Shallow Clear Creeks - Steelhead Fishing

[pfc_ivan]

Hello All,

Lots of useful info on the forum, however I couldn't find anything extensive on fishing the shallow clear creeks.

I usually fish in about 5 feet of water, and I use either beads or roe. However, today I went into one of the smaller creeks in GTA to 'inspect' the situation. I have never fished in this creek, or similar creeks for steelhead before. The water was about 2 feet deep mostly, but up to 3-4 feet I would say in some of the 'pools'. My Centrepin rod had a set-up for float fishing, and my leader is about 16 inches long. I was very confused, and I found it really hard to fish with this setup in such conditions. The water was very clear so mostly you could see that there was no fish anywhere, however in those deeper pools you could not see clearly all the way down.

My question is, what is the best tactic to employ in such situations where the water is somewhat shallow to fish with a bead and is very clear. Note: I do not know fly-fishing techniques.

Thank you!

 

[Paul1913]

If it is low and clear stick to the deeper pools. I found that with steelhead is that the fish you see they don't bite too often and with the water being low and clear it makes them even more spooked.

Vary the depth of the leader. Change up the beads if it isn't working.

Control your drift of your float, so your bait / presentation goes first to the fish rather than your float. This way your drift will be more natural and will not drag. I'm still having a hard time to do this. It's not easy. Take a look at the shot pattern of your split shots. There are a few posts about that on the forums that can help you with that.

As for the length of your leader try to be about 1.5 or double the depth of the pool of you can since you want your bait near the bottom where the fish are.

In the pools look for current breaks, where the fish might be resting, like Infront or behind boulders.

Hope this helps.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[pfc_ivan]

Hey Paul,

Thanks for the input. I was under the impression that using beads in very clear & shallow waters might not be a good idea, and that beads only work in little dirtier water as they would be harder to distinguish from roe.

I was looking for pools, but could not spot any fish. Maybe I should try a little more downstream closer to the lake where the pools would be deeper I guess. I could not see any fish where I was but the creek looked very promising if the water level was a little higher. Is there any way to use some kind of flies/nymphs with float setup, as I do not know how to fly-fish?

Also, if someone is able to point me to some sort of a map of where "East Trib", "West Trib", "Huron Trib" & such is located, I would appreciate it.

Thank you

 

[Originalfives]

The mistake I see happen all the time is that people usually have the same set up regardless of which creek, river they fish in. Don't be afraid to change your set up according to what you'll be fishing in. This is what sets the good fisherman/woman a part from everyone else.

 

[fisgfreek]

Yea it gets very frustrating when you actually see the fish moving out of the way to avoid contact with your offering. Like said above, switch it up let them calm down and go at it again. A few days a go before the rain a friend of mine was just about ready to through in the white towel. We drifted everything in our arsenal, I was ready to go home (10 am) when my buddy said hold on, I always wanted to try this. He put on a small silver coloured spoon , the one you would use for perch/crappy two three drifts and he got a nice female to commit . It was the only one he caught but hey he got a fish on the bank. Think outside the box , it doesn't work every time but its fun to try different things when everything else fails.

 

[Alfiegee]

Also, if someone is able to point me to some sort of a map of where "East Trib", "West Trib", "Huron Trib" & such is located, I would appreciate it.

Thank you [/quote]

East Trib - Lake Ont trib east of Toronto.
West Trib - Lake Ont trib west of Toronto.
Not even going to go to Huron Trib.

A road map of S Ont would be a good start at finding tribs.
So would google.

Alfie.

 

[fisherman2280]

"The water was very clear so mostly you could see that there was no fish anywhere"

Just because you can't see them doesn't mean there not there, Steel can hide in plain sight really well.

 

[FisherGirl]

Ive had my best days in gin water and surprisingly, not always in deep holes.

I find they are more concentrated when the water is low and clear, which is actually a good thing if you ask me. On opener walked 1km of river without seeing a fish then found a deep pool behind a fast ripple and it was fish after fish after fish. They were stacked! Best part...no one else in sight

Another time in similar conditions, I was on a hill on top of / in front of the pool. The fish saw me yet I couldnt keep them off the hook.

Pink worms
Real worms
The odd fly/single egg imitation (not a bead)

Steelies confuse me and always leave me guessing....part of why I love it so much!

 

[Paul1913]

Hey Paul,

Thanks for the input. I was under the impression that using beads in very clear & shallow waters might not be a good idea, and that beads only work in little dirtier water as they would be harder to distinguish from roe.

I was looking for pools, but could not spot any fish. Maybe I should try a little more downstream closer to the lake where the pools would be deeper I guess. I could not see any fish where I was but the creek looked very promising if the water level was a little higher. Is there any way to use some kind of flies/nymphs with float setup, as I do not know how to fly-fish?

Also, if someone is able to point me to some sort of a map of where "East Trib", "West Trib", "Huron Trib" & such is located, I would appreciate it.

Thank you

When the water is low and clear stick to more natural colors. But that depends on the rivers. Some times the bite is good on a certain color. It depends lol.

East Tribs east of Toronto

West are west of Toronto.

Don't know any about Huron