Early Season Steelhead

Throughout most of the Great Lakes region and particularly in western New York we are moving into the fall season with extremely low water nearing drought conditions. With cooler weather steelhead should begin to show with increasing numbers.
 
The early fall season provides the perfect opportunity to fish lighter with flies higher in the water column than when the colder water temperatures take hold later in the fall. For Spey fishing, Scandi heads with monofilament or fluorocarbon leaders the approximate length of the rod paired with subtle fly patterns fished just below the surface can result in explosive grabs. This is also one of the best times of the year to try a waking dry.
 
Covering a little deeper into the water column may require a weighted fly or adding a tapered sinking leader to the front of the Scandi head. Most Scandi heads can easily handle a 6-to-10-foot sinking leader in the 3 inch per second range. This allows presenting a fly to fish that are less likely to move toward the surface. 
 
I typically find steelhead holding in riffle water to be more aggressive in this early season than those holding in slower tail outs. Often the riffle water in early fall is quite shallow so that the fish only needs to move a short distance to intercept the fly.
 
The long wait for fresh steelhead is almost over and nearly time to search for one of those bright early season fish.