Aside from a little ice in the shaded corners, the drive to the river had been uneventful. But it sure was pretty—the frost on the fir trees looked like powdered sugar sifted over chocolate cake. There wasn’t much snow anywhere but on the very top of the ridges, and the air stuck right around 30.
In cold weather winter steelhead can be lethargic and it takes special tactics to get them to bite.
Once the road joined the river and started downstream, I was able to get a good look at the clarity. As I expected, there was just the slightest hint of green. Also, the water had dropped several inches since the previous weekend. The high-water holes that produced steelhead from this small coastal river just a week ago would almost certainly be empty today.
The first hole I fished was at the mouth of a small tributary, and it featured a fairly slow-moving 7-8 foot deep pocket on its outside bend. The casting station was on the inside bend, so I’d be casting across the faster, shallower current to reach it. My choice for the small river and low, clear conditions was a 1/8-ounce shrimp pink jig with a 3” white rubber worm suspended 6 feet under my float.
My first two casts were unproductive as I sorted out the currents and how they’d affect my drift. I felt a little better about my third pass, and just before I was going to retrieve it my float went under just enough to cause a ripple, then popped back to the surface. A second later, it plunged down in slow motion.
My hookset was met with weighty resistance, then the slow, steady throb of headshakes. Deep in the flow, I saw the vague, muted flash of the steelhead’s chrome sides as it fought against the jig stuck in its snout. The fish fought against my long rod, pulling steadily for the deepest part of the pool, but it never really went on a run and never broke the surface. Eventually she wore down, and came to hand, a pretty little 27-inch native hen.
This winter steelhead was sitting just off to the side of a heavy rolling flow of water.
Most of us are (fairly) normal people with jobs and lives and commitments, and we can’t pick and choose which days we fish—we go when we can. We’re all lucky enough to have been in the right place at the right time on occasion, but a lot of the time we’re stuck fishing in less-than-ideal conditions. We have to make the best of the conditions we face.
Often, this means winter steelhead fishing during bitterly cold weather and frigid water conditions. This is not ideal, but giving it a try in the cold beats not trying at all. By targeting certain areas with certain presentations, you can make the most of these less-than-ideal conditions.
What constitutes “cold” temperatures can be different depending on the individual race of steelhead, and on geography. This is important because cold water, whatever that means to each steelhead, affects activity levels. British Columbian summer steelhead are responsive to dry flies even as the water’s temperature dips into the 30s. In my experience, there is a definite change in Oregon’s winter steelhead, their willingness to bite, and the areas of the river that they’ll occupy when water temperatures approach 40 degrees. This pattern is especially obvious in rivers where the bulk of the run ascends the river in late winter as opposed to early in the winter.
What is very important is that you understand your river and its run timing. The further north in steelhead country that you fish, and the more you fish streams with predominantly early-season winter runs, the more active and cold-water tolerant steelhead you’ll find.
Hiding next to a rock wall cut-bank is where this winter steelhead was hooked.
The rivers I fish the most for winter steelhead feature runs that peak from late January through mid-March, so their steelhead are fairly sensitive to colder water. The temperature that seems to change the steelheads’ behavior to “cold water” mode is about 42 degrees. Throughout much of the winter, the river is a few degrees above 42, and in such conditions steelhead are found in generally the same sort of water that they will be in as the water warms up. These steelhead are active enough to pursue with any winter steelhead-appropriate tackle. At 42 degrees (and below), most of these steelhead seek out a particular kind of holding water, and they become less active.
This 42-degree mark is not an absolute guarantee that steelhead will seek certain water or behave in a certain way. Context is important in determining the best areas and techniques for these conditions. For example, if the water is warming up from 38 degrees to 42 degrees, then the steelheads’ activity level will likely be on the increase, and they’re likely to start venturing into more typical holding water and start acting more like warmer-water winter steelhead do. If the water drops to 42 degrees after being above 42, then steelheads’ behavior will change into cold-water mode.
Remember, steelhead are cold-blooded. The water temperature and their surroundings govern their metabolism. Colder water makes them less capable of holding their position in heavy currents, so these cold-water steelhead usually hold in slow currents to preserve their precious energy. I am also convinced that colder water hampers their ability to digest food. I have always had more success with smaller presentations in cold conditions, and I suspect this is why.
Two sets of winter weather conditions produce unseasonably cold-water conditions. Each is challenging in its own way. One circumstance is when significant snowmelt enters the river. Often this colors the water significantly, usually more of a cement gray than a mud brown. Sometimes it also means that the river is running at a higher level than normal.
Lucas Holmgren hooked and landed this hatchery steelhead that was holding in the "green zone" of this run.
In such conditions, steelhead can be found along edges of currents and the even currents of tailouts. They’re seldom found in pocket water or the heads of holes in these conditions. These steelhead prefer typical 4–8-foot depths.
In these conditions, I prefer a presentation that is compact and brightly colored with significant scent. I also want it to be presented as slowly as possible. Most of the time, my number one choice is bait under a float. I fish a standard drift leader with either eggs or shrimp under a float, and I top the bait with a brightly-painted brass bead or egg sinker and yarn. I seldom drift fish in these conditions, but when I do, I’ve applied the same principles—bright colors, lots of scent, and moving slowly.
It is important to make more casts than seems necessary before giving up on a piece of holding water when the water is cold and has limited visibility. The colored water will make it harder for the fish to find your offering, and their reduced metabolism means they can’t pursue it or react as well as they can in normal conditions.
Cold water will require a change in tactics during a prolonged cold snap. The low air temperatures combined with the short daylight hours means that the river has very little chance to warm up. Any precipitation doesn’t run off into the river in these cold weather conditions, keeping the rivers low and clear.
A beautiful wild specimen that was holding in a classic walking-speed run with boulders and the perfect slight chop on the surface.
However, this set of conditions concentrates steelhead in a certain limited number of areas. They seek the slowest, deepest holding water they can find. Most rivers have relatively few holes that meet these qualities, so when you find one, it will often have a good number of steelhead in it.
The downside is that these steelhead are often difficult to coax into striking. You can increase your chances in these conditions by fishing the late afternoon so the sun has warmed the water a degree or two. These steelhead might not be active, but in the late afternoon they’re probably as active as they’ll be all day.
I favor smaller offerings for these steelhead, and in the sort of water they inhabit fishing with floats is often the only viable choice. I prefer to use a jig under the float, and the smaller jig I can get away with the better. Since the water is moving slowly, I prefer a presentation that can create its own subtle action, so I often tip these small jigs with a small plastic worm. I prefer a more pale, natural colored overall presentation instead of a bright attractor color.
Gentle, subtle strikes are usually the rule in these conditions. A lot of the time, as described in the beginning of this article, your float will just ‘jiggle’ slightly when the steelhead first takes it. This can be the only clue that you’re being bit. Be ready for this sort of strike, and to deliver a firm hookset.
This sort of strike places a premium on weighting your floats appropriately and in keeping your hooks scary-sharp. With such light bites, catching just the point of the hook on a tiny bit on the skin of the fish’s mouth can really facilitate sinking the point into bone on the hookset. Don’t let frigid conditions keep you at home. Make adjustments to your techniques and tackle. Focus on the productive cold-water lies, and you will have success in even the coldest weather.
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