Steelhead

I haven't fished for Steelhead in the last 15 years. They've been decimated here on Vancouver Island and some watersheds the populations are almost extinct. Last year, the first time the Chum returns were dismal. There's a small river 10 miles away from me that had a fantastic Chum fishery with the odd Chinook and Coho. I didn't hit the river last year. The first time in 35 years. The first 15 years there was only a handful of flyfishers(flyfishing only from Sept.1-Oct.31/no retention), but every year since then there has been an increase in anglers. Too many now, IMHO. I agree, Chum are hard fighters. The males fight like Chinook and the females like Coho. This particular river estuary the fish are bright and silver early in the run. Just great fun on a 9wt. fly rod. My fly fishing days for Pacific Salmon I think are over, sadly. During the winter I would be tying flies and "dreaming" of the upcoming season. It was a passion but I still have a small sliver of hope the numbers will come back. The sea-run Cutthroat is the only specie I still pursue in the fresh and salt. Still some good populations but I think they're next on the list. It's just a matter of time. There's so many factors against the anadromous fish here in the PNW. Good talkin with ya. Take care.

Thanks for the feed back. I use to be an avid flyfisher for Pacific Salmon for 30 years, salt & fresh but the very low numbers of returning fish and a lot more anglers has made it nearly not as fun. This weekend I would normally be heading up Island for the Pinks . The last few years have been dismal. I digress. Back to bass. From what I can gather the fall bass fishing is pretty good in the interior of the province(Okanogan, Kootneys) and east of the Cascades where you are.

I wanted to ask anglers who fish in the coastal PNW(Washington, Oregon & northern California) how is the fall bass fishing in your area? I'm located on the southwest coast of B.C., Canada. Last fall was basically my first attempt at fall bass fishing as the previous 30+ years I was flyfishing for Pacific Salmon from September to November. Late last September as few low fronts came in consecutively and the surface temp dropped fairly quickly to 64F, the major observation was that the fish vacated shallow water. I went out a few more times fishing deeper water with no success with various techniques. One thing I didn't try was deep cranking. A very good bass fisherman stated the B.C. doesn't have a good fall fishery. Might be true, but not might be. I'm not going on the word of one person. How is is the fishing in your region in the fall? What techniques, patterns and locations work for you? The lakes I fish have both Smallies and Largies with the Smallmouth being the prominent specie(so far). The main forage is crawdads, perch and pumpkinseed. One more thing I'll add is that I don't have good electronics.

Pretty much the same weather conditions and fish patterns here in southern B.C., Canada. I'm on the water at first light and usually put in 4-5 hours.

Patience is the biggest factor for me when fishing the Ned deep. On numerous occasions on two of the lakes I fish I'll work the Ned from 15'-30' but have never gone beyond that depth. It was a few weeks ago and was out a first light. No top water bite and a few dinks fishing shallow after a couple of hours of implementing different baits and techniques. I moved out to deeper water fishing a TRD on a 1/15oz. chartreuse Finesse ShroomZ using the swim-shake-glide method making contact with bottom on the glide and caught both Smallies and Largies up to 4lbs. Time and time again this produces fish when nothing else catches fish with any consistency and size. Most at of the time I'll use a 1/15oz. mushroom head if it's fairly calm and bump it up to 1/10 to 1/8 when the wind picks up. I won't go any heavier that. I will also drop shot a TRD when fishing deeper. I also find the TRD TubeZ works a lot better drop shotting than on a mushroom head. I cut out 3-4 tentacles on the TRD TubeZ and for me it seems to work better.

I was on the water at 5am yesterday morning. I can only carry 4 rods as I fish out of a 8' inflatable pontoon boat. Yesterday I had 3 spinning and 1 casting rod. This is what I had tied on to start the day: Megabass Giant Dog-X/GP Crystal Shad Zman TRD in green pumpkin orange/#1 Owner Rig' N Hook/1/16 oz. tungsten bullet wieght Zoom 4" Dead Ringer in black blue blue tail/#1/0 Gami Offset G-Lock hook/1/8oz. tungsten bullet wieght Zoom Finesse Worm in old purple/Gami G-Finesse Trickyhead Shakeyhead Head 1/16oz.

Dry Creek 3.5 Full Bodied Double Dipped Tubes/Bama Craw, Changeable Orange & Changeable Blue Dry Creek 3.5 Tournament Tube/Old Ugly, Ghost Hologram & Green Pumpkin Purple Copper Flake I don't use tubes as much as I used to. They were one of my top producing soft baits. Just not as effective as they used to be here. Lotta guys throw tubes. Strike King KVD Pro Model Tubes and Mismo Tubes were also in the rotation. I need to down size and pick up some in 2.5/2.75" sizes.

What stood out for me was the refraction index of an object at 33% larger underwater. I didn't think it was that high. This will definitely change my calculations when I see bait in the water.

I bought three packages last season and have caught some fish on them but Zman baits are so much more productive. I've tried many other brands Ned baits and nothing else comes close to Zman. Never had a problem with them melting. I keep them in the original bag and out of direct sunlight.

Pointers, Staysee, Gunfish, Sammy, LV 500 and the LC Silent Squarebill are still high on the rotation. From what I remember, Lucky Craft was the first premium Japanese lure company to break ground in North America. Megabass, Jackall, Evergreen and others followed and have taken a big market share from Lucky Craft.

https://m.facebook.com/ZManFishingProducts/photos/a.10157854786793051/10157854786898051/?type=3&source=54 This is what I'm looking forward too. It's available in December. I sent Zman an email a few years back wishing that they would come out with a mushroom head with a size #1 EWG hook. I guess wishes come true... haha. They never had before. Anyways, I've used many different rigging options for the Ned Rig over the years. I prefer hooks sizes 1 to 4. I use the Zman Finesse Shroomz in 1/15 and 1/10oz. for more open water fishing. Never had a problem with the hook bending or breaking. Landed both Largemouth and Smallmouth up to 6 pounds. Light hook set and light drag setting. When fishing cover I have two different options I go with. One is the Decoy Nail Bomb VJ-71 jighead in 1/16 and 3/32oz. and both are a #2 EWG hook. The other is a Texas rigged EWG #1 Owner Rig'N Hook with a 1/16oz. pegged tungsten bullet wieght. Definitely going to place an order in the very near future for the Zman OG Mushroom head. I've used other EWG mushroom heads but the #1/0 hook is too large. Some people are ok with that size hook and by all means. BTW, I'm hoping Zman comes out with a 4" lizard.

Amazing. I used to get angry at the comments but now just laugh. Ironically, I know a guy that has worked in the tackle industry for 30 years and a very good flyfisher. I ran into him about 5 years ago on a lake using conventional gear targeting bass. He was a staunch flyfisher and conventional gear was used by dummies according to him and bass should be killed off in all provincial waters. He told me he now loves fishing for bass with spinning and casting gear. He did admit he was wrong as he never did fish for bass. Got give him credit for being humble... I guess(haha).

I'm on the west coast of B.C., Canada and here bass are scorned by a lot of different angling communities. First, both the Smallmouth and Largemouth are not native species here with the Smallie being introduced back in the 1920's by the Province of B.C. and there isn't much info on how the Largemouth got introduced but there is some theories that it migrated through some of the larger watersheds south of us that would be Washington and Idaho states. Probably more applicable would be the illegal transport and introduction and that would be certainly the case over the last 30 years. All the the different angling communities of both salmon and trout place some partial or whole blame on the bass for the decline of the specie they are pursuing. Most claim the bass are "devouring" the juvenile stocks of trout and salmon species which in my research over the years are very minimal at best. There have been studies on bass impact on native trout and salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest which most concluded there wasn't enough sufficient evidence that proved this be true. Probably the most ignorant anglers is the "elite" fly fishing community. There is a regional fly fishing forum and from time to time the topic of bass comes up and some of the comments are pompous, preposterous, ill-informed and perilous. I just shake my head... really? It's ludicrous to place blame and make derogatory comments on species of fish that has no or very little impact on the decline of other fish species when there is overwhelming evidence of other contributing factors. Don't get me wrong, I consider myself a avid fly fisherman and have been at it for over 40 years and most Flyfishers are humble, helpful and well informed but from what I've seen and heard there is small group from this angling community that are ignorant, arrogant and most outspoken on this subject. With all all that being said, it's an actual benefit for me in that the fishing pressure for bass here is minimal. The way it's going here in PNW with the salmon and native trout stocks in bad shape and only going to decline and the bass be one of the few gamefish left. I loved fly fishing for Pacific Salmon and Steelhead both in fresh and saltwater but the stock of these different species have declined in different times with first, the Steelhead then Coho/Chinook followed by the Sockeye and the last 4 years the Pink Salmon numbers have declined drastically and last year the Chum Salmon returns were dismal. The only specie I now fly fish for is the Sea-run Cutthroat Trout both in fresh and salt water. I'm sad to say it will be next. I love both both bass fishing and fly fishing but consider myself fortunate and grateful that I have the choice to pursue both bass species.

I have 2 brakes on and two off and with the external brake adjustment between 3 - 4. I'm throwing jerkbaits and topwaters from 3/8 to 5/8 oz. on it. I also find that I have the spool tension knob a little tighter on the SLX XT than my Chronarch 50E. For me, the extra $30 for the XT is well worth it. I had both the regular SLX and XT in hand and there was a big difference in the feel, precision, body construction and the aesthetics. I love the external brake adjustment. Definitely picking up the SLX Mgl in the near future. I have no interest in Shimano's DC reels but I'd like to try a Daiwa SV reel.

Basically. Most of the time I'll cast it out and let it sink to bottom, give a quick, short snap and start reeling and after about 5 feet let it glide to make bottom contact and repeat back to the boat. If the fish are suspended I'll just swim it. One thing that works excellent on Smallies sometimes is to swim the worm just on the sun side of the shade line as they use it as an ambush cover. I'll fish fairly high in the water column as they will come up and hit it.

I Texas rig them with a 1/0 and use a 1/16, 1/8 and 3/16 oz. depending on conditions when I'm fishing cover. I'll also use a mushroom head or a ball head up to a 1/4 oz. when I'm swimming/jigging in open water up to 30 feet.

Last winter I picked up a St. Croix Eyecon 76MLXF2 spinning rod for an excellent price. Love the reel seat and especially the light soft tip. The sensitivity is ok being a SCII blank. I got my eye on the Legend Extreme 76MLXF. I'm not sure if it has the light, soft tip but I'll find out.

Loomis IMX PRO 901 SJR Shimano Sahara 3000 HGFl #10 PP Superslick v2 blue #8 Sunline Sniper Z-Man Pro Shroomz 1/15oz. in red & chartreuse Z-Man Finesse TRD/Zinkerz/Ticklerz

Zoom 4" Dead Ringer Zoom Curly Tail Zoom Centipede Zoom Finesse Worm Zman Finesse Worm Roboworm 4 1/2 Straight Tail

Zman TRD: green pumpkin orange, molting craw, mood ring/ an assortment of different 1/16 mushroom heads & colours in red, chartreuse, orange & blue Zman Ticklerz: purple death, houdini, sprayed grass/ as above Dry Creek double dipped tubes: bama craw, changeable orange, changeable blue/ 1/16, 1/8 & 3/16 internal weights

Loomis IMX-Pro 901SJR. Shimano Sahara 3000Fl. #10 blue PP Superslick v2 w/ #8 Sunline Sniper or #6 Maxima UG. I have a NRX 852S but it's too stiff for the lower end lure rating. It has a hard time casting an 1/8oz. The sensitivity is stellar. I'm not big on the recoil guides for braid to leader which I prefer. Love 'Em on the NRX fly rods though. Gotta give a shout out to the GLX 822DSR too. I recently picked up a St. Croix Eyecon 76MLXF2 for 40% off. Very happy. Love the soft tip and reel seat.

Z-Man has become my #1 soft plastic bait manufacturer the last 5 years mostly for the Ned rig. Zoom with the 4" Dead Ringer, 4" Curly Tail, 4" Lizard, Centipede and Finesse worm would be 2nd. Dry Creek Outfitters for their tubes. Keitech for their swimbaits. This season I'm trying out some of the X-Zone baits made here in Canada.

Thanks guys. Awesome colors.

Placed an order with TW and it was shipped the next day. Still haven't received it yet. The problem is UPS. Just awful to deal with. The website is way too complicated and the call centre which is located in "Asia Pacific" took 45 minutes to get a human being which I had a hell of time understanding. In the end I found out it's sitting in the warehouse here in town since last Thursday. I ordered a rod here in Canada from a Canadian retailer which was sent through Canada Post. Didn't recieve a delivery notice which I've always had in the past. In the end the rod was sitting at the PO for 2 weeks. I've been ordering fishing tackle for 30 years from the US, Canada and Japan. The last few years it's been very expensive for shipping especially through UPS and FedEx. Shipping charges when I order and more charges when it's delivered. The most effecient way seems through USPS when ordering in the US. I get it, the delivery as of late because of Covid 19 but this has been progressively more of a problem the last few years. I'm getting to the point where I'm actually dreading ordering tackle and it was like waiting for Santa but now Santa doesn't show up on time and makes excuses and the cookies are getting too expensive. Anyways, I hope everyone is staying safe.

It seems of late the 4" ringworm has made a bit of a comeback with Mister Twister and Big Big Bite Baits adding them to their product line. I've used Zoom's 4" Dead Ringer with great success. I wanted to ask you guys what brands and colours you prefer?