Reading Summer Steelhead Water
Early June offers some of the best, most enjoyable summer steelhead fishing of the season. Daylight hours are long, temperatures warming, and fish are stacking in prime holding water. But as the month progresses, things change.
Late June through July and August marks some of the most difficult times to catch a summer steelhead. During these months rivers are low, running clear and temperatures are on the rise. In addition to fellow anglers, now steelheaders must contend with other recreational users on the river. Folks floating the river in inner tubes, rafts and kayaks, are all out for a good time—heck, I did it when I was growing up—and though they have every right to be on the river, their constant presence will impact where steelhead hold and how they travel.
With so many challenges being faced, what can a summer steelhead angler do to increase catch rates during the summer months?
Start by monitoring water temperatures. Water temperature is one of the most important factors influencing a summer steelhead’s behavior, specifically, where they will hold in a river and their activity level. Dropping a thermometer into the river prior to wetting a line will help figure out where fish will be holding.
Save for Alaska rivers and a handful of glacial-fed streams fished early in the season, water temperatures below 45º are fairly rare when it comes to summer steelhead fishing. But for early run fish, those showing up in late March, cool waters may be present. In this case, fish could be anywhere in the river as water clarity, sky conditions and cool temperatures maximize comfort zones at virtually every depth in the river. Heads of riffles, deep holes, slicks and tailouts are all water that should be fished under these conditions.
In water temperatures nearing the 50-degree mark, summer steelhead begin exhibiting a more active lifestyle. They will start occupying waters with more chop, moving along seams and holding on breaks. Riffles within the main current will also become prime holding spots.
As temperatures rise into the mid-50s and push 60, summer steelhead reach their height of physical activity. This is when they respond to the widest array of presentations by anglers, and put up the scrappiest of fights. Search for deeper, faster water flow regions in which fish will hold. Turbulent waters provide relief and the increased level of surface chop scatters incoming sunlight, where fish feel safe.
Above 60 degrees, hit shallow riffles in the 2- to 4-foot depth range. These waters still hold plenty of oxygen, an element that decreases in temperatures of 65 degrees and higher. These riffles also break up solar rays, and help provide a sense of protection, something anglers with quality polarized glasses can capitalize on. These are the ideal situations in which to sight-fish, a technique that has taught me so much about steelhead behavior over the years. When you can see steelhead, and work to get them to bite, that’s when the learning curve gains value.
When temperatures rise into the mid-60s, some anglers hang up the rod. At this point the bite is hard to get. In some streams, however, the early morning and evening hours can still produce good action, especially with downsized presentations.
In addition to water temperature, river bottom structure also has a major impact on where steelhead travel and hold. One of my favorite steelhead holes throughout the 1970s and ‘80s produced fish nearly every trip. Then, winter flooding changed it. At first glance, the change was difficult to detect. The same big boulders remained, but amid them, gravel was replaced by sand. Steelhead do not like sand, for not only does it hinder their respiratory system, it acts as an abrasive on their protective slime layer. Though they are attractive locales, avoid spending time fishing sandy bottoms. Gravel bottoms are where you want to focus your summer steelhead fishing efforts.