Gorge Fly Shop Blog: Winter Steelhead | Tips & Tricks from John Garrett

One of my ALL TIME FAVS - HohBo Spey (Non-weighted)

by John Garrett

Can you believe it, we are finally getting some rain to help the river levels rise and draw in some freshies, that's fresh winter run steelhead. We have received a number of calls in just the last few days at the Gorge Fly Shop where folks are wanting to buy the intermediate Skagit heads for spey fishing such as the RIO Skagit Max GameChanger or the Airflo Skagit F.I.S.T. and not to forget the new O.P.S.T. Commando Groove head. These lines are very legit and they have their place in the game, however they are not necessarily the "go to" line for fishing high water conditions with the rains we have had.

Let me explain and I promise to keep this short and sweet. My experience in high sometimes off colored water I actually am using a floating head and a lighter sink tip. Why? Because the fish tend to hold closer to the banks in the softer water. In this softer water you don't need a heavy sink tip joined to an intermediate head to boot. You will soon become frustrated at being hung on the bottom way to much, not to mention being unable to get a full swing in.

Depending on the depth of the spot you are fishing, often the tip of choice would be, let's say a RIO MOW tip in the 5' floating / 5' T-8 and I will add to that an unweighted fly such as the HohBo Spey and I will swing that thing all the way into the bank! Don't be in a real hurry for the next cast either, let the it marinate, especially if the water is off colored.

If you need more conversation about this technique, give us a call at the Gorge Fly Shop 541-386-6977 and we would be happy to give you the finer in depth version of the effectiveness of going lighter when the rivers are higher. This may not sound logical but who ever said fishing t=in the middle of winter was logical. Fish are like us in a sense that they are not going to want to hang out in the heavy fast water, they want to take the path of least resistance and chill. This is where you will get them with your floating head and your lighter tips with a non weighted fly or slightly weighted fly.

Keep swingin, you never know what might happen!

John