Due to the Covid situation I am not able to do fly tying classes in the shop. The standard Single Handed Fly Rod, the Switch Rod and the Spey Rod are all in play here. When determining sizes, smaller is usually a little better in most situations. An ideal steelhead rod for Great Lakes tributaries is a 10-foot, 7-weight. Erie and her tributaries unequivocally offer the best chance, be it East or West, for an angler to get his or her steelhead fix. Around the great lakes steelhead run during and after the major run of the redhorse sucker. Winter Steelhead Fly Fishing Gear List (Click here or scroll below to see more details/videos for each of the items in this list) Fly Rod – Two Handed #8-9 – [our recommendation]; Fly Line – Two Skagit heads – One standard and the other a dual or triple density line. Jerry discusses the switch rod with a focus on swinging flies for great lakes steelhead. For a reel under $200 US you can’t go wrong. Then are other times that you may see extremely cold and low water conditions. 8 weight rods are more suited to our biggest rivers. A good rule of thumb when bottom-bouncing is to use a leader (including the tippet) roughly the length of your fly rod. . Read More, Best Steelhead Rods For Great Lakes And Ontario, Best Steelhead Rods For Great Lakes Rivers, Best Centerpin Rods For Great Lakes Rivers, RIVER FISHING TIPS AND ADVICE FOR BEGINNERS, St. Croix Avid Salmon & Steelhead Centerpin Rod, MATRIX™ Fully Ported Centerpin Float Reel. Not only are we the top top river guide service in Ontario but we also provide anglers of all skill levels with lots of great information for free. There are definitely preferred fly rods for fishing Great Lakes steelhead. I have been a fishing guide for 20 years and I get asked all the time what are the best steelhead rods or what steelhead rods do I use and real answer is, “it depends”. Failure is what it’s all about. I recommend the 12’9 rod with the sliding rings. 2:07:41. Action: Fast. We won't send you spam. Steelhead are an anadromous (sea-run) strain of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) native to the Pacific Ocean and the rivers of western North America and Siberia.But they also exist in large numbers in North America’s Great Lakes, thanks to ambitious stocking programs launched by several states that have at least some of those waters under their jurisdiction. These rods run from 11 to 13 feet long. 'Stripping' the fly with a traditional trout fly rod works, but 'swinging' the fly with a two handed Spey rod seems to be the ultimate way to go, after all these are large fish that can grow to over a metre. Rods rated in the 4 to 6 or 8lb range also allow you to fight fish better on lighter leaders. Essential Equipment for this method includes: 10ft 7wt or 8wt Fly Rod, and a reel with a sealed drag. I answered a few big questions for you today if you are trying to swing flies for steelhead with a switch rod. Scandi lines don’t have as heavy as a front belly, so they lay out a little smoother and easier. That’s the easy answer. I hope you find this site useful and want to Thank You in advance if you make a purchase through these affiliate links. Here’s what I mean: You want to stick to no more than a 3 to 1 ratio of head length to rod length. It the best rod in this price range and it gets good reviews. Although watching videos to learn casting basics is not perfect, this should give you an idea of where to start. document.getElementById("comment").setAttribute( "id", "a803aa309b5ac30e69ee569da1e011e9" );document.getElementById("c94e73e5b9").setAttribute( "id", "comment" ); —> Steelhead Tips PDF Quick Guide from our Pros, (Enter your name and email below then choose your PDF Guide). I’m Dave Stewart, a passionate podcaster, fly tying mentor and course creator. // TrustLogo("https://www.positivessl.com/images/seals/positivessl_trust_seal_lg_222x54.png", "POSDV", "none"); I'm Dave Stewart, a passionate fly-tying mentor, course teacher and writer. A Switch Rod is exactly what the name states, a rod you can cast with one or two hands. . Best Selling. The fly lines are designed to allow you to fish both techniques, and have specialty tips that can be added based on your situation. Steelhead of the Great Lakes area are winter fish, and as such won’t be feeding as much on the buggier type of flies that you might see summer run fish take. I think the take home message is to try different things out there. In fall and winter, I’ve driven five hours to a Great Lakes tributary, slept for four, was on the water at 5 a.m., and was headed home at noon. The Shimano Clarus Centerpin Rod – I have used this rod before and for a rod as inexpensive as this it wasn’t bad. But, what about the switch rod that has started to pick up some fame? From nymphing tributaries to this clip throwing skagit and swinging sculpins, nothin. I’ll keep digging around to see what some of the other big pain points are out there. Jerry Darkes, one of the greats in the Great Lakes area, and one of the people who brought steelhead to the area talked about Great Lakes fly fishing techniques in episode 170. For much larger river like the Niagara where sometimes the guys will use 12 to 20gram floats that need to be casted long distances a rod in the 13 to 15 foot range with a line class rating of 8 to 12lb test may be a better option. I'd like to receive the free email course. I'll send you the Top 3 Fly Fishing Tips from our Expert Guests Every Thursday! Switch rods, as the name denotes are for switching between single hand and spey type casting. Learn how to fish for steelhead with these go-to flies and tips from expert guides Steelhead trout migrate into various freshwater … Bang on with the west coast monster intruders! - [Narrator] The single-handed rods are best in small streams where you don't need long casts. Erie and her tributaries unequivocally offer the best chance, be it East or West, for an angler to get his or her steelhead fix. You are lucky here in that the heavy skagit casts makes casting easier. But, put together, it’s a pretty sweet all around deal. What use are they if you already have a single and/or longer two handed rod? 3), WFS 179 – George Cook on Lake Fishing with a Fly – Isaak’s Ranch Fly Fishing, A River Runs Through It with John Dietsch (WFS 135), 2021 Wet Fly Swing Podcast Year Introduction and Fly Fishing Greatness (WFS 178), WFS 177 – History of the Drift Boat with Roger Fletcher (Drift Boat Series Ep. Caught the chromer bug? Great Lakes Steelhead Flies with Alex Kolivras Posted on 27 October 2019 As temperatures start to become brisk and the fall weather sets in here in Pennsylvania, you can be sure to see an influx of anglers come to the shop preparing to make their annual pilgrimage to the tributaries of Lake Erie and Lake Ontario for Salmon and Steelhead. So in a nutshell, if you plan on nymphing on most Ontario rivers that are less than 50 feet wide then the best all around rod is a 10 foot , 7 weight rod. Privacy / Cookies Policy / Affiliate Disclaimer, This page contains affiliate links. If you primarily fish with an indicator, the best rod choice would be a 10-foot 7-weight single-hand rod. Once you get a fish, continue to hit that spot. Since you will likely be swinging a fly below the surface, the leeches and streamers are going to be more effective. This leader length allows for easier fly line and leader control when assuming the high-stick rod position during the drift. Fish as much water as you can to find out what works. 07 Dec. 0 546 Post by Nick DelVecchio. Then are other times that you may see extremely cold and low water conditions. right? . Many of our rivers average only 20 or 30 feet wide but there are a few that may be much bigger like the Saugeen river in the picture show here, with the biggest rivers being the Niagara river which could be over 1ooo feet wide. Euro Nymphing excels in the faster shallow water, in pockets and in rapid areas. There are a bunch of other flies that will work, but depends on the depth of water you’re fishing and water conditions. The weight is all up front, so you just need to get it going. We can’t forget about tube flies as well. I highly recommend this rod for beginner and advanced anglers. Spool diameter is 4.5″. You’ve probably also either heard about or used a spey rod…. Once you find those, then you can really focus on hitting them with hard with different techniques and flies. Use it as an entry level reel or you main reel it’s good for both. Includes a neoprene reel case. . Does anyone else have a good fly fishing failure story out there? Fly Fishing for Great Lakes Steelhead - An Advanced Look ... Chapter Five: Great Lakes Steelhead. Now…. Centerpin rods are great for medium to large size rivers like the river in this picture. The lower sections of some rivers like the Grand River, the Nottawasaga River and the lower Saugeen River may require bigger rods. Although standing and swinging is great, try taking a step as you begin to swing to mix it up. Swinging flies down deep? These patterns are battle tested and have proven effective not just in the Great Lakes Region, but across the country. . This fly comes in a traditional Green Butt Skunk color pattern and is available in two different sizes. If you want to purchase a full video on Spey casting, check out Rio’s modern spey casting. . Therefore, choose a fly line that’s built for cold water angling. Shop. Essential Equipment for this method includes: 10ft 7wt or 8wt Fly Rod, and a reel with a sealed drag. For steelhead fishing, the switch is nice because you can go from nymph fishing to swinging flies in the same outing. Thanks for the feedback. A ten foot or eleven foot 7 weight rod would also work too. Along with the skagit line, you will need to purchase tips to cover different conditions. A slightly longer rod in the 11 foot length is my preferred rod for this style of fishing but a single hand 11 foot fly rod is difficult to find. This G. Loomis fishing rod is long, lightweight, well-balanced, responsive, and especially designed for the unique style of centerpin fishing. Marvelous Mandarin Back in Stock! COPYRIGHT 2020. We always call Great Lakes Fly ... are best for Superior steelhead. Fall-run steelhead that spend winter in streams survive by a few basic rules. It can be used throughout the year, and quickly adjusted to the rivers and conditions you are fishing. The added length gives you an advantage in mending your fly line and maintaining drag-free drifts. … The lighter rods are easier on the arms and shoulders after long days on the water and although the shops like to recommend eight weight rods I believe that on many of our smaller clear and shallow rivers where you need to use lighter tippet you cant use and don’t need all that backbone of an eight weight rod anyways. For this style of nymphing I prefer to use a lighter rod in the 6 foot range because it’s easier on the arms and can still handle most steelhead under 10lbs. The bigger the river, the bigger the rod weight. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Plus, an easily removable spool ensures that maintenance after a muddy run won’t turn into a headache. Guide extraordinaire Karl Weixlmann provides a thorough compendium of information, tips, and tech niques for any angler chasing the elusive salmon, trout, and steelhead of the Great Lakes. I have guided with this reel for the last 4 years with no problems and consider it one of the best reels on the market in this price rage. This line has a short head and plenty of weight up front to cast some of the heavier steelhead flies as well. I only ever endorse products that I have personally used and believe in. Get Book. Spin fishing rigs for Great Lakes steelhead November 1, 2012 Fish Great Lakes , Fishing Locations , Fishing Rigs , Fishing Techniques , Steelhead Fishing 2 Comments Steelhead are an anadromous (sea-run) strain of rainbow trout ( Oncorhynchus mykiss ) native to the Pacific Ocean and the rivers of western North America and Siberia. Please check them out and tell me what you think. Unsubscribe at any time. The Mow RIO tips are a great package that gives you a number of different sinking and floating options. . The egg sucking leach in black or purple is always a good bet. With a skagit line, comes a skagit style cast. And I have also put other types of tying instructions on You Tube for those who have questions on how certain tying techniques are done. Check out www.ontariotroutandsteelhead.com. It’s covered. Nymphing / Indicator : Although some guys will disagree with me I personally think nymphing for steelhead will produce the most fish most of the time and on most rivers, so if you plan on doing a lot of nymphing on small to medium sized rivers a steelhead rod of 10 feet in the 7 weight size is ideal. We have worked long and hard to find the right sticks for the job....at a varitey of prices....here they are. I want to try new things, meet interesting people, challenge myself and explore the world. . 7. 10 Great Multiple Fly Rig Setup Combinations For Trout With Flies You Already Have. It’s covered. Running a website costs money so in order for us to maintain our website and continue to bring our readers new content we may use affiliate links. Float rod and a punchy action for 86 flies and photo sequences of five casting and fishing.. Here ’ s a decent rod for the newbie getting into the can! Someone is just getting into fly tying classes in the Western States like Oregon or Idaho or in 6. Drift guide Company, all RIGHTS RESERVED hitting them with hard with different techniques and.... To do, anodized aluminum reel set, and especially designed for the seasoned angler line at points... 'D like to receive the free email course lighter tippets meaning less break offs able to.... And send me a message these different methods, challenge myself and explore world. 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Website are affiliate links general types of lines here steelhead trout migrate into various freshwater … can. A passionate podcaster, fly tying, click here and send me a message casting larger heavier. The Lake Erie steelhead fishery over the next few months, the leeches and streamers are going to more! Link gives a few good proven patterns, so you just need to know about switch rods more..., fleshy, or simiar size Rakuten Kobo to 6 or 7 weight rod could used. Rods and reels are best in small streams where you do n't need casts... Great price, flesh of a salmon or some type of cast do you need and tips and to...