Weather and water conditions have a definite impact on your fishing. Both a steelhead’s location and aggressiveness change due to changes in its environment. In addition to the tips we offer below, there are several very good reference books on fishing in different weather and water conditions:

• The Color Guide to Drift Fishing by Bill Herzog
• Spinner Fishing For Steelhead, Salmon and Trout by Jed Davis
• What Fish See by Colin Kageyama

Sunny versus Cloudy/rainy Weather - Steelhead will travel during overcast days and when it is raining. Conversely, when the sun is shining and penetrates more into the water, steelhead tend to run for cover. They will move out of tail outs and slow moving water and look for shady places or broken water. Knowing that steelhead travel during cloudy and rainy days you can often revisit pools fished earlier in the day or where it was too crowded earlier. I have sometimes gone back to a place where earlier I had a take-down or missed fish, and find that the same fish has returned or new fish have moved up river to occupy the same location.

Tide Effects - It seems that tides play a key role in steelhead river entry from the ocean. Steelhead move to fresh water on the outgoing tide and within several hours fresh steelhead can be located in the lower reaches of most rivers. More on this topic soon.

Cold Water Temperature – (30’s to mid 40’s) – Because the fish are cold blooded, generally the colder the water, the less aggressive the fish will be. With water temperatures in the 30’s to mid 40’s, the fish will probably look for resting places where they can expend less energy or where the temperature may be slightly warmer, ie the bottom of holes and on occasion water flowing from tributaries that may be warmer than the main river. Because their metabolism is slower, they often will search out slower moving water. The fish will also tend to snug up closely to any obstruction that breaks the current flow. Finally, they will be less likely to chase after your bait or lure so you need to change techniques.

Cold Water - Fishing techniques – Because of the cold water, the fish are more lethargic so you need to do three things: 1) slow down your presentation, 2) use baits/lures that give more sight, scent, sound, and feel, and 3) cover potential holding water more thoroughly because the fish wont move very far to intercept your offering. Here are several tips for fishing cold water:

• You can slow down your presentation by adding more weight to your drift setup, or backing your plugs or baits down at a slower pace if fishing from a boat.
• Because the fish slow down when it is cold, they are less likely to be spooked by your bait. You can use larger natural baits and floats/attractors combined with lots of scent to entice/aggravate them into biting.
• You can use large spinners, #4 and #5 and large spoons when fishing cold water. Use silver finished spinners and spoons in cold water conditions. Please note that a silver finish is approximately 20% brighter than a nickel finish. The extra flash and the vibration/sound caused by these lures may cause the steelhead to bite.

Prime Temperature Conditions (mid 40’s to mid 50’s) - In warmer water steelhead will chase after hardware, and move farther to chase your offering, and generally act more aggressively. The fish will tend to seek out more rapidly moving water, ie riffles and breaks. Too warm and the fish will seek out the water with the most oxygen.

Color preference seems to change with the temperature also. -- red/orange and chartreuse in cold and blue, white, black, etc in warm.

Please see our section on Reading Holding Water for an in-depth explanation of where to look for fish during prime weather and water conditions.

Warm Water Temperature – (mid 50’s to mid 60’s or above) - Basically as you would expect as temp increases, the fish become more aggressive because they are cold blooded.

• Use smaller lures, #3 spinners and darker colors, ie brass spinners rather than silver.
• If the water temperature goes above 70, a steelhead’s survival will be severely tested. Their metabolism is greatly affected, there will be less oxygen in the water, and natural parasites and pathogens in the water are likely to kill them.
• More on this topic soon

Water Clarity and Flow Rate Considerations
Water clarity and flow rate affects where steelhead will travel and rest. Visibility and flow are affected by rain, snow melt run-off, and by natural disasters like mud slides. Some rivers clear faster after a rain or run-off than others due to the composition of their river bottom and the erosion resistance of their banks. Generally rivers with rocky, as opposed to sandy, bottoms and those with little intervention from man and grazing animals will clear the quickest after a freshet. For this discussion we will identify three different water conditions, muddy, prime, and clear, but of course, there is a continuum from muddy to gin clear.

Muddy Water Conditions – When visibility is less than two feet and flow rates are high, steelhead will move as close to the bank as they consider safe. Often they can be found only 2-3 feet from the water’s edge in less than two feet of water. Some fishermen make the mistake of wading into the river during these conditions and find that they are standing right in the fish’s line of travel or even that the fish are traveling behind them! Fishing in these conditions is marginal. Here are some tips that work in low visibility conditions:

• Steelhead will seek out clearer water that has less debris in it, ie twigs, silt, and other flotsam. Look for tributaries and creeks that have cleared and fish the point where they enter the main stream.
• The fish will seek out slower moving water to conserve energy. This usually means they will be close to the river’s edge.
• Fish will be on the move. With fewer obstructions from waterfalls, riffles, etc, they will use this high water level condition to continue their upstream migration. You will be less likely to find them in their usual holding/resting positions
• The most common technique for fishing in these conditions is “plunking”. Basically, in this technique, you find a seam where the faster moving water transitions to slower moving water, near the water’s edge. Put a large and stationary bait in that place, and let the fish come to your offering as they swim upstream. Click here for our discussion on plunking.
• Use larger and more flashy baits and lures. Large spin-n-glos, golf ball pieces of roe, and lots of scent will help the fish see your offering.
• If you attempt to drift a bait or lure, you should slow down your presentation to give the fish a better chance to see it.

Prime Water Conditions – When the water is emerald green in color and you can see your bootsclearly when standing in knee-deep water, you have found prime fishing conditions. Unfortunately you also probably wont be alone. “Green water” conditions act like a magnet to steelhead fishermen. As the river clears and water level lowers, steelhead will be on the move, they will feel protected by the water color, and generally can be found in their likely position. See our discussion on “Reading the Water”, here. Prime water conditions generally have water clarity in the 2-8 feet range and flow rates at their nominal rates. All the classic fishing techniques can be used effectively in these water conditions. See our index for our discussion on the various techniques.

Clear Water Conditions – After extended periods with no rain and cold temperatures, river levels go down and the clarity can increase to 10 feet or more. Steelhead will move from their prime holding spots to other locations. Here are some tips on how the fish are affected by gin-clear water conditions: • First, the fish will be more skittish and will spook more easily because of the reduced cover/hiding locations. Care must be taken when approaching a drift either by shore or in a boat to not spook the fish. • Fish the head of a pool - Generally the fish will search out cover where they can find it. They will move to water that has a rippled surface, they will move from a tail out to the head of a drift just behind the fastest moving water, they will search for deeper water that still has color, and they will seek out obstructions.

• You will want to use smaller baits/lures to avoid spooking the fish.

• If the low/clear water condition has persisted for some time, and there has been fairly heavy fishing pressure, you may want to try a different bait/lure. After awhile, steelhead seem to become indifferent to classic presentations and a different spinner, or spoon, or new scent, can sometimes work. In these conditions I sometimes try live worms.

• In these conditions, spinners and plugs will let you cover more water more quickly. Further if the water is both clear and cold, the extra flash provided by this hardwars can often make a difference.

Barometer – Im currently keeping a log. So far it appears that a rising barometer after a rain correlates however it’s also when the water seems to be right for fishing. Also during a deep low when it is raining seems to be a good time to fish. Once again, that usually connotes rising water from a storm and brings new fish into the river. We have almost a year’s worth of data and plan to continue this experiment. Your input/observations is much appreciated.