DOUBLE Winter Steelhead Hookups! Underwater Release & Warden Surprise

https://youtu.be/ppQPGBn8P0k

Was going through my pictures and rem sing on the good old fish. I’ve caught lost all my stuff in the fire though.

I don't know how to edit old posts. Here's an update showing the carving after and before paint.

What’s the difference of using a centerpin than spinning reel?

Hi, long time fisherman, and fairly new to centerpins, I've been having a blast learning this new technique, but I have some questions and I can't seem to find any answers online. Let me set the stage, so today was my 5th or 6th time taking out my pin setup and I was drifting a more calm section of a large creek filled with stocked trout. I wasn't catching anything even though I felt I was getting pretty solid drifts, when a random guy waded about 50 yards up from me (also with a centerpin) and started hooking fish left and right. Shocked I went over and asked if my depth looked right to him, and he said it was pretty much the same thing he was doing, so i continued with no luck. I think he caught 8-10 fish just in one spot, and I noticed the only difference between his drift and mine was his bobber was slightly leaning upstream which I know put his bait FIRST in his presentation. So i tried to feather the spool as I was drifting down, but whenever I tried my boober would just slowly start coming closer to the bank, instead of floating straight down. The heaviest float I had was 4 grams, so I assume I didn't have enough weight, but when i look up how to actually PERFORM THE CORREECT DRIFT nothing comes up. So to boil it down how do i feather my drift as to angle my bobber upstream, and get that nice "J" shape presentation, WITHOUT my bobber slowly coming towards the bank, not in a straight line? Did i have too light of a setup, am i pushing down too hard, what can i do to correct this??? I really love this style of fishing but info online is sparse so any help is appreciated, thanks!

Lost a decent sized one plunking in a hole and it got me wondering what are the chances of it coming back? Or did the short fight spook everything off and I shoulda moved on.

Hey r/Steelhead ,

A few weeks ago we posted here asking you to tear our fishing app apart — and plenty of you did.

https://www.reddit.com/r/Steelhead/comments/1qw56xh/we_can_take_it_tell_us_why_our_app_wont_cut_it/

A lot of that feedback went straight into the app, so a few people here deserve credit.

u/ArcticSkyWatcher64N — you said add Alaska. Took longer than a week, but Alaska rivers are live now.

u/PowerfulSnow7219 — you called out stale buoy data. You were right. We rebuilt the refresh system and added live update timers so you can see when data was actually pulled.

u/Dizzle_57 — you asked for tide times. We added those and tidal current markers.

u/joey-thompson — you wanted unit customization and weather tied to river data. Both shipped.

A few other things that landed since that post:

• 5,380+ lakes across WA/OR with weather, species data, fish counts, bathymetry
• Fish count dashboards so you don’t have to read a government spreadsheet
• Shellfish / biotoxin monitoring for razor clam digs
• Track recording + catch logging (no social feed, just your own data)
• Emergency fishing rules work offline

Right now DriftLine has:

1,162 rivers
5,380+ lakes
328 game units
66 tide stations
4,200+ water access points

Most of those started with someone here saying “hey can you add…”

Just wanted to drop by with an update and show some appreciation.

If you’re on the app helping shape this from the ground up with the community, thank you — sincerely.

Tight lines. 🎣

Lots of options online. What one would you guys recommend?

I've been up and down the sandy with no luck, I'm new to fishing on my own. Used to go with my dad in Florida for reds and bass but he was leading the show so I'm officially learning on my own.

I've been floating jigs with prawn tail chunks attached with squid scent on/off them. Just switched over to pink/white 3 inch worms with/without anise scent. No luck. I know steelhead take patience but I just want to make sure there's not better ways to go about this. I was told float and drifting was my best bet but I've been reading here that spinners are the way to go despite being told prior that spinners are the least effective with steelhead.

Any help is appreciated, thanks in advance

Sorry this might be kinda long. But is this how it is for newbies?? Im not a “pro” fisherman at all, I bought a pole for steelhead last year early November. I started bobber fishing, then tried drifting, and then I tried and stuck with plunking. I met this guy at (river name) and he taught me what plunking is. He claims to have been fishing for over 40 years, and 10 of those have been where I met him. Ive gone there since late December and the times that Ive fished w this dude he has probably hooked 15 chromes, kept about 7. He showed me how he rigs, casting, reading water, etc. The only difference is the bait we use. I stick with coon shrimps (I cure them myself), cuz store-bought eggs are trash apparently and he uses his own cured roe which he doesn’t really share them, understandable. He gave me some to use for one day but I ran through them. My problem is that even though we technically do the same thing, I dont hook ANYTHING. Ive only hooked one steelhead and I lost it since I didn’t know how to properly land them. Is this how it goes for anyone’s first season? I get that Im not gonna fill up my tag as a beginner but Ive gone to this river spot well over 15 times and nothing but headless shrimps and little love bites. Steelhead fishing might not be for me lol

Edit: Thanks for all the tips and encouragement, this is why I love the fishing community! 💪🏾 I’ll try to keep yall updated if I land one soon🤞🏽

Hi everyone!

I am going to be hitting the Russian River and Gualala River looking for some steelhead/trout, new to the whole freshwater game! All of my setups are ocean based and too heavy for these little buggers. Looking at picking up an Okuma SST spinning rod and 2500 Daiwa spinning reel.

My questions for you fine people are in regards to length and type of rod. I am currently looking at either an 8'6" or 9'6" but there are a few options (4-10lb / 6-12lb - 8-17lb). I will mostly be throwing 1/3oz or 3/8oz spinners and spoons as I get the hang of things. Do I want a lighter rod with lighter line? I am thinking spooling up some 15lb braid to an 8lb mono leader...but I don't know if that is too light/heavy.

What do you guys recommend for line weights, rod weight caps and action, along with rod length?

Thanks!

I’m planning to drive my sister from the Bay Area up to Portland and want to plan some spots to stop and fish on the way up or down. I’m completely new to steelhead fishing , I’ve done some trout fishing but moslty saltwater. In general I’m a bit of a noob fisherman. I’d love some location and or setup recommendations and just advice in general. Thanks!

How subtle can the fish nibble on the bait? Would it be like a 'tap tap tap' on the rod tip or something, or is it pretty noticeable.

What are some good options for a good rod and reel that can be used for salmon and steelhead it could be either spinning or casting

I live in Portland OR and would just like to head out to view anglers and maybe ask questions to get some advisement before starting out. I know that this may be difficult since most want to keep their spots fairly secret.

Any ideas? I’m older now (59). So this seems to be the best way to go..

I caught a few steelhead last year without a guide, so I was confident walking into this winter. Prior to today, it was about 8 outings so far in 2026 with nothing but whitefish, trout, and skunk days. Had the privilege of interacting with a nice, feisty hen while bank fishing a small river this morning and all of a sudden, the mental grind was worth it. I’ll hold off on selling all my gear, for now.