Top 3 Winter Steelhead Techniques

By Jason Brooks 

When it comes to wintertime fishing in the Pacific Northwest, nothing beats winter steelhead. The sea-going rainbow trout grows in pounds versus inches, and the winter-returning strains are the largest of the two that return. It might not be a nice and sunny 80-degree summer day when their cousins return, but there is something magical about standing along the edge of a river covered in ice while a mix of snow and frozen rain pelts you as you cast. 

Steelhead are ready biters since they feed during their return to the spawning grounds, which makes them fun to catch. Just because they are willing to bite does not mean you can always get them to bite, as there are a few other factors that come into play. The most prevalent is water conditions. Winter means storms, and rising or falling waters can change clarity in hours or overnight. Knowing a handful of techniques helps, but there are three that you can learn which will always allow you to head to a river and catch fish. 

1. Floating Rock Dancer Jigs 

Floating jigs are the easiest of all techniques to catch steelhead, but a few things can make a significant difference in your bite-to-hooking fish ratio. This technique can be used in low, clear water and deep, off-colored water, with everything in between. The only time it is not the easiest and best technique to use is in fast water, especially after a hard rain when debris is floating down the river, which will interfere with floating jigs. 

When floating jigs, it comes down to using the right rod and reel combo that makes catching and landing fish easier. Unlike when floating bait for fall salmon, a float rod for steelhead needs to be limber enough that when you hook a fish, you can still play the steelhead. Salmon often dive deep and pull hard, but a steelhead will jump, run, and try to throw the hook, and this is where the rod can be used as a tool to keep the steelhead hooked. If you use too stiff of a rod, also known as a heavy action, then the fish can create a belly in the line, which causes slack and can throw the hook. A rod that is 9½ to 10½ feet in length will allow the angler to cast a light setup and mend the line. When a steelhead bites a jig, the hook is upturned and often drives into the roof of the mouth, so a hard hookset is not always needed. Instead, the hookset is more to pick up any slack in the line to keep the hook in place. 

Jigs, of course, are important, and the Rock Dancer in 1/8 ounce and ¼ ounce are perfect for winter steelhead. Common colors are light, such as pink, white, orange, or a combination of them, but do not overlook reds and blacks, which are often tipped with a piece of prawn. The light-colored jigs mimic flesh from decaying salmon, which the steelhead will feed on. One unique thing about the Rock Dancer, unlike other jigs, is the chenille collar, which is a perfect place to put scents. The collar will soak up bait oils and gels and slowly disperse them to entice a bite.

PRO TIP: Because the Rock Dancer is made of bucktail, the scents will not ruin the action of the jig, and another thing you can do to make a larger profile or create some extra action is to add a small rubber worm or the end piece of a rubber worm to the jig. 

Float fishing jigs can be used in riffles, long runs, right up against a cut bank, or down a long seam. These are known holding and travel areas for winter steelhead, but one of the best places to float jigs is in boulder gardens. Steelhead often rest among large boulders that create current breaks, and food such as aquatic insects is flushed downriver while the currents swirl behind the boulders. The only way to fish here is from above to avoid losing gear, and floating Rock Dancer jigs is the best way to put a lure in front of a resting and feeding steelhead in a boulder garden. 

2. Cha Cha Pill Float and Rubber Worms 

Drift fishing for winter steelhead is probably the oldest technique for catching them. It is mostly done with a small gob of naturally cured roe or a piece of yarn that looks like a glob of eggs. However, a few decades ago, someone came up with the idea of using a rubber worm. It makes sense since nightcrawlers are often flushed into the river after a hard rain, and rubber worms look like spent earthworms.

Then anglers started using contrasting colors to entice a bite. A pink worm with a chartreuse tail or head became a hot color, as did red and black or pink and orange. Another thing that helps increase catches is using a short leader and making sure the worm floats just above the rocky cobble bottom of the river.  

The Cha Cha Pill Float is the perfect profile to use with rubber worms. You can match the same color of the worm to increase profile, or you can use a contrasting color. By having an assortment of colors, you can switch it up until you find the one that the fish prefer. One of the reasons why the contrasting colors work so well is because of water visibility. Winter rivers are often “off color” or “steelhead green,” and visibility is low, but by using a Cha Cha Pill Float, you are not only adding a bit more profile, but you can also use a contrasting color, as they float high, keeping the rubber worm right above the cobble of the river bottom. 

A trick learned years ago when fishing dirty water was to add a small bead right in front of the Cha Cha Pill Float to act as a bearing and then add a Smile Blade. This setup looks a lot like a few walleye lures on the market. Walleye love to eat nightcrawlers, and so do steelhead, so it only makes sense that the Smile Blade and Cha Cha Pill Float with a rubber worm would work well.

This was my “go-to” lure when fishing the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State back when we could fish late in the season for wild steelhead. The hook was placed far back in the worm as the fish often grabbed it from the side, and the hook penetrated the outside of the jaw, making them easy to release. It works well for hatchery fish too in off-colored and low-visibility waters.   

3. Smile Blade Shrimp Rigs 

This lure can be fished in a couple of ways, with two of them being very productive for winter steelhead. The first is when the water is running fast and high, and basically, there is only one technique that will work at all, and that is plunking.

Plunking is where you cast out a lure, which then sits in one spot, and the fish bite it as they make their way upriver and intercept the lure with bait. It is called plunking because you must use a heavy weight to keep the lure in one spot, and when you cast it out, it makes a loud “plunk” when it hits the water. Cured eggs or sand shrimp are common baits to use with the Smile Blade Shrimp Rig when plunking, but they are called the shrimp rig for a reason, and that is because they work extremely well with cured coonstripe shrimp or prawns.   

The deadliest technique used to catch winter steelhead is pulling a bait diver with a Smile Blade Shrimp Rig and a cured coonstripe shrimp. Steelhead will come up and inhale the bait, often swallowing it, which is why it is so deadly.

This technique works extremely well, too well in fact, which means it should only be used on rivers with large hatchery returns, and run timing with wild fish is not usually in the river. With that said, if you are on such a river like the Cowlitz in Southwest Washington, then the bait diver and shrimp rig combo often means quick limits of fish.

Using the same rods and technique as pulling plugs, the shrimp rig can be fished right out of the package. Look for seams, root wads, and boulders where fish will be holding, and slowly back the boat down to the fish. Another great way to fish them is to anchor up and put the divers with shrimp rigs out and sit back and wait, especially if the river is on the rise or on the drop, which means fish will be on the move and let them come to you. 

Winter steelhead fishing is a lot of fun. It might not be a sunny summer day, but a 10-pound rainbow trout jumping out of the water puts up a heck of a fight in a river. Dress warm and learn these top three techniques, and you can fish all season long. Just be responsible and protect our resources. Wild fish need our help, but there are plenty of hatchery steelhead to be had.