Quote:
Originally Posted by bulletbob
Fresh in from the lake, yes, they are aggressive.. Drop backs too,, after they spawn, the survivors will eat some as head back ..Spawners?.. they don't eat, except perhaps to grab an egg sac, more out of anger than hunger... They don't all spawn at once,, they spawn over a period of several months, so yes there are always some fish that can be caught.. A lot depends on when you are there,,, If you fish when there is a lot of active spawning, you might not do very well..
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Bob I thoroughly enjoy your post so don't take this with any disrespect but I disagree with some of what you said. Majority of the steelhead will come into the river following the Salmon run and will actively feed on the eggs salmon drop. It's not unusual to find them behind salmon red's feeding on the eggs. At that time of year with warmer water temperatures and typically lower water flows most of the steelhead you'll find wil be in tail-outs and seems of deep water pools. They're looking for cooler more oxygenated water. As it gets colder, steelhead will transition into their winter spots or deep water pools and be a bit more lethargic but they'll still take flies and baits that are presented properly more so on days that are a little warmer and increase the water temperature a few degrees. The biggest steelhead of the season will actually move into the rivers during the winter time as opposed to late fall and are usually very aggressive feeding when they enter the river. I've caught steelhead from October through April many years all depending on conditions and techniques. Steelhead for the most part are spring spawners and many of the females I've caught in April are still loaded with eggs. Doesn't mean some don't drop their eggs earlier but a majority of them drop their eggs in the spring when the water temperature reaches a certain temperature as opposed to brown trout that are fall spawners and drop their eggs in October / November. I can't tell you how many females steelheads I've caught where the egg sacs are starting to loosen up and eggs are actually dropping out of them after I net them before releasing them back into the river so there might be a brief moment when they don't feed during the spawn but for the most part steelhead will feed from the minute they enter the river to the point they drop back or at least that's been my experience.
Again I'm not an expert by any stretch of the imagination in the field but that's been my experience in over 30 years fishing the Salmon River for steelhead and brown trout primarily. As far as salmon are concerned as I mentioned earlier, I will never fish the river for them again and I would never come anywhere near the river during Columbus Day weekend, it's an absolute zoo with the worst sportsmanship I have ever seen in my life from fishermen. It's absolutely disgusting what takes place on that river at the height of the salmon run, whether salmon die or not which is the excuse you hear from most snaggers, to treat trophy fish and the tradition of fishing in general with such blatant disregard. It's appalling to put it mildly
