Steelhead

I've never fished for steelhead in my life, but I'd like to give it a shot up at Lake Sonoma this year. Problem is, I'm not real sure where to begin. If I were to head there cold I would probably troll j-7 Rapalas like I do for rainbows, but I'm wondering if anybody would be willing to point me in the right direction? Are there any particular types of lures or techniques anyone would be willing to mention to get me started? I'll also be keeping an eye out in the hook-ups section to try and tag along 
Thanks! 

Keep in mind thats not "real" steelhead fishing but those are gorgeous trout.  I have never done it either, but I know Mickfish has put in many hours honing his techniques there.

Keep in mind thats not "real" steelhead fishing but those are gorgeous trout.  I have never done it either, but I know Mickfish has put in many hours honing his techniques there.

Yeah, I'd like to do the real steelhead thing, but I'm completely clueless there. I'm not even sure where to find steelhead water, never mind what to do once I find some. But, I do have a fly rod that is itching for some action. Perhaps I need to reach out beyond my comfort zone this winter and just flail around a bit to figure it all out. There's worse things to be doing than exploring along the edges of new creeks and rivers with a fly rod

Jay far from being an expert I pretty much just fish for them while they are on the surface, I don't enjoy fishin them with  downriggers and weights which are the most consistent techniques, I like to catch them on UL and just a lure to let them fight. Sean's right they are really just trout and all the standard techniques work finding the fish is the hardest part. They are the hardest fighting Trout I have ever caught so I recommend using good hooks and upgrade your split rings, I don't know how they do it it but I have lost a lotta fish due to split ring failure. I use long Kokanee style rods ands 6lb mono and I troll faster than I do at other lakes. I like tight wobbling cranks that dive deep a little lead on the bill helps tighten up the wobble and gets um deeper. They go ballistic when they see the boat so be ready. They are very spooky so stay away from the power boats and troll with a lotta line out 100/150'. I haven't had much luck with the firetigers, I like the basic colors silvers and white on clear days and gold,copper when it is overcast. Most important they don't stock this lake so I only keep fish that are not going to make it, I try and not touch them and release when they are still in the water. Here is a shot of my 3 favorite lures, note the added lead on the big rap,old water logged Shad raps work great. Hope this helps and if you go let me know if you go I love paddling Sonoma and I got a lot to learn.

Great info, thanks Mickfish! 
I'll post up before I go, but I need Southern California to stop bursting into flames before I can get a free weekend without any expectations from work. 

That is some quality info right there...thanks Mike!

Perhaps I need to reach out beyond my comfort zone this winter and just flail around a bit to figure it all out.

Steelheading is super fun.  There are a lot of little tricks so you will save yourself a LOT of time if you fish with a guide or an experienced steelheader a few times.  I can't tell you how much I learned drifting with my good friend and former grad student Josh Fuller...he is a steelhead catching machine. They are my favorite freshwater fish to catch.

Josh in his office...

Hi Mike - Thanks for the cool tips, much appreciated. I can't tell from the pics but is that a piece of hammered pencil lead glued to the shad rap?

I had a question for you on those longer UL koke rods.  I tried a lami UL koke rod (2-8#, 7-ft casting rod) for the first time while trout trolling on Saturday.  I was having continual problems with line wrap around the tip, to the point where it was very frustrating.  I was using a Seps sidekick dodger and grub rig on 6# mono with 3 swivels in the set-up to help with any line twist.  I'm a hack, and I was getting some line twist, but I was wondering if this problem is more common with these long, slow/mod action UL koke rods, or maybe just with the specific model I was testing???  I'm betting on operator error but any experience or thoughts on this? Thanks!

Sean - I was having a productive afternoon at work until you posted that winter river steelhead photo........somehow I just couldn't focus on work after that!   
 

Sean - I was having a productive afternoon at work until you posted that winter river steelhead photo........somehow I just couldn't focus on work after that!   

Depending on the color of the river, I have a hard time focusing on anything Dec-April!

.  I was having continual problems with line wrap around the tip, to the point where it was very frustrating.  I was using a Seps sidekick dodger and grub rig on 6# mono with 3 swivels in the set-up to help with any line twist. 

Use a quality chain swivel to prevent the swivel and maybe a small 1/4oz fin weight. With a dodger you want it kicking side to side and not rolling over.

-Brian G

Brian - Thanks for the tip on the chain swivel and fin weight.  Thinking about it, my problem was likely a result of line twist.  I was toplining w/o weight and varying my trolling speed to experiment.  Probably at the higher speeds I was getting rolling action and line twist. At the slower speeds I was getting the proper action (hits and hook-ups).  Thanks again - John

John with the longer and lighter rods you get some tip rap but less and less the more you use them can be a pain at first. The more twist you have in your line the more tip rap you are gonna get.

I'm using the Lami MBC702L 7' 4-10# and the Shimano Compre CPSF802LB 8' 4-10# I really like the Compre wish I could find it in a casting model. The 2-8# was too lite for me need a little more beef to get a decent hook set

 If you are getting line twist I like the Spro Trolling Chain Swivels (oil them) use casting gear if using spinning crank down on the drag when reeling in, use crankbaits. Make sure you start with no twist I cut off my lures and just troll a bare line for a few minutes before or after each outing makes a world of difference, a few minutes of prep saves a lotta time during the day.

You coming up on T-Day not to ruin you workday but there are some fish being caught in the lower river, WE NEED RAIN.

To weight the cranks you can use Suspend Dots or Strips you can't get leads ones anymore but these work you don't need much I use two dots on a #5 rap 3 or four strips on a #7 http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/descpage-SSS.html On that lure it's some Fly Fishing strip weights and epoxy.

Mike - thanks for the trolling tips and info, much appreciated.  I was checking out that Lami rod (L, 4-10#) you have yesterday at FW in Sac. Looks good. Might be a better overall option for me. They had that rod at the same price as the comparable Clarus rods.

Good to hear about the fish in the lower river!  My friends will be in Caz on T-day weekend but I'm not sure yet if I'll be headed that way.  I'll get in touch with you, looking forward to getting on the RR. Have you been on the lower river yet? Just checked the 10-day forecast for SF, they had clear through next week with a 30% chance for precip on 11/26 and a 60% chance for 11/27 - may be some rain coming.  Wish I could join you all this Friday - those L. Sonoma steelhead look like a whole lotta fun.  Good luck!

Take care - John       

Sean - Why do those lake sonoma "steelhead" get so chromed up.....like they're smolting or something.  Are they descendants of coastal steelhead or just your standard hatchery redband rainbow stock?

Dave here is a section of an article from the Sniffer I have heard the same things.

When the lake was filled in 1984, the steelhead in Dry Creek, a major tributary of the Russian River, became landlocked. Plants of steelhead from the Warm Springs Hatchery from 1981 to 1985 bolstered the wild trout population, but the lake hasn't been stocked with any salmonids since. The DFG fish pathologists stopped plants so that potentially diseased fish released into the lake wouldn't spread infection in the hatchery, since the lake is the hatchery's water source.

The decision to not stock Lake Sonoma has resulted in a quality, stable trout fishery. "We get comments from anglers that the fish are being over harvested and the fishing isn't as good as it used to be," said Dave Cox, associate DFG fishery biologist. "However, electro shocking surveys of the creeks and the lake indicate that the trout population is stable."

"The trout rear for one to two years in the streams before moving down to the lake," he explained. "They use the lake like a freshwater ocean and put on good growth."

Why does Sonoma have self-sustaining steelhead populations while they have apparently disappeared in other foothill lakes?

First, the lake's unique strain of trout hasn't been diluted with other strains like similar lakes have. When catchable rainbows are stocked in big numbers, the strain of fish endemic to the watershed is mixed with other strains and eventually the wild fish are overwhelmed by the introduced fish.

Second, the reservoir watershed has great habitat where the trout can continue spawning year after year successfully. "There is lots of spawning and rearing habitat in the lake's tributaries, particularly in Warm Springs Creek," said Cox.

The spring-fed streams entering the lake come out of a predominately coniferous watershed of Douglas fir and an occasional redwood, interspersed with bay trees, maples and oaks. The abundant vegetation along the steep creek walls shades the creeks, keeping the water cool.

The same steep fjord-like canyon walls that make the creeks such a good habitat for trout also make the lake a good trout habitat, creating deep, shaded channels where the water keeps cool during the summer.

Third, Lake Sonoma has a top-notch wild steelhead fishery because of the introduction of threadfin shad, which the hungry trout stuff themselves with. The fish have a growth rate similar to that of ocean steelhead, according to Cox.

Fourth, because the lake isn't stocked with the easier-to-catch hatchery trout, Sonoma doesn't draw the huge numbers of trout anglers like foothill reservoirs like Berryessa, New Melones and Don Pedro do.