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This
winter when your favorite steelhead stream is out due to high water
you might give saltwater steelheading a try. Though
most people think of steelheading as a freshwater fishery one must
remember that steelhead spend the greatest portion of their life in
the saltwater. Therefore, fishing for them in the
salt seems only natural.
Here
in the Puget Sound region of the Northwest a very productive
saltwater fishery occurs off the western beaches of Whidbey  Island.
The three most notable spots on the Island are Fort Casey,
Bush Point and Lagoon Point. These spots are
without a doubt the most lucrative of saltwater beaches, though not
the only places that steelhead can be caught. The
reason these spots are so productive is the fact they are the first
beaches reached on their migration from the ocean through the
Straits of Juan de Fuca back to their natal
streams. Fish going to southern and northern
Puget Sound streams as well as Canadian steelhead have been caught
here.
Steelhead
can be caught here any time during the year as we have steelhead
returning to one stream or another virtually any month of the year.
However, the time frame from Thanksgiving through February
tends to be the most productive with large numbers of hatchery fish
returning during this period. Tides do play an
important part in the fishing
here with the first few hours of the outgoing being the best.
With this tide the fish are congregated into
the back eddy formed by the outgoing tide behind the points of land.
They generally wait here or hold, resting for a while before
they proceed with their migration. It
is at this period of time that these steelhead are most susceptible
to being caught. One will find that when a school of fish enters
into this zone there will be a number of fish caught in a relatively
short time frame. Many of the beach residents
simply watch out their patio doors, sipping their coffee and keeping
warm until they see a fish hooked then get up grab their rod leaned
up against the house go down to the beach and make a dozen or so
casts before returning back to the warmth of the house. Many
of these beach residents catch more than their fair share of fish by
playing this game.
Tackle
for this saltwater steelheading consists of a typical steelhead
drift fishing outfit 8-1/2 ft. to 9 ft. medium to medium heavy
casting or spinning rod - casting or spinning reel with a line
capacity of at least 100yds. of 10 to 15lb. monofilament.
Make sure you have a very good reliable drag system as you
will undoubtedly put it to the test. Your
terminal tackle consists of a lead cinch tied to the end of your
mainline with about 3in. of ¼ pencil lead inserted into it.
One can also use a 1oz. spinning(mooching) sinker in lieu of
the pencil lead or virtually any other steelhead drift fishing lead
setup (slinky, hollow core pencil lead on a dropper, etc.)
This is where all similarity to conventional steelhead tackle
ends. When one first looks upon the time honored
“Bush Point Special” you could come to only one conclusion:
“Why would any self respecting steelhead in his right mind hit
such a concoction?” The “Special” consists
of a #4 Spin N Glo (Winged Bobber) generally in
clown or 50/50 flame/chartreuse color combinations placed in front
of a double skirt hoochie in reddish or flame
colors over a 3 - 4ft 12 or 15lb double hooked 2/0 - 3/0
mooching leader tied as to have the trailing hook right in
the tail of the skirt. Make Sure you are using
Barbless hooks to conform to the current regulations. A
large plastic bead is placed between the skirt and the leader to
keep the skirt from trailing down onto the hooks and a couple of
slightly smaller beads between the skirt and the Spin N Glo to act
as a bearing surface for the bobber to spin upon. Over
the years individuals have made slight changes to this basic setup
varying the sizes, colors, and styles of bobber,
skirts, hooks and leader. However, the basic
configuration stays the same. This strange
concoction that could only have been dreamt up by some frustrated
steelheader in the middle of the night is then tied to the other end
of your lead setup.
Now
that you’re ready to fish, one simply walks down to the waters
edge and casts out a good distance 50 - 100ft., lets the rig sink to
the bottom, and reels in at a moderate rate while the gear is
bouncing along on the sand and gravel bottom. Make
sure to fish out your cast right to your feet as most of the fish
hooked are generally closer to the beach than not. In
fact I’ve seen more than a number of fish hooked as
the fisherman is just picking up his gear to make another cast.
Wading out into the water to fish is looked down upon on the
steelhead beaches, hip boots or waders are for keeping your feet dry
and your body warm.
One
thing to remember is that most of the beaches on the island are
private! Make sure if you are not fishing public
access beaches be sure to ask the land owner if you can fish off his
property. Over the years there has been a lot of
landowner / fishermen conflicts. Please respect their property as it
is a privilege not your right and leave the beach in as good a shape
if not better than how you found it.
So
when your favorite stream is out this winter give saltwater
steelheading a try on the Island beaches or one of a multitude of
other Puget Sound or Straits locations. There is
no doubt tremendous potential for other productive saltwater
steelheading locations. With a little time and
effort spent you just might just discover one of these spots.
Just remember that someone had to put in some time years ago
to find out that steelhead could be caught off the beaches of
Whidbey Island. Some spots that have great
possibilities are Point No Point, Point Wilson, Marrowstone Point,
West Beach (Deception Pass), and Ala Spit. Good
Luck!
Good
Fishing
Mike
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