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What to do on a missed take from a steelhead?

3K views 33 replies 25 participants last post by  Matt Burke 
#1 ·
Just wondering what the best strategy to go with when you have a missed take on any type of fly. Do you stay with the current pattern? Change colors? Switch from small to big, vice versa? What are your experiences that have seemed to work best.

Jason
 
#2 ·
If you nicked 'em hard, I would come back at the end of the day.

Otherwise, I would keep the same amount of line out and not reel in, change up to a smaller pattern, drab or dark color, wait 20 minutes, and cast from the same spot but about 9 ft short of where the take was, and each subsequent cast putting an additional 3 ft of line out.
 
#34 ·
Step out of the water. Start the run over. If it hits again, but no take, change the fly and restart the run. If no addirional takes on the second or third try, then this advice is good.

patiently wait through your next 1,000 casts until you get a chance at another one
Or buy Dec's book, read it and go back. One thing about a hit, you know that spot holds fish and if you can go back all year, sumpin' might happen later.

One thing about pluck pluck or tap tap, usually just trout. When steelhead hit, there is no doubt as evicenced by the new warm wet feeling in your waders. Dollies hit like freight trains and then fight like driftwood.
 
#4 ·
Wait ten minutes have a smoke or something eat, then try again with a different pattern contrasting to the first one they took.

Never had any luck going back the end of the day and trying unless I knew it was a holding or running lie where multiple fish would be moving thru out the day.

:beer2:
 
#5 ·
R11,

When I have a take and and the fish isn't hooked, I repeat the cast without changing anything else. If I think the fish definitely felt the hook, I'll usually continue fishing my way down the pool - but not always. If I think the fish didn't feel the hook, I back upstream about 6 steps and repeat the cast, and continue fishing to about 20' downstream of where the fish hit. Then I go back upstream as before and change flies, usually smaller and or switching from bright to dark. Then I repeat the casting sequence to about 20' downstream of where the fish hit. If none of the above induced a second strike, I return to the original fly pattern and continue fishing. I may return to the spot later in the day if that fits my fishing schedule and I'm not floating the river for example.

Sg
 
#8 ·
Zen, you clearly are unfamiliar with rivers that receive small steelhead runs then. There's plenty of water, big and small, that hold solitary steelhead due to the paucity of steelhead. Run size and fish density within a run in a particular river system are critical factors to consider.
 
#31 ·
Now this made me laugh because it's exactly what I do, though I give it a couple more passes. I figure if it doesn't take on the next one or two passes, it won't. (At least that's been my experience with pike and salmon that I've missed.) My first pike was a miss, and immediate re-cast. Yeah, yeah I know: pike are slightly different than steelhead!
 
#13 ·
Let's face it the most difficult part of being successful in steelheading is the finding a fish that is not only "fishable" but one that is willing to at least potentially "play". Thus when one finds such a fish (misses it) the ability to convert a significant % of those fish to hook fish is a important step in one's improvement as a steelhead angler.

To be successful we need to consider how the fish has behaved prior to the take/miss and afterwords. Important skills in converting those fish to a hooked fish while fishing a swung fly is a constant awareness of where your fly is at all times (where it was when the "miss" occurred) and being able to make the same cast repeatly. Several general situations should serve illustrate the range of potential strategies.

1) At times an agressive fish will rush forward from its lie to intercept the fly. If such a fish doesn't take solidly it is often because it has rejected the fly at the last minute. Often the best strategy for such fish is to rest it briefly and then show it a completely different fly (think different profile). With such fish I mark the local and continue with the presentations below hoping to return later a second go with that different fly.

2) Often the fish will follow the fly on its swing before committing. Such a fish may return to; a) its original holding location (typcially some sort of flow cushion), b) hold in the area of the miss strike, c) after "missing" move back out towards deeper water (at about the some countour as before) but downstream of its orignial position, or d) spooking itself where it will move to better "cover" to hide.

Often with steelhead getting a fish to take is less about the fly and more about the presentation. With that in mind my best strategy with a missed fish is to mark where I'm in relation to the fish and the bank and procede as follows.

Repeat the exact same cast with the same fly paying careful attention to assuring that my presentation is as good as possible. That will give fish #1, 2a, and 2b a second chance to take the fly and it is surprising often that take will happen. Next while standing in the same local repeat the same cast though stopping a little short of a full cast. Then mend the full line. The result is that the fly will drift natural for a short distance and will tend to swing deep and slower. This can be especially effective on fish # 2b but occassional #1 and 2a will also respond. I then continue to fish carefully down the bar and hopefuylly fish #2c will respond as it is reached.

Failing with the above I continue to fish on down through the run planning to return to the "rested" fsih with a fly change. However I first will stop to look at the best "cover" at or above the location of the missed fish planning to fish that water with the new fly. Once that #2d fish has settled down they are often good "takers"; just need to know where they are likely to be and be able to shown a fly properly at that location.

Next I step in a litlle above the marked location and fish down with the new fly. I try to make exactly the same cast as I fish through the marked water. I focus on mending the line at the end of the cast to achieve a short section of drag free drift prior to the onset of the swing fishing on through the water I think potentially might hold the "marked" fish. It is my feeling that if I'm the only rod on that run I can conver that missed fish to a hooked fish about 1/2 of the time (who knows for sure whether it is always the same fish).

One final "trick"; if I'm fishing a skated dry and have a missed fish (often one that misses several times) changing to a smaller wet fly fished "greased line" wil convert an amazing number of those missed fish. However I often get so addicted to that surface presentation that I don't bother with change to sub-surface fly.

Finally one final trick is to fish the same water after the light changes - the holding area becomes covered by shadows or the setting sun place the waters in shadows. Soemtimes the reduced lighting seems to give the fish more confidence to take (again a fly change is probably wise).

Don't know if any of the above makes sense but that has become my "standard" approach to that "missed" fish.

If one is willing to go complete to the dark side pounding the marked holding water with an indicator/nymph combo can be effective as well.

Tight lines
Curt
 
#14 ·
Serious answer...


Some people size down in profile, some size up, some change to a darker profile, some lighten up, some wake....... who knows as usual??

The one thing I can say is good advice though: make a note of where the pull was. Don't change flys, Back up about 10-15 ft from where you were standing when you got the pull, and swing back through again with the same presentation. if you don't get the fish to come back, start making adjustments and repeat process. If that doesn'twork, as stated above, let the fish rest and come back later... it should come back to its original lie.
 
#16 ·
Gotta chime in here. First, if ya'll don't mind, I'm going to give myself a little plug and say that I covered this subject in depth in my book A Passion for Steelhead. With that in mind however, Smalma and Salmo G pretty much said the same thing I say in my book. Experience is the best teacher and is, I'm certain, the reason that the 3 of us have found similar approaches to a missed steelhead. Two things I might add: 1. If the angler missed the fish (pulled the fly away) the chances of getting that one back dramatically decreases. (Yes, there are those wonderful kamakazis that give the trigger-happy angler multiple chances at redemption.) Conversley I have found that if the steelhead makes an aggresive attempt at the fly and misses on its own, the oppurtunity to get that fish back on subsequent casts and possible fly changes is very good. I loosley tell my clients that if THEY miss the fish they have a 20% chance of getting it to come back; if the STEELHEAD misses, they have an 80% chance of of having their fly pummeled again. This has been my experience anyway. 2. I have found that by going right back at them with a slower swing and the same fly is often the ticket. I don't slow my fly by mending more, I just move closer to the suspected lie by wading out a little, and/or holding my rod out over the river. The closer the rod-tip is to the fly the slower it swings.

Panhadle's advice is right on as well!
 
#17 ·
I would 2nd reading Dec's book. I never really have much luck getting them to come back though. Do you really get 80% to take again? That gives me somethign to shoot for. I'm going to spend some more time on the next one missed.

ps. Dec, that technique about holding the loop while you swing and letting the fish take it has helped my hook-up ratio a ton. I owe you a beer.
 
#18 ·
I bought Dec's book this summer and I reccomend it as well. While it certainly has entertaining secitons, I found it WAY more application oriented than many other texts on the subject. Kind of a "Steelheading Handbook."

IMO, there is a dearth of good fishing books being published these days. Dec, thanks for taking the time to make one worth reading.

:thumb:
 
#19 ·
If you are new to the game it's a victory. It means that you have found a fish, identified holding water, picked out a pattern that works, made a good cast and managed your line properly and enticed a strike. What you do after the missed fish can be handled a dozen different ways, as some really good fishemen have walked you through above. I would throw in my two cents and say to remember and visualize the actions before and up until the take. It looks like the "light is going on"! Congrats. Coach
 
#20 ·
I like Curt's and Dec advice as well, but last month on the Klickitat I had a miss, waited, swung again, nothing, nymphed a glo bug and the SOB came after my indicator. I tried an orange skaker but that's the last I saw of her. After I moved downstream, this guy came down the opposite side of the river and she grabbed his nymph! Two years since my last steelhead, can you believe that?
 
#22 ·
Two years since my last steelhead...
Paul.. hope that changes soon.. here's a nice little Skagit summer run to help maintain your incentive!

http://photos.imageevent.com/banos/saukriversept07/huge/skagit summer run.jpg

As far as the thread topic goes.. if the point has been felt.. SOL.. if not.. back it up 8-10', downsize change color, fish thru slowly.. if still no go, after fishing the hole, go back and fish that section once more..

In reality, no one really knows how far that steelie moved to hit your fly (2' or 20'), nor where it went to afterwards.. at least I don't.
 
#25 ·
iagree Lot's of great pointer's! One of the best threads of the year, definitely of the past few month's.... Even has Dec giving us some awesome info and of course Salmo G, Steelie Mike and others as well!

Dec I've got your book and have gone through a lot of it, but need to really study it along with some of the other books and DVD's I have and of course just get out there more often. It's been a horrible year for me getting out! I've had to cancel more trips than I've been able to actually get out on...

Great stuff guys!

Bill :cool::thumb:
 
#26 ·
Great informative thread. Just thought Id share a recent experience. While swinging through a tailout(floating line wetfly swing) I had a fish aggresively rise to a fly. Not a pluck or a pull but an aggresive rise. Immediatly the "what to do" list began running through my head. For some reason I thought well the fish didnt feel the hook, the fly obviously got his attention(out of interest or aggression) and he moved to attack the fly. So I decided I had a pretty aggresive or POed fish. I stripped in a few feet of line and instead of slowing the fly down I actually slightly increased the speed of the swing through the encouter area and very next cast fish on. Now Im in NO WAY saying any of the other mentioned tactics are wrong or that mine is right. Just sharing an experience. I think all the mentioned tactics are great and if youve found a player they are all worth giving a shot for sure. Including Panhandles "punch the water and go drink" method, of which I have much experience with and must say am very close to perfecting:beer2:,. Who knows why a steelhead shows interest in the first place and you never know what may get one to come back. Again great thread and hope to have many chances at trying out everyones techniques!!!!!!!!!!! Kevin
 
#29 ·
I have found myself making use of the "F" word at that point.

My first steelhead on a fly missed the first take, I took it away from him on the second, and he hooked himself when I had my head turned on the third. I stood in one place and cast the same fly with the same length of line for over an hour and a half. I wouldn't recommend that - I was young and foolish back then...but did net a result.
 
#32 ·
I get the tap, tap, tap to. I let it run through the run before I lift on A missed strike. Trying not to spook him to much Also if you let him turn before you set the hook you will have better odds. It takes some patience, Having him mess with it and letting it run through but its worth it in the end.
 
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