FisherGirl said:
Not all fish are created equal. To me, steelhead are smarter, harder to hook and very difficult to land. My opinion is that they are
more of a challenge. This is especially true during the winter months. It takes a dedicated fishermen to be steelheader and I dont think the same argument can be made for slaying salmon in september.
I think the discussion of catching salmon over steelhead is similar to the never ending debate between fly guys and centerpiners; everyone has a preference. It seems to me that a lot of fly guys are elitists.....and....maybe I am too
Disclaimer: this msg was not intended to insult anyone so chillax and share your opinion too
Since as you stated you are pretty new to the sport, it reflects in your argument.
I consider myself neither as a steelheader nor a salmon angler...I don't swear allegence to any particular technique or species in fact...but here are some examples of dedication...
Salmon - went to school (university) all day, finished my last lecture at 8pm, drove 1 hour to a pier, fished for salmon from 9pm - 3am, had a nap for 4 hours, went back to lectures, finished the last lecture at 2pm, drove another hour to a creek and fished for salmon from 3-7pm.
Steelhead - on one very cold late fall day, woke up at 5am just to get to a frozen stream that flash froze with 1" of ice, buddy, myself and 2 guys grabbed a fallen tree to break the ice in chest deep water to open the pool...took about 2 hours...so cold our waders had 1/4" of ice frozen to it, could not use gloves since it will just get soaked and frozen solid, so we did it all in bare hands.
Whitefish - on one very warm March day, it rained for overnight and there was about 15" of slush and water on Lake Simcoe, but we were determined to get to Long Shoal even though the snowmobiles cannot run in that slush...so we waded for about 3km from Innisfil to get to our spot...by the time we got there, our legs were completely numb and tingling since we were not wearing waders but float suits or snow pants, but we had one of the best day of whitefish fishing ever!
Tarpon and bonefish - arrived at 3pm, fished from 5pm to 9pm, had quick dinner, fished again from 10pm to 1am, had a 2 hour nap, woke up at 3am to get gear ready, fished from 4am to 10am, had a quick lunch, took a 2 hour nap, woke up at 3pm and fished until 10pm, had a quick dinner, got gear ready, fished from 12am to 2am...finally landing a tarpon...took a 3 hour nap, woke up at 5:30am, fished for bonefish from 6am to 8am, finally landing my first bonefish, and continue to catch bonefish until 10am.
Recent Florida trip - we drove an average of 5 hours a day, ate an average of 1 meal per day, slept an average of 4 hours per night...for about 12 days straight.
Dedication isn't on any one particular species. Anglers of all sorts could be dedicated
if they are inclined to. The casual weekend salmon loogans are a terrible excuse for dedication and anglers in general. Some of the most dedicated anglers I know are not steelheaders, but what are called micro anglers...people who fish with tanago hooks for tiny fish (minnows, darters and other smaller species). Their goal is not to brag...but to have an appreciation for species that others do not care about...and to catch the "penny fish"...a fish that is small enough to fit lengthwise inside a penny.
I know salmon anglers, especially the pier guys, who puts steelheads to shame in terms of dedication.
