Winter steelhead techniques

New member guys long time listener. Saw the recent mockery don't much care if my thread gets bashed just trying to help new guys just getting into steel.

1. Go ahead and sleep in a bit if its below freezing to let the slush clear. Target times are between 10-2
2. 90 percent of the fish are in ten percent of the holes. Target deeper slow moving pools in winter and if cold most fish are hugging the bottom.
3. Eggs eggs and more eggs mostly in winter big sacs produce better than small ones.
4. Larger minnows seem to work well hooked through lips and don't forget wax worms.
5. Jigs nothing. Can put up bigger numbers in winter than a guy who can jig Em try all colors and speeds pay attention the the fishes reaction they will show you what they want.
6. Try targeting most upper sections of streams unless your stream has major barriers which prevent a long up stream migration.
7. Trout worms under a float as well as trout magnets can be deadly try orange and white,
8. Expect most bites excluding jigs to be subtle,when in doubt set the hook.
9. Don't waste that almost empty bottle of eggs soak anything that will absorb it and milk when it hits the water.
10. Tons of big fish still an be caught in the winter my buddy pulled a male out almost fourteen pounds in jan.
11. You should have no problem getting away with small line such as 4 lb. this time of year fish are sluggish.
12. If you made the trip and your whole is iced over don't go back to the hotel bust all the ice push down stream wait a few Minutes the fish will come back and they will it remember guys it's winter fish are starving.
13. If stream is solid ice break out the auger probably one of the few times you can pull out steel on a three foot rod with o one around.
14. Dress warm nothing drives you back the the truck faster than frostbite.
15. Change your style of fishing in winter work the hole like a grid read the water and spend more time than you normally would at a hole.

Thanks guys if anybody else has anything to add please do so and if anyone new to the sport has any questions ask the locals on here they are nice guys and are willing to help anyone who cares if some nerd makes fun of you this site I think was originally intended to help each other out thanks guys. Tight lines

Great advise thanks for the information. 

WOW!!! Great post, positive & informative. Thanks

Solid info, especially for a amateur in steelhead fishing like me. The post is much appreciated!!

Overall solid advice!  However there are a couple things I disagree with:
 
1)  Definitely skip first couple hours of light if it's below freezing, but I don't think target times of 10 - 2 make sense.   I find that the bite just keeps getting better for me the later in the day I go.  As it warms up more.  Usually 2 - 5 are my best winter hours.  Air temps starts cooling down in the last few hours, but usually water temps are still rising and lag behind.
 
3) I swear by eggs and minnows, but using single eggs or big sacs should have nothing to do with the season.  It should be water flow and color that dictate using sacs over single eggs, or the size of your egg sac, no matter what time of year.  Single eggs in low clear conditions, egg sacs in stronger off-color flow.  The darker the water and stronger the flow, the bigger your sac should be.

I like stained water with  2 foot of  visibility. I use size 12 cream egg with a caddis trailer and do quite well.
 

Those little black stoneflies are starting to come out...
16-18 articulated Black Stones are killer this time of year....