approved. I now plan to fish it until it catches a fish.
View attachment 387756
What I didn’t anticipate was 3” or so of snow/slush falling during the morning commute.
View attachment 387757
As we made our way to the water I mentioned a spot that I like to fish that as far as I know gets overlooked, since we would be passing by it might be worth swimming a fly through quickly.
Toward the very end of the tailout, as my fly was picking up speed there was a flash, a big splash and a tug….. my line came tight quickly and then slack. I could see the wake of the fish heading downstream. I made a few more casts and then reached for the flask while Jim was finishing up. My day was already made, the new muddler idea had risen a fish. Water temperatures were 46-47 degrees today but this gives me the motivation to stay fishing the surface throughout the winter once again on my first pass. I’m getting more confident with my approach to the dry line and each season these occurrences are happening a bit more regularly. I’ll continue to update this thread this season when I get the opportunity to fish and maybe those of you fishing the same way can share and compare notes here
 
#12 ·
Great conversation. Fishing that kind of water during high flow/cold water conditions makes a lot of sense. Last year on my home river (Ontario's Grand) many of us were doing well waking dries and swinging dry line traditional wets. The Grand is relatively broad and shallow with aggressive wild fish so it has lots of water perfectly suited for these techniques...most years. This fall, flows are 3X normal (3000+ cfs) and it's been tough to find the scattered fish that haven't already travelled upstream into the sanctuary waters that they wouldn't move into during a normal fall.

It's been a grind pounding up the odd fish from our usual runs with T tips. I was jarred out of my rut a couple days ago just after I landed my first fish in weeks (a cherry red wild coho) while fishing with my son. As he wiped the slime off his hands he said "screw it, I'm taking this damned skagit head off. I'm tired of casting it". No more fish were landed that day but the wheels in my head were turning.

This morning I went out looking for exactly the water Adrian described. Boom. 28" silver hen taken on a rolled muddler from water I would be wading in last fall.

Larry
 
#31 ·
.....This morning I went out looking for exactly the water Adrian described. Boom. 28" silver hen taken on a rolled muddler from water I would be wading in last fall.

Larry
Larry, I spoke with you two weeks ago in the water right at the 'boat launch' before we went to fish down by the bridge. The froggy water on the slow side of the gravel bar, which would only hold fish in such high conditions, produced for me. I was fishing a 63' spey line with a short section of T10 in my leader (Ard-style). Great to be able to cast on the Grand with very little stripping! I know you and Larrry M. had great luck on dries down in the boulders last year. Fingers crossed that some year my planned trip happens to be at such a conducive water level.

Hoped to head across the border to the Salmon River this week, but it won't happen and my paternity leave (not only for fishing) ends Friday :(

 
#13 ·
Adrian and Steve,

How far down would you fish that “shoulder” water? I’ll use a specific example, but it’s probably applicable lots of places to some degree.

One of my favorite runs has has a productive riffle at the head and a large side channel that dumps in river right just below the head. There is a good flow down river left, but 150-200’ of shoulder-type water on river right before it starts to speed up in a rocky tailout that also produces well at higher flows. I’ve seen fish roll in that slower water surprisingly often, but I’ve always assumed they were just cruising around rather than holding.

I guess I’m mainly asking, would you bother fishing all the way down through 150’ of white arrows?
 
#14 · (Edited)
Steve, I can envision that wetfly technique you described to cover that water. That could certainly partly cover those red Xs...and it would be an experienced angler knowing the holding lies very well. Cheers.

Larry, I am stoked you found that muddler chromer. It adds a certain enjoyment in finding fish in waters not often covered. Your success has given me some hope - soon, my local river will rise from a dumping of precip. It's interesting how sometimes I get more engaged in finding new water when faced with less than ideal conditions. It requires me to think more (as opposed to mind-numbingly swinging the same pools over and over again).



Great question. First of all, I would focus on the area where you have "seen fish roll in that slower water". There is a reason they are there. Steelhead that I have seen roll in the soft water (on my river) usually means that they are vying for a chance to rest in good real estate (whether it be structure or preferred flow).

In my example diagram above, I will tend to focus more on the softer water where I find some definite structure anomalies. You can see that small boulder point to the left of my pal and then the huge boulder further down --those are target zones where I really try to skate my dryfly more carefully. Prior to reaching the aforementioned zone, I still wake my fly well in the upper portion of the soft areas but maybe take bigger step between casts. Fishing soft water does take time and if time is of the essence, then fish the essence.

The area you describe on your river sounds very fishy. I would fish all that soft area until I figure out where the fish hold...and then on following trips, I'll know which water I can skip over. Fishing it also allows you to get a feel for the structure of maybe why they might hold there. And anytime there is soft water above a faster flow, I always think steelhead (even in the margins of frog water).

Cheers and hope that makes sense!

P.S. I am no expert on this stuff, so take my advice with a pinch of salt. I've just been fortunate to have a river nearby where I have observed the local steelhead react to my dry flies in the strangest water.
 
#16 ·
It was great “ hooking up “ with Steve and Paul the other day . It reminded me why I have such great respect for speypages and those who haunt it’s environs . This has to be one of the best communities on the web . While I don’t know that much about the dry line game , I’m always up for learning something new . I stayed a day longer and while I did use some tips , I stuck with the mono for the most part . Fishing my spliced Scotty and my very old vibration rod was a blast , getting to know the rods and the lines that work is all part of the journey . Plus , more than a couple folks stopped to check out these bits of fishing history . Thanks Steve and Paul . Looking forward to having you out to “ my river “ for more fun and learning .
And thanks to those who make this thing what it is !
 
#19 ·
Many of us have had a very lean season here on the left coast with dismal returns. My simple minded strategy is remaining persistent with my efforts to find steelhead willing to rise. I knock on as many doors as I can, counting on the inevitability that if I keep searching, I will find what I am looking for.

Of course, relying on brute force and ignorance in times of great scarcity can seem like an exercise in futility and it can be, especially if a sense of grim determination takes over. However, when one can release themselves from the attachment of actually having to catch a steelhead, a sense of peace and contentment reigns over your time on the river. Where the beauty of the cast and the visual antipation of tracking your surface fly is always enough....

Todd
Fin Fish Salmon-like fish Marine biology Ray-finned fish
 
#20 ·
Many of us have had a very lean season here on the left coast with dismal returns. My simple minded strategy is remaining persistent with my efforts to find steelhead willing to rise. I knock on as many doors as I can, counting on the inevitability that if I keep searching, I will find what I am looking for.

Of course, relying on brute force and ignorance in times of great scarcity can seem like an exercise in futility and it can be, especially if a sense of grim determination takes over. However, when one can release themselves from the attachment of actually having to catch a steelhead, a sense of peace and contentment reigns over your time on the river. Where the beauty of the cast and the visual antipation of tracking your surface fly is always enough....

Todd View attachment 388238

Amen, Brother.
 
#32 ·
The Rogue has been one of the few rivers blessed with decent numbers this year. Thank you Todd for the really cool fly. Rogue fish have been lovin' your wang this year. My plan for 2021-22 is to keep fishing this fly or the Bi-Vis all winter.

View attachment 388538
Beautiful Rob! So awesome that my weird flies are working for you, I love hearing these stories!

Todd
 
#33 ·
Really enjoy reading these posts. A question for those of you who are using a dry line for late fall and winter fish, are you primarily using a floating leader and dry or waker type fly patterns (surface presentations), or do you also use a intermediate poly or mono leader with a classic wet fly pattern as part of your dry line approach? Thanks
 
#35 ·
I just wanted to say I’ve really been enjoying this thread, so thanks to all.
I always carry a rod rigged with a dry line and a hitched muddler in my boat, but usually only pull it out when a run, for reasons that I may not consciously understand, says, “Skate me.”
I occasionally raise a fish (and I use the term “occasionally” very loosely…) but haven’t hooked one.
Adrian’s diagram got me thinking about all those spots I don’t fish, exactly as he described.
Aside from the obvious runs, I generally look for places that will take a fly on the swing, might hold fish, and are unlikely or impossible to be fished by the bobber boats I share my river with. Those “red xx” spots will check all the boxes.
I’ve been away from the river for a couple weeks but will be back out in the next days. I can’t wait to look with a new set of eyes.
Jed
 
#36 ·
I just wanted to say I’ve really been enjoying this thread, so thanks to all.
I always carry a rod rigged with a dry line and a hitched muddler in my boat, but usually only pull it out when a run, for reasons that I may not consciously understand, says, “Skate me.”
I occasionally raise a fish (and I use the term “occasionally” very loosely…) but haven’t hooked one.
Adrian’s diagram got me thinking about all those spots I don’t fish, exactly as he described.
Aside from the obvious runs, I generally look for places that will take a fly on the swing, might hold fish, and are unlikely or impossible to be fished by the bobber boats I share my river with. Those “red xx” spots will check all the boxes.
I’ve been away from the river for a couple weeks but will be back out in the next days. I can’t wait to look with a new set of eyes.
Jed
I think you bring up an important element with the dry line when you mention spots that are unlikely or impossible to be fished by the bobber boats. I go back and forth between the advantages of the dryline vs other methods. In itself fishing a dry line just isn’t going to have the catch rate as anything else. However, if you focus on the type of water that you just mentioned and fish as much of it as you can I do think you help to stack the deck a bit in your favor.
 
#37 ·
I figured I’d update this thread to include winter fishing wets on a long leader as well. Last season at this time my goal was to hook a fish on a mixed wing classic. I had tied up several sizes of both black and silver doctors to cover my bases of a light and dark pattern. This year is more of the same thought process with the March murderer and a Black ranger (variants) to check off those boxes in my wallet.
Pollinator Insect Arthropod Fishing lure Automotive lighting

Another goal of mine is to land a fish on my 8’ 7wt poppycane. The back mending thread and the info provided by John McMillan really inspired me to try the techniques as described in the book (and that thread) with the paintbrush. I routinely fish near and walk by multiple spots where it is easy enough to bring two rods and stop and give it a shot and then move on to my preferred runs and pools.
Natural material Feather Arthropod Insect Wing

Lofty goals for a season but I’ve always been a goal setter and enjoy the rewarding feeling once a goal has been achieved.
 
#40 · (Edited)
Water Water resources Plant community Plant Natural environment
L
I was fortunate enough to get to meet up with @jimlucey (we also ran into @Fish Tech) and fish bamboo together on the Salmon River. View attachment 387767
This was a planned outing which is something that I normally don’t do, my fishing days tend to be spontaneous. But, because I knew we were fishing together I started to watch water levels after a major rain event here and tried to come up with a plan. Instead of trying to get a fly sunk on the dry line in higher water I was more thinking of areas that wouldn’t hold fish during normal flows but during higher water would be optimal. This is the type of water that I’ve really started to gravitate toward as I’ve embraced the muddler and fishing the surface/film/upper water column. The dry line has the advantage in these spots, you can hover a fly in areas that anything else would snag and hang up. With this in mind, I tied up a muddler inspired by one of Bruce’s dee patterns. My wife casually mentioned that Charlie has a pattern and she doesn’t, so I showed her the fly after and she approved. I now plan to fish it until it catches a fish.
View attachment 387756
What I didn’t anticipate was 3” or so of snow/slush falling during the morning commute.
View attachment 387757
As we made our way to the water I mentioned a spot that I like to fish that as far as I know gets overlooked, since we would be passing by it might be worth swimming a fly through quickly.
Toward the very end of the tailout, as my fly was picking up speed there was a flash, a big splash and a tug….. my line came tight quickly and then slack. I could see the wake of the fish heading downstream. I made a few more casts and then reached for the flask while Jim was finishing up. My day was already made, the new muddler idea had risen a fish. Water temperatures were 46-47 degrees today but this gives me the motivation to stay fishing the surface throughout the winter once again on my first pass. I’m getting more confident with my approach to the dry line and each season these occurrences are happening a bit more regularly. I’ll continue to update this thread this season when I get the opportunity to fish and maybe those of you fishing the same way can share and compare notes here
This is an interesting insight into late fall and winter greased line surface oriented swinging strategies.
A fascinating aspect of living along a salmon and sea trout river, is observing their daily behaviour. I have an elevated view from my camp, 60 feet above Mann’s Pool on the Restigouche River Lodge private water. I have been watching the behaviour of the Atlantic Salmon and searun Brookies that pass through or temporarily reside there. I have noticed that the fall run salmon and trout have changed their behaviour as the water has cooled since the season here ended at the end of September. Pods of a dozen or more large salmon and trout are clearly visible, holding in the clear water below the RRL in Home Pool or below my camp at Mann’s Pool. I observe them daily from my living room or solarium windows or below my river side patio. I’ve even been sleep deprived, hearing them through my bedroom window, carouse at night as they were spawning on the gravel bars below.

When the water temps were above 50 degrees F , at the end of Sept and the first couple of weeks in October, small pods of 2 to 4 of these fish were holding in moderate current, in ideal swinging water, 50 to 80 feet from the waters edge. They were holding in 6 to 8 feet of water over a gravel bottom mixed with scattered boulders and pot holes shaped by the ice and river hydraulics during the ice out in April. These salmon and trout appeared to utilize these current breaks to hold their position off the bottom beneath the faster surface flow. They would move in closer to the rivers edge during even a minor inch or two rise in the water after a rainfall and the resulting increase in the current flow.They would shift positions and lie just alongside the current seam, by the quieter inshore water that extends approximately 30 feet out from the rivers edge. As the water dropped, indicated by some of near shore and submerged boulders, the salmon and trout would return to their deeper lies among the current breaks.
As the water temperatures dropped below 50 F, I began to see salmon begin to gather in larger pods and begin their spawning activity on shallow gravel bars up and down the river, beginning in the last half of October and still in progress this morning. Salmon that had complicated spawning, gathered in large pods, 10 to 20 plus fish, inside the seam, 3 feet deep, in the quieter water. These darker salmon along with some pods of trout, appeared fatigued, and some had white patches, indicating a fungal infection. When they positioned themselves within 10 to 20 feet of the rivers edge, in these shallow soft current lies, multible Bald Eagles gathered and perched in the tall Spruce trees on the high banks, overlooking the pools and submerged rock bars that created back eddy's, where weakened salmon and trout also rested. The eagles and otters preyed on the weakened salmon and trout and kept them changing position, seeking shelter in slightly deeper quiet water. The spawned out salmon rolled occasionally on the surface, but not as frequently as the fresh run Silvers that lay in the usual deeper current breaks, and continued to flash and chase one another as they prepared to spawn.
As the water temps continued to drop below 40 F, and a grey sheen indicated subsurface ice beginning to form along the rivers gravel edge , the fresh run Silvers shifted their positions and lay in the quieter inshore water, just inside the current seam, in 4 feet depths. They were clearly visible and appeared to seek out laying in the shelter of the shadows of rocks and alongside the current seam with riffle water breaking up the surface visibility of the clear water. Most of the salmon and sea trout have finished spawning here by the middle of November, and these salmon have also taken up similar inshore positions, avoiding the main current flow in deeper ideal swinging water. They will lay there, reluctant to venture in moderate current flow, unless disturbed by a predator. As an example, moments after I took the photo of Home Pool at the RRL yesterday, the last pic in this series, a large salmon rolled in the broken water, just 10 feet off the point of the ledge, in the lower right. The water there is 4 feet deep with little current.
Winter subzero temps just beginning here, and the salmon and trout’s positional behaviour will undoubtably change with the onset of ice up to four feet thick, forming along the shorelines. I feel this affinity for soft water lies, adjacent to the shelter of deeper broken surface water, is a factor we should consider when casting our fly during late fall or winter speying.
Regards from the Restigouche....Jim
Water Natural landscape Wood Twig Branch

Plant Water Natural landscape Wood Branch
Cloud Sky Water Ecoregion Natural landscape
 
#41 ·
View attachment 388830 L

This is an interesting insight into late fall and winter greased line surface oriented swinging strategies.
A fascinating aspect of living along a salmon and sea trout river, is observing their daily behaviour. I have an elevated view from my camp, 60 feet above Mann’s Pool on the Restigouche River Lodge private water. I have been watching the behaviour of the Atlantic Salmon and searun Brookies that pass through or temporarily reside there. I have noticed that the fall run salmon and trout have changed their behaviour as the water has cooled since the season here ended at the end of September. Pods of a dozen or more large salmon and trout are clearly visible, holding in the clear water below the RRL in Home Pool or below my camp at Mann’s Pool. I observe them daily from my living room or solarium windows or below my river side patio. I’ve even been sleep deprived, hearing them through my bedroom window, carouse at night as they were spawning on the gravel bars below.

When the water temps were above 50 degrees F , at the end of Sept and the first couple of weeks in October, small pods of 2 to 4 of these fish were holding in moderate current, in ideal swinging water, 50 to 80 feet from the waters edge. They were holding in 6 to 8 feet of water over a gravel bottom mixed with scattered boulders and pot holes shaped by the ice and river hydraulics during the ice out in April. These salmon and trout appeared to utilize these current breaks to hold their position off the bottom beneath the faster surface flow. They would move in closer to the rivers edge during even a minor inch or two rise in the water after a rainfall and the resulting increase in the current flow.They would shift positions and lie just alongside the current seam, by the quieter inshore water that extends approximately 30 feet out from the rivers edge. As the water dropped, indicated by some of near shore and submerged boulders, the salmon and trout would return to their deeper lies among the current breaks.
As the water temperatures dropped below 50 F, I began to see salmon begin to gather in larger pods and begin their spawning activity on shallow gravel bars up and down the river, beginning in the last half of October and still in progress this morning. Salmon that had complicated spawning, gathered in large pods, 10 to 20 plus fish, inside the seam, 3 feet deep, in the quieter water. These darker salmon along with some pods of trout, appeared fatigued, and some had white patches, indicating a fungal infection. When they positioned themselves within 10 to 20 feet of the rivers edge, in these shallow soft current lies, multible Bald Eagles gathered and perched in the tall Spruce trees on the high banks, overlooking the pools and submerged rock bars that created back eddy's, where weakened salmon and trout also rested. The eagles and otters preyed on the weakened salmon and trout and kept them changing position, seeking shelter in slightly deeper quiet water. The spawned out salmon rolled occasionally on the surface, but not as frequently as the fresh run Silvers that lay in the usual deeper current breaks, and continued to flash and chase one another as they prepared to spawn.
As the water temps continued to drop below 40 F, and a grey sheen indicated subsurface ice beginning to form along the rivers gravel edge , the fresh run Silvers shifted their positions and lay in the quieter inshore water, just inside the current seam, in 4 feet depths. They were clearly visible and appeared to seek out laying in the shelter of the shadows of rocks and alongside the current seam with riffle water breaking up the surface visibility of the clear water. Most of the salmon and sea trout have finished spawning here by the middle of November, and these salmon have also taken up similar inshore positions, avoiding the main current flow in deeper ideal swinging water. They will lay there, reluctant to venture in moderate current flow, unless disturbed by a predator. As an example, moments after I took the photo of Home Pool at the RRL yesterday, the last pic in this series, a large salmon rolled in the broken water, just 10 feet off the point of the ledge, in the lower right. The water there is 4 feet deep with little current.
Winter subzero temps just beginning here, and the salmon and trout’s positional behaviour will undoubtably change with the onset of ice up to four feet thick, forming along the shorelines. I feel this affinity for soft water lies, adjacent to the shelter of deeper broken surface water, is a factor we should consider when casting our fly during late fall or winter spewing.
Regards from the Restigouche....Jim View attachment 388829
View attachment 388828 View attachment 388831
That’s great observation and information Jim. I’m certainly not an expert on steelhead behavior and trying to learn, but it seems to make sense they would seek out softer currents and lies as water temperatures drop to conserve energy, as long as predation is not an issue. I wonder as well if tailouts and shallower stretches might afford some solar warming effect that these fish might seek out during parts of the day? There are always exceptions of course, as my home river in it’s upper stretches has good rocky structure and many I have fished with say that is where the fish will hold in the winter- out in the heavier current down among the rocks where the current is not as fast. I would fish the softer edges and was told to get my fly out into the heavy currents and down
 
#43 ·
No significant updates on my part but I was able to get out and fish yesterday. I have been tying on larger irons and was excited to see how well they swam and if I would be hanging up in the pools that I fished the previous week at the same flows but with a bit lighter hooks.
Hand Nail Finger Recipe Ingredient

The day started out with my larger winter’s hopes and March Murderers with no grabs. A few hrs later a few friends arrived to the river to do their egg and indicator game so I sat on the bank, lit my cigar, drank whiskey and watched. I paid particular attention to the stack mends they were doing as I was experimenting with them to sink my offerings as well. As I looked to the tailout I realized I didn’t think that I covered the water earlier with the proper casting angles with the current flows. The more I thought about it and watched the water as I smoked I was convinced I have been fishing this wrong. I decided to skate the tailout to get an idea of what my flies are actually doing.
Wood Grass Plant Terrestrial plant Soil

I made my first cast and immediately a smile is on my face. Fishing surface flies just feels right. My heart speeds up a few beats and I’m watching a wake across the tailout. Sure enough the same casting angle that I used earlier in the day results in a much quicker swing than I wanted. A few adjustments later and the fly is traveling slowly across a boulder mid river, for a second it disappeared and my heart stopped only to have the bug reappear. Another smile and a sip of whiskey from my flask as I reel in. I considered the surface bug a learning experience and noted how I would fish the pool at those flows the next time.
 
#44 ·
This is a great thread, keep up the posting when you can. Thanks for the inspiration and specifics.

While falling off the fishing world a couple of years back, I was able to get back on the bus (turnip truck?) this late fall and swing some surface/upper column stuff. In nine (separated) days of swinging I engaged eight fish, four to hand including a still-vibrant chinook salmon, all upper water column hunting in the slow water edges as described above by Adrian. One thought I always try and remember as I approach the river at hand looking for water to swim in is that for us those slow areas are “tail outs” but for Mr. and Mrs. Steelhead, they are “tail ins,” having just ascended a fast channel and now looking for some slower moving water to sit a bit and admire the hard work getting there, on their way to spawning nirvana 😂.
 
#45 · (Edited)
A winter drylining swing technique for conflicting surface current speeds that novices or the curious (I had someone inquire about why I had my rod tip high instead of at my hip) might not be aware of:

Water Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies Plant Watercraft Body of water

The mustard flow has a quicker surface speed.

The teal-color designates a nice soft flow that I feel will be primo steelhead real estate.

Below is the video (bear in mind that I had to pull my phone out of my waders and record - so it's not a perfect swing):



Notice how I keep the line off the near fast water by keeping my rod tip high. If I had just dropped the rod tip soon after the cast, that near faster current would belly the line and yank the fly out of the good water. Us dryliners need to really pay attention to current speeds, since our target area is so much more limited in varying flows.

As the fly angles its way down the drift, I then lower the rod tip slowly trying to keep that line swing as straight as possible.

Obviously, this worked well in this type of water and may not work in more complex currents. 9 times out of 10, I fish water that has a faster speed further out than the near bank - but this particular stretch had some exposed boulders by the bank that created a chute of faster current.

This technique is also effective to an extent with sinking lines.

Cheers,
Adrian
 
#48 ·
A winter drylining swing technique for conflicting surface current speeds that novices might not be aware of:

View attachment 395660
The mustard flow has a quicker surface speed.

The teal-color designates a nice soft flow that I feel will be primo steelhead real estate.

Below is the video (bear in mind that I had to pull my phone out of my waders and record - so it's not a perfect swing):



Notice how I keep the line off the near fast water by keeping my rod tip high. If I had just dropped the rod tip soon after the cast, that near faster current would belly the line and yank the fly out of the good water. Us dryliners need to really pay attention to current speeds, since our target area is so much more limited in varying flows.

As the fly angles its way down the drift, I then lower the rod tip slowly trying to keep that line swing as straight as possible.

Obviously, this worked well in this type of water and may not work in more complex currents. 9 times out of 10, I fish water that has a faster speed further out than the near bank - but this particular stretch had some exposed boulders by the bank that created a chute of faster current.

This technique is also effective to an extent with sinking lines.

Cheers,
Adrian
That looks like some awesome water!!!
 
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