33 replies to this topic

[grubman]

Hey all
I was just wondering what your catch to skunk ratio is for steel. Some of you more skilled guys would fair well. Since I've just caught my first and only I'd say my ratio would be 1 fish in 8 outings/attempts, maybe more, so I'd be 8/1 or just 8.

Is it still too soon for steel? Or does it seem there are less fish coming up due maybe to less stocking? Or have most of them returned to the lake?

The steel come up to feed on salmon eggs, right? Well they are done so some steel might be locked in the streams and can't go back down and are waiting for the spring to spawn. Maybe I just expected lots of steel in the streams.

What do you think? What's your ratio?

[xxxSIBxxx]

Gotta find them, i havent been out for last cpl weeks but ive caught at least 1 every time ive been out except last time i went. need some rain and will bring in some more. go further up river then you would usually go and youll probably find some. or go near mouth.

[grubman]

Yeah would make sense that they are waiting at the mouth for more rain. This has to be the driest year in a long time. Not that I'm complaining but the streams are very low right now. A ratio that comes close to 0 would be perfect, every outing nets 1 or more fish. If you only got skunked once out of 8 outings, say, then you'd be 1:8 which is still awesome.

Thanks.

[Dewy]

Well last year I had a fairly high skunk to catch ratio, likely around 8 to 1. And these outings were half day or full day outings. This year I have faired much better, with a lot of help coming from this site. It sure does not hurt to have a stocking program that they have on the river I frequently fish. This year the ratio would likely be 3 or 2 skunkings to 1. About 3 or 4 weeks ago around mid October was the best fishing, since we had had a lot of rain, but ever since Hurricane Sandy, the pickings have been slim. I managed 1 yesterday about 4 lbs on a cleo, but prior to this I had about 4 or 5 skunkings at the same spot. I guess what has helped me is fishing different locations; fast, medium slow water on the river, fishing off piers in 15 to 20 feet of water, using various presentations, the pin, spinning, and finally using different baits, roe, worms, spinners, spoons, etc. It has been really dry, and I think the year is late, so I think that there will still be plenty of steel yet to come in. Last year, in the last week of December, a bunch of steelies came in on a nice warm day. So dont give up, the low water makes the fish harder to catch, as presentation is the key!

[Rainbow]

I've been skunked several times this year. I think a lot of steelheaders really do get skunked. It's definitely not the easiest kind of fishing. There's really nothing wrong with getting skunked. Just gotta try harder the next time. It's a good learning experience.

[grubman]

Well last year I had a fairly high skunk to catch ratio, likely around 8 to 1. And these outings were half day or full day outings. This year I have faired much better, with a lot of help coming from this site. It sure does not hurt to have a stocking program that they have on the river I frequently fish. This year the ratio would likely be 3 or 2 skunkings to 1. About 3 or 4 weeks ago around mid October was the best fishing, since we had had a lot of rain, but ever since Hurricane Sandy, the pickings have been slim. I managed 1 yesterday about 4 lbs on a cleo, but prior to this I had about 4 or 5 skunkings at the same spot. I guess what has helped me is fishing different locations; fast, medium slow water on the river, fishing off piers in 15 to 20 feet of water, using various presentations, the pin, spinning, and finally using different baits, roe, worms, spinners, spoons, etc. It has been really dry, and I think the year is late, so I think that there will still be plenty of steel yet to come in. Last year, in the last week of December, a bunch of steelies came in on a nice warm day. So dont give up, the low water makes the fish harder to catch, as presentation is the key!

Awesome you sound very well equipped for any condtion. Not going to give up.

Thanks.

I've been skunked several times this year. I think a lot of steelheaders really do get skunked. It's definitely not the easiest kind of fishing. There's really nothing wrong with getting skunked. Just gotta try harder the next time. It's a good learning experience.

That's what I think, everyone gets skunked, and so easy for your timing to be off. I always hear from angler's "you should have been here yesterday. They were biting like crazy." Well why tell me about yesterday?......lol. They are not biting today, I don't have a time machine.....lol.
No not easy fishing at all, I have to agree with all your points. With every skunking, something should be learned and observed.

Thanks.

Holy crap now I know why they weren't biting. We were on the river bank and I said dam that wind is cold, it was a EAST WIND!!! I lost my bearings and only now can I see it. I should have checked the wind direction before going out!!!

[DitchWizard]

Earlier this year I couldn't catch a bow to save my life, went out maybe 30 times with nothing. Got on the pin, lots of research and trail and error. In the last few weeks since I have been using the pin I have landed fish the majority of the times I have gone out. I have no idea if it will continue but I am enjoying it lol Landed two nice sized rainbows in 45 minutes of fishing last week the second one was the first drift after catching the first...I couldn't believe it.

[riverhugger]

My ratio is undefined.

[AKnook]

Not to mention the amount of fish hooked and lost. My trip this year had me hook up to 15 fish and only land 4.

[troutchaser]

Ever since being a little boy Ive had some unknown luck towards fishing.....Mom was telling me that when I was in her whomb, she went out fishing one time with my dad and caught one fish and it was the biggest of the day.. (was her first time holding a fishing rod) I mustve been born a fish whisperer or something lol /> Ive yet to get skunked on any fishing ive done.. whether it be bass, salmon, steelead pike anything... I always get one... It might be a persistance thing though... I wont get off the water until I catch a fish... hours and kilometers go by and until I get one, I'll just keep plugging away..

Was out fishing one day with NottaSteeler last season and conditions were tough, we fished from am to dark fisheless, until minutes before dark..in the murky water that we couldnt manage a single fish all day.. i miraculously hit a bow on a pinkie lol.

Im sure the fact ive been fishing for over 10 years (im 18 currently) has something to do with me adapating and doing something right, but basically the best advice I can give from personal experience is be persistant, use the bait youre confident in, dont be scared to try new things (ive used some wacko baits/lures that have caught me fish), EXPLORE you never know what lies behind the next bend, and just have fun.. embrace the scenery.


*knocks on wood as I write this post*

[christotheashto]

Not to mention the amount of fish hooked and lost. My trip this year had me hook up to 15 fish and only land 4.

this is a big one for me. my first few outings this fall were seeing me go 0/3, 1/4, so on. those were very bad days, but i have them once in a while.
that said, this season has probably been my most productive yet, i'd say the ratio is 1 skunk for every 4 outings.

[RUSTY420]

I've been out 11 days and only caught one!
But had a blast everyday

[CJR]

It all depends, each outing even when it's extremely slow, I usually manage 1 fish. Rarely skunked, but that could mean 1 fish for 11 hours on the water. Some days I've lost count cause the action was so hot.

Yesterday for instance, most of the fish were hitting out of aggression. Bright jigs/flies, and pink worms were the ticket for us. Not even a sniff on beads and roe. The hardware guys were doing well too.

Also it has to do with timing. Certain days are great, but as the water clears it becomes a lot harder. Each system is different. When the water's dirtier you can catch them almost everywhere. As it clears they will sit in deeper pools and faster runs.

Keep at it, the more time you put into it, the more fish you should get into.

You're best shot when the water is low and clear is first light and sunset. I find the fish are more willing to take a presentation in low light conditions.

[FrequentFlyer]

Holy crap now I know why they weren't biting. We were on the river bank and I said dam that wind is cold, it was a EAST WIND!!! I lost my bearings and only now can I see it. I should have checked the wind direction before going out!!!

wind direction rarely plays a factor when stream or river fishing, really only hasan affect on bigger lakes where wind direction influences wave patterns and moves bait fish, in the rivers is more about barometric pressure, is there a new front moving in? water clarity, and tempurature

i've been skunked my last 3 outtings, but they've only accounted for maybe 9 hours of fishing combined with today being the longest at 4 hours, fishing with a new born at home isn't too easy />

[mauro]

i've been out 3 times in last 3-4 weeks for about 12 hours total and no fish yet. I can tell you that i have not seen one other person on those days take a fish or even hook one and no one i talked to had hooked one either. lots of "pros" out there too on the days i was out. late night. early morning, mid day, beads, wooly buggers, egg flys, quickfish, etc, etc.... its my first year steelheading so whatever, i'm learning.... mostly learning when/where not to fish

My time is so limited to get out to fish i think if i keep getting skunked my next step might be to get a guide. time is too precious these days to keep going out without a fish. i'm not 18 anymore!

[salmotrutta]

The steel come up to feed on salmon eggs, right? Well they are done so some steel might be locked in the streams and can't go back down and are waiting for the spring to spawn. Maybe I just expected lots of steel in the streams.

I think that's a bit of a misnomer. I think they're just coming up early for spawning. Some will spawn now, and others will wait in the creek and spawn in the winter or spring. They will eat salmon eggs, then brown eggs, then sucker eggs in the spring, whatever is available.

I don't use a leader or float when I'm using bait, so my hookup and landing ratio is very high. I study my line movement to determine when a fish has taken the bait, so getting the hook stuck somewhere in the fish's mouth is almost a guarantee. Steelhead very, very rarely end up swallowing your hook. I can only remember it happening once, but it may have happened another time or two.

The hooks I use don't break, so I don't lose fish to broken hooks, bad hooksets or snapped line due to my rig and technique.

All aspects of fishing are enjoyable, and landing ratio is just a part of it, not the whole thing. It improves with practice for all anglers.

[troutddicted]

The ratios get better with time, I remember when I first started, many trips coming back without a strike.

Just keep at it. Yes, skunks happen, they're part of the game. Don't let skunks discourage you, part of the learning process. In low and clear conditions, keep things natural for the most part. I remember this one time, fish are stacked up, got to the spot late, fishing for 3 hours only to see one other fish get yanked out, there are probably 10 guys fishing there. Conditions low and clear. For whatever reason, I get the idea to try something VERY different and sure enough first drift, wham. Second drift, wham. 5 fish in less than 45 minutes.

[Float_On]

The ratios get better with time, I remember when I first started, many trips coming back without a strike.

Just keep at it. Yes, skunks happen, they're part of the game. Don't let skunks discourage you, part of the learning process. In low and clear conditions, keep things natural for the most part. I remember this one time, fish are stacked up, got to the spot late, fishing for 3 hours only to see one other fish get yanked out, there are probably 10 guys fishing there. Conditions low and clear. For whatever reason, I get the idea to try something VERY different and sure enough first drift, wham. Second drift, wham. 5 fish in less than 45 minutes.

I was thinking of the "skunk" factor yesterday... (Not to mention I hit a skunk on the way to the trib...and a racoon ...less than a km apart ...bad omen?)

It was around 1pm, low and clear, literally hundreds of spooky fish under wood and in faster sections. Very frustrating conditions. Ended up getting a nice hen on a bead/fly combo, not something I'd normally try. (Or ever have tried).

But it made me think that even getting that 1 fish means I've learned lots over the last few years. Yesterday was typically the kind of day where I'd skunk my way outa there and go do house work. This fall I've only skunked once (6/1), and the last couple years that ratio would be reciprocated.

Skunking sucks, but it happens. It tells you that you havnt done something right (or youre far too early). If you don't change, and continue skunking ... Well ... Change your ways!

Observe, learn, communicate, adjust, adapt, experiment, persevere, enjoy.

[NOTTA STEELER]

../>

[GoodenTight]

It's still early grub. We're gunna have a horsey week too. This weekend is going to be bad... But the longer of a build up , the more will run next chance. Patience. And I think it's time to get the spinner out and Cleo's , until then.