Advice for a Newbie???

[Guest nicholasjordan]

Hey everyone,

I'm new to this site as well as new to steelhead and river fishing in general. Just wondering if anyone has any general tips in terms of gear that I should be picking up. Things that I'm looking for are types of rods, length, reels..anything really. I know a few guys who are pretty avid anglers and have offered to take me out but I'd like to have some of the appropriate gear before I ask. I already have a really nice pair of chest waders courtesy of my mother in law (Christmas), but anything else? In terms of budget I don't want to spend too much at this point...I like to try something out before I make any significant investments.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[Bobber Down 921]

I would stop by D&R Sporting Goods and have a talk with Adrian and the boys. They will be more than happy to help you out with gear to fit within your budget. There are no steelheaders reading this forum. They are busy polishing, planning and packing. -)

[fisherdude 69]

technically all you need is a bag or two of small weighs some small plain hooks and some yarn or egg sacks. You can get the egg sacks at DnR for i think it was 3.99. You can also use any rod but an actuall steeelhead rod does help. And for the investing a bunch of money, well once u start steelheading you arent going to stop haha. Good luck and be patient, dont give up after not getting anything for the first few times.

[Guest nicholasjordan]

what would be considered a steelhead rod? length? stiffness? sensitivity?

I tried going out last year but my timing was all off and I gave up. all i used was my 6'6" walleye rod and I found it to be quite frustrating.

[eddylives 99]

Well I am going to let you in on a little secret.......

There is nothing you need other than some decent rods , reels and tackle hehe

Back 20 plus years ago I was a steel head nutcase and hammered many a steely in the mac with nothing more than a mitchell 300 and a telescoping rod to fit in my backpack with a panther martin spinner for tackle.

I would just get in line to fish at times lol and all the guys set up with high dollar gear would either be so happy for or annoyed that this hippy looking kid can walk in to the fishing zone in runners and catch em while standing between them all lmao.

There is a balance of skill and luck involved so its just a matter of getting into it and having a great day at the river.....just remember the unwritten code of ethics and enjoy(posted in another thread here)

[Guest nicholasjordan]

yeah I read that. It was helpful. I don't want to step on anyone's toes but I do want to get in on the action.

[Guest John Schmidt]

i went through this..that walleye rod is fine, until you wanna spend some money and by no means is that a bad thing, honestly eggsacks, worms, single hook, split shots, floats, Yes DnR will carry all that, and so will canadian tire ( I usually buy at both ) I litterally started fishing last april just as a way to do something positive, and now I feel I am quite a good riverangler. But you wanna know why, when I am not skateboarding or at work, I was in my chest waders in The Mac, Mcken, Wolf/cold, and others for hours and hours sometimes just to learn the rivers better. And people on this site helped out alot. You will find ALOT of people who are a little serious about steelheading (fishing for rainbow trout) . Personally I cant do any other form of fishing now, I am quite hooked on the river, but will fish for anything in them, try not to think of it so much as this "hallowed" fish but just go out and learn and you will have fun. Noone will put a fish in your hands for you, or carry you to a spot with hundreds of trout waiting for you, get out there and find them, its quite a good time to do it .

[fisherdude 69]

the walleye rods will be fine but the longer steelhead rods are more easily controlled for drifts and floating and are more sensitive to feel the light grabs n bumps. But both will do the trick.

[Guest Rooney]

I agree that a longer rod is usually better. Obviously, if you are fishing a smaller creek or river, a long rod becomes a hinderance. However, you can make do with what you got. I was at DnR today and they got a nice selection of yarn flies (with red dots) at the back counter with the other flies.

[Guest TerryK]

Hey everyone,

I'm new to this site as well as new to steelhead and river fishing in general. Just wondering if anyone has any general tips in terms of gear that I should be picking up. Things that I'm looking for are types of rods, length, reels..anything really. I know a few guys who are pretty avid anglers and have offered to take me out but I'd like to have some of the appropriate gear before I ask. I already have a really nice pair of chest waders courtesy of my mother in law (Christmas), but anything else? In terms of budget I don't want to spend too much at this point...I like to try something out before I make any significant investments.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Message me and I'll hook you up with some floats and other items, as well as some tips if you like.

[brookiebuster 117]

I use a 9ft med light steellhead rod with a spinning reel.I just bought a new quantum smoke reel that I am going to test out on the river this spring.I use 10lb mono mainline with a 8lb flurocarbon leader.For smaller rivers such as the mac I use smaller spawn sacks,yarn flies,small pink powerbait worms,marabou jigs and sometimes I even use a big juicey worm on a single hook.Make sure to get a bunch of different size splitshots for different river conditions.If your fishing larger rivers or river mouths you can use the same things but upsized.Also I occasonally use spinners and spoons such as mepps aglia's and smaller little cleos.You can also use small flatfish plugs later in the run to catch agressive males.Good luck.