chasing steelhead

New to forum but have been watching for a while.Everybody sounds great except for the cyber bully that wants to fight everybody at the bar. First time up was last year during salmon,not my idea of a relaxing day fishing.Hit tribs this year and ran into guys that were free with instruction and help.Heading up with a fly rod and reel for the first time to chase steel.Will be fishing Salmon River area, any helpful advise? My softball and basketball days are now over due to back surgery so I've come back to a sport I've always loved-fishing.

Hey Retired,thanks for getting back.My move to fly gear has been slow and I have resisted every step of the way.My buddy has got me started with some gear now I'm on the slippery slope into the abyss.Got some steel a week or so before Christmas on some smaller water. Those spots starting to close up I understand so going to try the big river again.Don't mind sharing but shoulder to shoulder is a little much during salmon.Will probably start drifting eggs then switch to artificial if we get a couple.This may offend "purists" but time is short.Besides it may be a good way to get used to fly gear.Can anyone offer advise on screwing cleats into boot foot waders, good idea or bad concerning leaks?

hey pete are you from ct ???

Hey Killer, Not from CT. grew up in north Jersey now live in Orange county NY. Did a lot of work in Stamford though during the boom. Depending where you are might not be that far. My boys have played many baseball games in Ct. Why? Looking for a ride-could happen one day.Good to hear from you.

Lighten up Pete, tight panties cut the bloodflow.

At least a few of us post regularly to keep this place alive. A little bit of controversy, banter, and BBng is part of the game.

Start posting some interesting stuff to discuss, instead of coming out of the woodwork whining..

btw - Welcome aboard..

   Dime is right on with the upper/lower observation. My fishing is usually up where there are smaller stones and gravel while Dime fishes a lot down below with slate and rocks. Always seems to be more real fast areas down below too.
  Might see you around this weekend Dime -gonna give it a try Sunday and Monday.
What color and size eggs do you suggest? Got some teeny little number 10 blue streamers and some buggers for aggravating myself after a sac hook up or two,.

Thanks for the advise everybody.Now just counting down to 4:00 AM.This is a one day shot so we need to hit em hard and fast. We'll see if the silver-sided ones cooperate.Will let you know how it went on Sunday.

ORIGINAL: pistolpete76

Thanks for the advise everybody.Now just counting down to 4:00 AM.This is a one day shot so we need to hit em hard and fast. We'll see if the silver-sided ones cooperate.Will let you know how it went on Sunday.

For spikes: buy a box of 1/2" size 12 hexhead screws. Run them in with a battery drill. Takes 5 minutes at most. I have done this to 4 pairs of hip boots, waders, etc., with no leaks. I also did this with 2 pair old style corkers when the original studs wore down.

glen is right with the screws, i've known a few guys to do that. i prefer a point to the head of my spikes though. i fish some very hairy water sometimes and the pointed tips make me feel more safe. just my preference. hey glen. do you use a washer so the head of the screw doesn't shift???

Thanks Glen that was info I needed on cleats.I'll use stainless I guess and will probably grind the points flat for a little insurance against poking through.Might try a dab of glue also.My YakTrax took a beating yesterday but got me through the day.Thanks again for the reply.

ORIGINAL: pistolpete76

Fishing slow on Saturday.Even drift boats complaining.I landed one real small and my buddy lost one on a jump that was well over ten lbs.and thas the extent of it.All action was late in the day.Thirteen degrees when we hit the water but it felt much warmer.Still a great trip visited a friend in Richland then headed home.Used spin gear most of the time do to icing on fly rod.Does guide paste work? Starting to plot our next trip.

hey pete, when its real cold air temps along with cold water temps, i try to fish the upper stretches of the river with 2 handed fly rod. this limits stripping in of line which keeps wet line out of the guides. also, castign with two handed rod tends to whip the water off the line. using a bobber on the spinning rod or a centerpin also helps keep your line out of the water which limits guide freezing. i believe i've heard old salt mention something about guide paste working well for him so it's worth a shot. i've never used it myself, but i fish winter months pretty regularly and the above methods effectively limit guide freezing. one other pointer that makes a difference is when stripping excessive amounts of line is necessary, strip vigorously while wiggling the rod, this also helps prevent guide freezing... i'm heading up next weekend for sure and also the first weekend of february (when big fresh males are very common in the lower river). good luck

Hey Killer, I've licked worse. Whatever works, LOL.

Dime, just getting into the fly thing but my buddy is going to try his spey rod.Thanks for advise.Hey ,where in Jersey? I'm from Dumont.

Dime, I'm just getting into the fly gear so I just don't know. Maybe need to spend some time on the local pond in the spring to learn. Just tired of twisted line on spin gear. My buddy is bringing his spey rod on Sat. but I'm just not there yet. Fly rod will work for me right now as long as I'm just flipping but the longer drifts may be out of reach right now.I'm sure I would do ok on smaller tribs but a lot are pretty much closed up.Anyway got the fever and will try again this Sat.

Dime, I was referring to previous comment on two-handed rods. Anyway it's all good. Good luck this weekend-the tug is the drug.