Tactics for Steelhead

My charter boat eased up to the dock on a cool, sunny day in April. Anglers all around the marina were snapping photos of nice catches of brown trout and lakers. But the cooler Pete Lanahan and his son unloaded from the Fish Doctor was heavy with another of Lake Ontario's salmonids.

The Lanahan's had boated nine fish, seven mint silver steelhead from 5-13 lbs., one laker and one brown. Prime time for lake steelies was still a full month and a half away. The steelhead They boated were the only ones taken by anglers in the marina. The techniques we used to take them 18 years ago work just as well today.

Catching early spring steelhead is all about using specially tuned lures at slower-than-normal speeds from planer boards, in-line planers, and downriggers fished in colder than normal water temperatures.

Standard late spring trolling tactics for Great Lakes steelhead are well known by now. Fish the top 30 feet or so of water along offshore thermal bars in June with an array of gear at moderate to fast speeds with a variety of stick baits and spoons. Think orange, orange, orange, and you'll take steelhead if the bars have been in place for a few days.

But, what about earlier in the spring? Where are the steelhead when water temperature ranges from the high 30's to mid 40's? Why are so few steelhead taken at this time of year?

"Old Silversides" doesn't just disappear when water temperature is cold. In early spring, many adult steelhead are still in the tributaries spawning, or in the process of dropping back to the lake. These fish, according to radio telemetry studies, follow the 49 degree isobar back out into the lake. Immature steelhead, though, which aren't actively spawning, have spent the winter scattered throughout the lake actively feeding and are acclimated to cold water. These aren't all small, younger fish. Many steelhead don't mature and spawn until they are 3 years old or older, and some fish probably don't spawn every year. The result..., some trophy sized steelies available to early spring lake fishermen, well before spawning fish return to the lake.

Details of the April trip when the Lanahan's caught steelhead in Mexico Bay give some clues for finding and catching phantom steelies in early spring. On leaving Mexico Point that morning, we headed for the Fitzpatrick power plant discharge. Knowing the plant wasn't operating, we expected the temperature of the discharge would not be much warmer than the surrounding lake. We also knew that several days previous, when the plant was running and discharging warm water, large schools of bait fish had been concentrated there, attracting predators. Our strategy for the day was taking shape.

As we approached the discharge there were no boats nearby, a time when you wish you could push the "Invisible" button on the dash of your boat. As the boat dropped off plane and slowed to a trolling speed of 2.3-2.5 MPH, we rigged every line on our boards and riggers for browns, except one. That one we rigged with "Sneaky Pete", a red,pearl, and chartreuse Nils Master, and ran it out on the port board for "Old Silversides". First a pass through the discharge, then another..., Notta! Then a pass inshore put a nice brown and a small laker in the boat. Then we made another fishless inshore pass.

Scatterred schools of bait showed up every time we moved outside the discharge. Then we saw it, a slight color break outside usl. As we trolled offshore, crossing the break, the digital readout on the surface temp gauge dropped sharply from 41 to 38 degrees. Minutes later, amidst a barrage of "Ooohs" and "Ahhhs" and spillled coffee, a 10 lb., mint silver steelhead slashed the surface as a young angler held on to a Fish Doctor noodle rod for dear life. As soon as the icy cold fish was slipped into the cooler, three more steelhead lines were rigged with carefully tuned plugs. It can get hot on Lake Ontario, even on a cold April day!

Location, location, location, is a key to early spring steelhead success on the lake.
Surface temperature breaks in early spring may not be as obvious or dramatic as later in the season, but they're just as important. Steelhead are nomads, constantly on the move, looking for conditions optimum for their survival. They concentrate around temperature breaks for a couple of reasons. These breaks, in some cases, act as temperature "fences", actually "herding" fish along them. Forage in the form of plankton, insects, and baitfish is also concentrated there by movements of wind and current. This can all add up to some great steelhead fishing if you can find these spots.

Many early spring steelhead are taken by accident, but they can be taken more consistently by keeping a few basics in mind. First, if you're fishing for other species of trout and salmon, run at least one "census taker" for steelhead. Then, if you find em, fish em. Second, don't be afraid to slow your trolling speed and switch to small wobbling plugs. If the water is really cold, say high 30's and low 40's, steelhead may not want a high speed presentation. Ultralight noodle rods and line are perfect for this technique, especially when using plugs with tiny treble hooks. My favorite early season steelhead setup is a 9' noodle rod, fitted with Penn's 855LC digital counter reel, spooled with Maxima's 10 lb. test Fiber Glow(hot pink) line, and an 8 lb. test Maxima Ultragreen leader.

Anglers aboard the Fish Doctor have taken more than one steelhead in early April fishing small Flatfish and Fire Plugs on the surface while slow trolling for bottom hugging lake trout in deep water. Other slow trolling favorites include Baby Woodpeckers(size #20 red/chartreuse Fire Plugs), Nils Masters, and tuned Rapalas(F's). Tune a straight Rapala to wobble more at slow speed by bending the nose ring down and fishing it on a light leader and a #1 crosslock snap with some weight well ahead of it. Replace the hook on a size #20 Fire Plug with a round bend VMC treble one size larger, and you'll land more steelhead on it.

Frank Sousa, one of the founders of the Outdoor Sports Exposition Group, with an April Steelhead caught aboard The Fish Doctor.

Spoons like the No. 41 Alpena Diamond, especially in red/black diamond are one of my slow speed sunshine favorites for early spring steelhead. Other favorites include Flutterdevles in silver/red and brass red, a 2F Evil Eye in hammered brass/black, and a small hammered brass Acme Looter with an orange stripe. Vary the depth of presentation by using different amounts of weight.

If "Mr. Steelhead" turns his nose up at your slow speed offerrings, pick up the pace, because this sea run rainbow is a speedster, even in cold water. If it's rough, you'll probably find that inline planers will outfish planer boards. The only kicker is you'll need to fish these rigs on at least 15 lb. test line with no less than an 8 1/2' medium action rod. Lures with decent size single hooks are a must. The only inline planer you'll find aboard the "Fish Doctor" is Church Tackle's perfectly designed TX-12.

Next time "Old Silversides" puts on his early spring vanishing act, don't let him give you the slip. With a slight change in tactics, you might just be able to add a few weeks to your spring steelhead season.