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Steelhead Question

5K views 62 replies 31 participants last post by  cuponoodle breakfast 
#1 ·
First of all, let me start off by saying I have NOT done, what I am asking,
so keep it straight to the point of the question.:rolleyes:

Do any of you add scent to your steelhead flies? Is this ethical? If so, what kind of scent do you use? When do you use it?:hmmm:

Again. I DO NOT scent my flies, I just read an article in SSJ and note that the gearheads do it to their jigs which closely resemble our flies.
"They add some kind of gel to the head of flies and marabou".... it shows a pic of liquid Krill and gel Krill.........

:confused: Is this "ethical" for us fly anglers? :ray1: I know we are "better" than them but they do catch a lot of fish!


jason (decker)
 
#30 ·
OK, so forget about scent... How about that spray on stuff that adds flash\sparkle to 'any lure or fly'? Forgot where I saw it, but it is advertised for salt water fishing I think... So no scent, but increased visibility\reflection. Maybe for bucktailing or something...
 
#33 ·
IS there a product designed to REMOVE scent without adding any? I am thinking about the natural scent of fur/feathers, plus my skin oil, hand soap, gasoline, pnut butter and banana sandwich, single malt scotch, dog fur or my musty fishing vest after being put up wet. :eek:

As for scent for steelhead flies- I tried it my first year - didn't help. After that I have become so determined (pig headed?) to catch a steelhead -and to catch it on a fly- that it if I did catch one on a scented fly, I would feel like I cheated and I would still be looking for my first fly caught Steel.

Ethics? I agree w/ chadk, If you are not fishing over native fish that need to be released I think its perfectly ethical, where legal. If there is a high liklihood of catching a mandatory-release fish, or if you intend to release your catch, I think the ethical thing to do is use uncented lure/fly with asingle barbless hook. aka: selective gear

GT- nymphing for steelhead should be banned - cause its too effective? Maybe I should start nymphing more often...hmmm :cool:

Actually I believe this was banned (in a way) on the NF stilly a few yrs ago to protect Kings (no weight added to fly or line). Never figured out if this included sinktips tho.:confused:

CW
 
#34 ·
First off. It's not a bobber, it's a float, get it straight. ;) LOL. Second, just as many guys get skunked fishing jigs as they do anything else (if you're fishing it wrong, it's not gonna get you into fish any faster then anything else out there). So I wouldn't say outlaw them. What's next, plugs? I know quite a few guides who slay the crap outta salmon/steelhead with plugs. Probably more then most other guides I know (gear and fly). Add a baitwrap, and watch out salmon. Put up a "wall of death" as it's called, and a pretty damned successful technique (one I love to use on a rookie fisherman in the boat who doesn't matter what he's using at end of the line).

Onto scents. Nope, never put them on flies. Why I have gearrods still. I use my bait/scents for that. Onto jig guys using scent. Man, you're talking about another can of worms. That's been a huge fight for years now amongst gear guys. Does it help? Think it depends on where you're fishing and what you're fishing for. I know I've baittipped jigs (I actually tie a jig designed to fish bait, not just adding to a "jig"), and they've worked quite well (yet again, I was fishing them correctly). Only big problem about adding scents, they will gum up a fly/jig (especially marabou types).

Personally, if you enjoy using it, go for it. As long as it's legal. I'm to the point anymore where I don't care how you want to fish. As long as you're within the law, and you're passionate about your sport. Label yourselves as "fisherman" first, then let the world know what "technique" you prefer to fish with. Have almost 30 years steelheading, and still find most of the "techniques" I've fished with over the years rewarding to fish even to this day. Why I have alot of that older gear. I fish the technique I'm most in the "mood" to fish.
 
#35 ·
Who cares about ethics? It's not flyfishing. I don't give a rat's ass if you're using a fly rod and fly line to cast it, it's baitfishing. If you want to do it and it's legal, go for it. But don't call it flyfishing. Lame. . . .
 
#36 ·
O my kiss ........ Read the original post. I do NOT do it nor do I even consider doing it. I was only wondering (IF) others did. This is a question derived from reading an article. thats it. stupid question but it's odd to see everyone get their panties in bunch on this.

Jerry - That was the best post on this thread and cast great light on the issue.


The other 2 guys I'd love to hear on this are MONK and IBN!
 
#37 ·
Jason Decker said:
:confused: Is this "ethical" for us fly anglers? :ray1: I know we are "better" than them but they do catch a lot of fish!

jason (decker)
Do you really want some stranger (or a whole group of them) telling you what is ethical?:confused:

I'm almost embarrassed to call myself a flyfisherman anymore.:beathead: :beathead: :beathead: :beathead:

Great thread.:(
 
#38 ·
PT. PT!

I must admit I enjoy a good ruckus once in awhile, especially when it is raining so hard I see salmon swimming up my drive way. cabin fever brings out the cave man in us all.

The dynamic dialogue is essential thing that makes this forum so special and occassionaly tongue-in-cheek.

P.T. said:
Do you really want some stranger (or a whole group of them) telling you what is ethical?.:(
I don't consider most of the posters on this thread "strangers" and it's great to get their opinions and ass kickins too! If you don't ask questions or make posts, then all you are is a stranger on a forum, and that is BORING. Don't be a fly on the wall. I do take their ideas to heart and then make up my own mind just like everyone else would. Whatever it takes to learn more to fish better and have a great time.... that's what its about!
jason
 
#39 ·
Jerry Daschofsky said:
just as many guys get skunked fishing jigs as they do anything else (if you're fishing it wrong, it's not gonna get you into fish any faster then anything else out there).
Interesting point Jerry. Lately I noticed that most of the fisherman I talk to on the river are gear guys. I am a chatty kind of guy and usually break the ice with the statement: "I couldn't catch a steelhead if my life depended on it!" I usually get a laugh and then the repetitive response of "That's because you are fly fishing" Or something to the effect that catching a steelhead on a fly is WAY harder than with gear. I have had days where indeed I am not catching fish and gear guys are, but I have also seen them get skunked like me. IYHO as anadaptive gear fisherman, is it easier to catch steel on gear? I really am only a flyfisher--that is what I am and what I do. Are these gear guys just getting their bait/jig/scent--whatever in a better position/presentation than I am? I have a feeling that catching steelhead is just not easy--no matter how you fish for them.
 
#42 ·
Jason Decker said:
PT. PT!

I don't consider most of the posters on this thread "strangers" and it's great to get their opinions and ass kickins too! If you don't ask questions or make posts, then all you are is a stranger on a forum, and that is BORING. Don't be a fly on the wall. I do take their ideas to heart and then make up my own mind just like everyone else would. Whatever it takes to learn more to fish better and have a great time.... that's what its about!
jason
But for those of us that already know it all some of these posts just seem like nonsense.;)
 
#45 ·
tightlines said:
I don't know who IBN is, but MONK is off the grid sniffing paint fumes and guiding bald eagle floats up in Marblemount. His Web access is just every few weeks.
Get with it! IBN is the man! Our wff.com #1 Fing Snagger! Check out his online photo gallery.. the dude is a mean fishin machine!

Monk our resident ******* would have a great angle on scenting flies.
no wonder he's been MIA.

j
 
#46 ·
tightlines said:
I don't know who IBN is, but MONK is off the grid sniffing paint fumes and guiding bald eagle floats up in Marblemount. His Web access is just every few weeks.
As for the scent on flies thing. I wouldn't do it, not because of ethics, I just don't like my hands and all my gear smelling like shit, plus, I don't have much problem catching fish w/out it, so why bother? I could see scent helping out a lot in low vis situations, call me a fool, but I'm not convinced it makes much difference under normal conditions. I've outfished bait slingers on the same stretch of river.

I don't care how people fish, just keep it legal, call it whatever you want, fly fishing, gear fishing, bait fishing, whatever, it's all fishing. The folks who argue about it probably get out and fish like twice a year and have nothing better to do but think about ethics all day.
 
#47 ·
Hell, why even bother with a fly? If you have an extra window screen laying around, cut a 1" X 1" square from it and fold it lengthwise so you have a two-sided, 1" X 1/2" mesh rectangle (I call it the mini bait box). Use kevlar thread to securely sew up 2 of the 3 sides. Fill your mini bait box with your favorite bait - PowerBait, sand shrimp, cured salmon eggs, nite crawlers, ground turkey gizzards, etc. - sew the remaining side shut, and place it in the freezer to save for your next fishing outing. Out at the river's edge, all you have to do is attach a snap swivel to the end of your leader, open it up, attach one corner of the mesh bait holder to the snap swivel and close that, attach another snap swivel kitty corner to the first, a one inch piece of tippet to the second snap swivel and a size 2 or 4 Gamakatsu octopus hook to that short piece of tippet. If you don't have a sink tip line, crimp a few split shot on your leader about 12 inches above your mini bait box to make sure it gets down deep where the hogs hang out. Add a little smelly jelly for good measure and start fishing. Don't worry about whether this is fly fishing. Call it whatever you want - it casts pretty well on a fly rod, all things considered, and it protects your bait well enough that you only need one or two mini bait boxes for a whole day of magical fly fishing - er, whatever it is - for majestic steelhead. :rolleyes:
 
#50 ·
For the heck of it about 10 years ago I tried smelly jelly on flies a couple times when I was guiding for Kings and Chums in AK. Didn't seem to increase the catch rate and pretty much destroyed my flies - no way I was ever getting the smell out or putting the fly back in a box. The stuff really gummed up the action of the flies. Not to mention the stuff gets on your hands, waders etc. - really gross. Anyway I don't think it would really help that much or increase catch rates for steelhead, either, and if you're going to the trouble, why not just use bait? I'll never repeat that "experiment" again. It was a waste of time.

If you're fishing in "bait" water there is probably enough scent in the water from roe fishermen that the extra bit of smelly jelly will be a drop in the bucket anyway.

From my perspective, and from the perspective of most fish and game laws, fishing with scent isn't fly fishing, it's bait fishing. No grey in-between interpretation there. If you're gonna fish scent on flies you've turned your fly outfit into a bait fishing setup. If I were gonna fish bait, which I won't, I would rather just get a loomis and shimano and some spiderwire and be done with it.

-John

PS incindentally using smelly jelly on plugs didn't seem to increase catch rates, either. The stuff is over-rated.
 
#51 ·
Seriously though, try switching tactics to a more natural presentation if you are having trouble taking steelies. Also, location is way more inportant than how you fish imo. My local rivers that flow out into the columbia and snake each get escapements larger than the entire skykomish river.

Peace,
Andy
 
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