Joined
·
104 Posts
Since Scott stirred the pot, I think I should too...
I'm sick and tired of people always saying "blah, blah, blah, has to happen in OUR MIDWEST WATERS". Everyone in the Midwest seems to have their opinion on how the Midwest fishes, based on their experience on their one or two local rivers.
Fact is, the Midwest is a big place. There are lots of different sizes and types of rivers, different water qualities, and even different strains of fish. We even have 5 different "oceans" for the fish to play in. And lets not forget all rivers fish differently at different flows.
For example, within 3 hours drive of my home, I can fish roughly 15 steelhead rivers/creeks that are anywhere from 100yds+ wide to 12' wide. It would be pretty silly for me to make generalizations on rod length, fly size, tippet size, etc. wouldn't it?
So when I hear people stating the following absolutes (and others I can't recall), I have to chuckle. Following are the absolutes and my comments, preceded by "BS". You'll have to guess what BS stands for.
1. You can't catch Midwest steelhead on the surface. BS -- I have and so have many of my friends. It doesn't happen every day, but it happens.
2. You can't catch Midwest steelhead with traditional techniques. BS -- That's all I do and I catch plenty. So do my friends. Often times we are catching when others are getting skunked because there are no bedding fish to floss.
3. You have to be within .01 millimeter of the bottom to hook Midwest steelhead. BS -- I've caught them on top, just under, mid-flow, and on the bottom. Often the best fishing is in the upper half of the water column.
4. You can't catch Midwest steelhead on traditional flies. BS -- I have caught steelhead on spey flies, hair wings, feather wings, wakers, muddlers, etc. Its been so long since I caught one on a globug, I'd tend to believe they don't work in the Midwest!
5. You can't catch Midwest steelhead on flies bigger than size 12. BS -- I catch most of my fish on marabou flies that are 2" plus, typically tied on 1/0 hooks. My friends and I have started fishing intruder-style flies up to 5" and are having success.
6. You can't catch Midwest steelhead on anything lighter than 4x fluorocarbon tippet. And the tippet should be at least 12 feet in length. BS -- I have used 15lb Maxima chameleon in dirty water and never use lighter than 10lb Maxima ultra green. I have caught steelhead on 1' long tippets in some conditions.
7. A 13' spey rod is way too big for Midwest rivers. BS -- have you ever fished the Menominee on the border of MI and WI. There are many other examples of huge rivers in the Midwest, but most people in the Midwest are too busy standing in ankle deep water flossing spawners. I agree you don't need a 13' rod to cast to the redd you're standing 10' from. Solution: Stand further from the fish and quit flossing!
8. You can't catch steelhead on swung flies on the Muskegon. Its too clear and the fish only eat eggs and PM caddis. BS -- I haven't done it, but my friends have.
9. There isn't enough room on our Midwest rivers to swing a spey rod. The Muskegon, Oconto, Manistee, Menominee, St Joe, Niagara, St. Marys, etc aren't big enough to speyfish? Can you cast to all of the fishable water (Not from a boat. While wading, ya wuss) with a single hand rod? Can you cast all the way across the river with any type of fly rod? The majority of people making these statements can't cast 40feet in a tailwind. So why is the river too small for a spey rod?
10. Midwest Steelhead won't take a swinging fly because the water is always too cold. BS -- I have been fishing 32 to 38 degree (f) water every day for the last 3 weeks and I have hooked fish almost every day I have been out. (Now if I could just land them.) I've even been getting strikes on swung flies when the water is 32/33 degrees.
I wish everyone would just quit making excuses for using Midwest "chuck and duck", "rip-em-off-the-redds", "indicator nymphing", "bobber and egg sack", and "drift fishing" techniques. If you don't use traditional techniques, that's fine with me, but don't make unnecessary excuses. Traditional techniques do produce, if you're willing to learn them and use them.
OK, now here are some absolutes that I believe in. Now you can have some fun telling me I'm full of BS.
You can't catch a steelhead on a swung fly unless you are swinging a fly. Conversely, if all you use are glo-bugs, you will soon believe glo-bugs are the best fly.
You can't catch a steelhead on a waker unless you're fishing a waker.
If you haven't put in HUNDREDS of hours swinging flies and learned how to swing them effectively, you're not qualified to discount it as an effective technique. Just because you can't do it, doesn't mean it doesn't work. Thinking so is as childish as covering your own eyes to hide from someone else. You think you're hiding, but other people can see otherwise.
If you don't know how to speycast and use a speyrod for its intended purpose, you're not qualified to discount it as a valid technique for the conditions. This also goes for guys that "know how to speycast", but can't actually do it when asked to.
99% of fishermen that are fishing redds are lining, flossing, or whatever the most trendy term is for SNAGGING the fish. Fly fishermen are the guiltiest of all, since they seem to enjoy "sight snagging". Um, I mean "sight fishing".
Fishing redds is for morons that don't know any better. It doesn't matter if the fish will successfully reproduce. It’s still silly. Fishing redds is like going to a deer farm, tying up one of the deer, and shooting it with a bow and arrow. Sure, you used a bow, but was it sporting? Does a flossed, fungus infested, black and red steelhead really compare to a chromer that dislocates your shoulder on the strike from a thigh-deep greasy tailout?
Big flies work best in dirty water. The river I fish most often is usually dirty by western standards.
Black is the best steelhead color. Other colors work too, but black is best. Period. This is probably true almost everywhere.
Midwesterners have an awful reputation because many of them fish for skunky kings and steelhead while they are on the beds. Look at STS "hog pen" and see how many Midwest chromers you see. Most all of the fish from the Midwest are dark, fungused, and snagged. Not all of us Middle westerners agree.
I'm sick and tired of people always saying "blah, blah, blah, has to happen in OUR MIDWEST WATERS". Everyone in the Midwest seems to have their opinion on how the Midwest fishes, based on their experience on their one or two local rivers.
Fact is, the Midwest is a big place. There are lots of different sizes and types of rivers, different water qualities, and even different strains of fish. We even have 5 different "oceans" for the fish to play in. And lets not forget all rivers fish differently at different flows.
For example, within 3 hours drive of my home, I can fish roughly 15 steelhead rivers/creeks that are anywhere from 100yds+ wide to 12' wide. It would be pretty silly for me to make generalizations on rod length, fly size, tippet size, etc. wouldn't it?
So when I hear people stating the following absolutes (and others I can't recall), I have to chuckle. Following are the absolutes and my comments, preceded by "BS". You'll have to guess what BS stands for.
1. You can't catch Midwest steelhead on the surface. BS -- I have and so have many of my friends. It doesn't happen every day, but it happens.
2. You can't catch Midwest steelhead with traditional techniques. BS -- That's all I do and I catch plenty. So do my friends. Often times we are catching when others are getting skunked because there are no bedding fish to floss.
3. You have to be within .01 millimeter of the bottom to hook Midwest steelhead. BS -- I've caught them on top, just under, mid-flow, and on the bottom. Often the best fishing is in the upper half of the water column.
4. You can't catch Midwest steelhead on traditional flies. BS -- I have caught steelhead on spey flies, hair wings, feather wings, wakers, muddlers, etc. Its been so long since I caught one on a globug, I'd tend to believe they don't work in the Midwest!
5. You can't catch Midwest steelhead on flies bigger than size 12. BS -- I catch most of my fish on marabou flies that are 2" plus, typically tied on 1/0 hooks. My friends and I have started fishing intruder-style flies up to 5" and are having success.
6. You can't catch Midwest steelhead on anything lighter than 4x fluorocarbon tippet. And the tippet should be at least 12 feet in length. BS -- I have used 15lb Maxima chameleon in dirty water and never use lighter than 10lb Maxima ultra green. I have caught steelhead on 1' long tippets in some conditions.
7. A 13' spey rod is way too big for Midwest rivers. BS -- have you ever fished the Menominee on the border of MI and WI. There are many other examples of huge rivers in the Midwest, but most people in the Midwest are too busy standing in ankle deep water flossing spawners. I agree you don't need a 13' rod to cast to the redd you're standing 10' from. Solution: Stand further from the fish and quit flossing!
8. You can't catch steelhead on swung flies on the Muskegon. Its too clear and the fish only eat eggs and PM caddis. BS -- I haven't done it, but my friends have.
9. There isn't enough room on our Midwest rivers to swing a spey rod. The Muskegon, Oconto, Manistee, Menominee, St Joe, Niagara, St. Marys, etc aren't big enough to speyfish? Can you cast to all of the fishable water (Not from a boat. While wading, ya wuss) with a single hand rod? Can you cast all the way across the river with any type of fly rod? The majority of people making these statements can't cast 40feet in a tailwind. So why is the river too small for a spey rod?
10. Midwest Steelhead won't take a swinging fly because the water is always too cold. BS -- I have been fishing 32 to 38 degree (f) water every day for the last 3 weeks and I have hooked fish almost every day I have been out. (Now if I could just land them.) I've even been getting strikes on swung flies when the water is 32/33 degrees.
I wish everyone would just quit making excuses for using Midwest "chuck and duck", "rip-em-off-the-redds", "indicator nymphing", "bobber and egg sack", and "drift fishing" techniques. If you don't use traditional techniques, that's fine with me, but don't make unnecessary excuses. Traditional techniques do produce, if you're willing to learn them and use them.
OK, now here are some absolutes that I believe in. Now you can have some fun telling me I'm full of BS.
You can't catch a steelhead on a swung fly unless you are swinging a fly. Conversely, if all you use are glo-bugs, you will soon believe glo-bugs are the best fly.
You can't catch a steelhead on a waker unless you're fishing a waker.
If you haven't put in HUNDREDS of hours swinging flies and learned how to swing them effectively, you're not qualified to discount it as an effective technique. Just because you can't do it, doesn't mean it doesn't work. Thinking so is as childish as covering your own eyes to hide from someone else. You think you're hiding, but other people can see otherwise.
If you don't know how to speycast and use a speyrod for its intended purpose, you're not qualified to discount it as a valid technique for the conditions. This also goes for guys that "know how to speycast", but can't actually do it when asked to.
99% of fishermen that are fishing redds are lining, flossing, or whatever the most trendy term is for SNAGGING the fish. Fly fishermen are the guiltiest of all, since they seem to enjoy "sight snagging". Um, I mean "sight fishing".
Fishing redds is for morons that don't know any better. It doesn't matter if the fish will successfully reproduce. It’s still silly. Fishing redds is like going to a deer farm, tying up one of the deer, and shooting it with a bow and arrow. Sure, you used a bow, but was it sporting? Does a flossed, fungus infested, black and red steelhead really compare to a chromer that dislocates your shoulder on the strike from a thigh-deep greasy tailout?
Big flies work best in dirty water. The river I fish most often is usually dirty by western standards.
Black is the best steelhead color. Other colors work too, but black is best. Period. This is probably true almost everywhere.
Midwesterners have an awful reputation because many of them fish for skunky kings and steelhead while they are on the beds. Look at STS "hog pen" and see how many Midwest chromers you see. Most all of the fish from the Midwest are dark, fungused, and snagged. Not all of us Middle westerners agree.
