Pgh Kid
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What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
When I fishing the upper part of Elk last weekend I found many steelhead in shallow pools. With the lack of water I was unable to get a natural drift and was unable to get even 1 bite. Any suggestions in these conditions?
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Cold
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/06 23:14:55
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Get a sheepdog or two to herd them up on shore! In all seriousness, if they're anything like the rainbows areound here, when they're in the shallows, its precisely because theyre not feeding. About all you can do is stay well downstream and make continued excellent casts and bump one in the nose till he gets ****ed and takes. For me thats at the margins of a feel-good catch, but its more effective than not fishing, I suppose. 
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pafisher
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/07 00:35:48
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Go find some moving water and fish for active fish,even if you don't see them they could be there.
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casts_by_fly
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/07 05:50:41
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yep to all of the above. If they are in the shallows and slow water, there is a good chance they are resting. Leave them alone and fish some moving water nearby. Chances are there are some fish buddies that are staying more active.
If it is just slow water you can try stripping flashy streamers around them to induce a strike, but that's hit or miss some times.
Thanks,
Rick
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doubletaper
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/07 07:26:42
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ORIGINAL: casts_by_fly
If it is just slow water you can try stripping flashy streamers around them to induce a strike, but that's hit or miss some times.
Thanks,
Rick
i don't know how flashy they got to be but if you have room to get upstream far enough and let a bugger swing in front and across you might get them interested. it works for me sometimes. than again you have to have the room.
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2Bonthewater
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/07 08:47:07
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agree with PAfisher..........need to find the aggressive fish........look for riffles......head of pools and tail-outs of pools..........usually agressive fish there.........they are either coming from riffly water or heading into riffly water
fished the tail-out of a pool on Elk with a friend a few years back......low water.....most of the guys were fishing dead smack center.........we fished the tail-out and tagged the fish that just came up through the riffles....they were still active
facing downstream is not a fish that will be all too willing to chomp your fly or bait..........as stated, they are resting..........waiting for the moment when the urge to move along hits them
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ryguyfi
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/07 10:43:46
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I know it may be a bit out of the norm, but try presenting a dry...yeah I said it. If they're just resting in the pool, why not try something they're not used to. Especially with the weather not as cool as it will be. Might spur on some activity and get some excitement with a top water take. I'm going to try it this year, whether I find success or not. But to catch a steelie on maybe a size 10 royal wulff would be fantastic! But to catch fish, they need to be active and moving so I agree with what has been said so far. These fish are presented baits and flies all day long every day, might as well try something new... just an idea.
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jlh42581
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/11 21:33:50
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Take the weight off, if you guys think you cant catch fish in shallow water i invite you to come fish with me this winter. We'll watch as guys fish the center, then we'll fish 1cm of water and rip the lips off them.
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350Z&Steelheads
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/12 15:32:22
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^^^ what he said
Tak the weight off.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach him how to fish and he will sit in a boat and drink beer all day. 
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dano
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/12 19:03:01
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^^^^ yep.
Unweighted buggers and do what Doubletaper says.
Typical Erie, low & clear, no flow, fishing.
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swinger
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/12 20:58:28
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ORIGINAL: jlh42581
Take the weight off, if you guys think you cant catch fish in shallow water i invite you to come fish with me this winter. We'll watch as guys fish the center, then we'll fish 1cm of water and rip the lips off them.
This here is America!!! Not Europe. Not Canada. 1cm? Are you kidding?
Quality over quantity I am reality I>U JC Rules!!!!!!!
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mgolf92
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/13 19:09:16
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ORIGINAL: swinger
ORIGINAL: jlh42581
Take the weight off, if you guys think you cant catch fish in shallow water i invite you to come fish with me this winter. We'll watch as guys fish the center, then we'll fish 1cm of water and rip the lips off them.
This here is America!!! Not Europe. Not Canada. 1cm? Are you kidding?
Not only are the units incorrect, the entire statement is a falacy! 1 cm?
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Flyguy638
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/13 21:27:52
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Yeah, aren't there 2.54 cm's in an inch
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ryguyfi
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/14 11:08:36
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only on a fly fishing board can someone get ripped apart for using the metric system as a unit of measurement. If this was a worm chucking board, they would be too confused to know what he was talking about and continue to use misspelled words, run on sentences, and words that no one knows the existance of or understands.
for proof, look at the stream reports
(no offense to the worm chuckers lol)
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kilbasi kid
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/14 15:44:25
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when fish are in the shallows,and not responding.The best thing I find to do is police the area for garbage that other inconciderates thru down.
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Cold
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/14 19:15:25
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Would you prefer more esoteric-but-familiar units? "We'll rip lip in water that is as deep as a 2X long, Sz. 14, down-eye nymph hook!" 
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NotherOne
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RE: What to do when Steelhead are in shallows?
2008/11/14 21:44:25
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when i'm fishing shallow water i have some success just using a long leader and just drifting the leader
through the hole without any flyline in the water.
i was up at the rt 5 tunnel and saw a kid (lucky me i picked a boyscout outing day) casting to a pod that was about 15 feet in front of him. he must of had 15 feet of fly line out along with his leader.
i am no fly fish expert. (you can tell by my terrible casts) but i told him to think about it. he had a ten foot pole and 10 feet of leader thats 20 feet without the fly line and not counting your reach.
after having him get rid of the wallmart fly assortment and giving him a handful of flys i had him just drift the leader through the hole holding his fly rod up and just follow the drift. i wish i could tell you he hooked his first fish under my expert guidance, but by 11:00 those fish were lock jaw.
at least he managed to get some good drifts and a dozen flys.
i pretty just much spent the day helping these kids out and giving away flys. handed out at least a hundred flys that day. i don't know where these kids fathers were (maybe they didn't have any) but it was pretty rewarding to help these kids out.
i agree with low weight and maybe a little zink to help get the bug down
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