Steelhead Candy
By Coltin Gresser
Steelhead that live within Lake Michigan and the tributaries that feed into her can be fished for all year round. During the winter months, they can be caught hiding out in the deeper pockets of creeks and rivers. While in the spring and fall are the times of year when they can be caught in the rivers and creeks, but also in the bays and mouths of Lake Michigan. Summer is the time of year when anglers of all types can take out their boats on Lake Michigan and troll for these magnificent fish in deeper waters.
Drifting Lures and Baits
When I use the drifting tactic for steelhead, I am mostly going to be using tied jigs and soft plastic trout worms. The size of jigs that I use will vary depending on the feeding and water conditions of the fish and the body of water I am fishing. Sometimes the fish will want a bigger more energy-efficient meal. That’s when I’ll be using a 1/8-ounce jig head with a plastic trout worm on it. If I have noticed the fish being pickier or not feeding heavily. Then I will switch out to a 1/32-ounce jig. A smaller profile will make some fish strike because it is going to be wasting less energy to consume the smaller food source.
If you don’t think that the artificial bait is going to get it done, then look towards the live bait counterpart. Anglers can use shrimp, night crawlers, skein (cured fish eggs), squid, and minnows. These baits will increase the chance of you bringing in your target species and even some non-target species. The one advantage of live bait is that the scent of it will bring in fish. It will keep the fish around longer because they can taste it being real whereas lures do not have a taste to them.
Trolling Lures
When it comes to trolling for steelhead it is just like any other species in the salmon family. Orange, yellow, green, blue, silver, pink, and gold colors will attract them. Some of the most used trolling baits used in the great Lake Michigan are stick baits, jointed deep diving crankbaits, trolling spoons, and swimbaits. Just like any other type of fishing the certain forecast will make a huge difference on what lures one will be using.
Casting Lures
So, these lures will overlap with some of the lures that an angler can see being used in the trolling world. Spoons, inline spinners, stick baits, crankbaits, lipless crankbaits, blade baits, and jigs. Many of my favorite casting lures are Little Cleos, Moonshine lures, Cabela’s evil eye blade bait, and the classic Mepps’s spinners mostly the number three. Water temperature is everything with steelhead being a cold-water species their ideal water temperatures to operate in are 40- 55 degrees Fahrenheit. This temperature zone is where the fish’s metabolism works perfectly. For weather wise an overcast sky and even a light drizzle or snowfall can really get the fish active.
When the weather and the water temperature are perfect. That is when you can see these fish really targeting more moving baits and lures. Also, larger lures during those times can be very effective. However, when it is low water, the water temps and weather are the total opposite of ideal. This is when slowing down the presentation and maybe even downsizing lures will help get some hookups. This is when drifting smaller jigs and soft plastics come into play. I hope this little introduction to the Steelhead world has helped you out in some way. I believe you can take this information and apply it and have success with it out on the water.
Remember, you can not catch them from the bed or the couch. So, get up and get out there and cast away!
