Tight Sticking Erie Steelhead

M

mario66pens

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Apr 11, 2009
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Is it effective to tight stick nymph erie steelhead in rapids, or is that best left for the brownies of central pa?
 
you mean "high sticking"...hell yeah go for it anywhere.....
 
3 seasons ago in Erie, I went from using indicators to not. I instantly had a higher hookup ratio. Those fish see a gauntlet of bobbers and indicators all day every day. It seemed like that, and me being a bit more active in my fishing, improved my catching. By all means, high stick with a tight line up in Erie.

Look for fish in the tail ends of a run too. Swing some nymphs and watch for their white mouth to open and close. Set the hook. I started doing this the last few years also and had some great luck. You miss a lot of hook ups striking when your flies and the fish are below you, but when they're active, the action is hot.
 
High sticking. Tight lining.

Didn't we have a thread on mixed metaphors?

Like anywhere else, it works in the right situations. In other situations, indicators are the preferred method.
 
if everyones fishing the "nice water" try those riffles, some fish may spook and move into them...
 
Everyone seems to crowd around the pools in Erie. When I can find fish holding in faster moving water up there, I find them much easier to catch.
 
I'm with Alby, but he finds them easier to catch than I do. Clearly many of them move into faster water in order to feed.
 
I almost exclusive target steelhead in the faster waters. I fish my fair share of pools as well, but as some others have said they seem easier to catch in these situations. High sticking with & without a float have worked for me. I'll also swing streamers in these situations. Give it a try, you won't be disappointed!
 
Soon, someone will note that lining and snagging is easier to do in the faster water-- and of course they would be right. So what's the cost of a fly anyway?
 
Clearly many of them move into faster water in order to feed.
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Well, noted about the easier to snag thing in fast water. However, they do hit better in faster water as well. I think it has little to do with moving there to feed, though. These are migratory fish. Once they enter the stream, the instincts related to migration are much stronger than their instincts to feed.

Fish in the holes are resting/holding. Fish in the fast water are active and looking to move. Active fish are more aggressive and it's well known they are easier to catch.

Active fish also tend to be fresher from the lake.
 
I learned euro/czech/tight line/high stick nymphing mostly from books and on stream practice. I always thought that when in doubt (of a strike) set the hook. This strategy is fine for pa trout streams, because the fish aren't clumped up into big schools and the fish themselves are much smaller which makes them a smaller target. How do you avoid snagging and looking like a snagger when trib fishing?
 
If the fish are stacked up, it doesn't matter what technique you use, you're going to foul hook fish. I've struck on actual takes, missed the take and snagged another fish in the process. It happens.

The key to me is polarized glasses, and a strip/rod lift strike. This isn't the bassmasters... you don't need to strike like them. Strip some line with your left hand, and lift the rod about a foot or so with your right (being right handed). This will give you the best results for hookups and also not look like a tard trying to rip their lips off.

Foul hooks happen. 95% of the time I tear them off. I'll try to land them in 20 seconds if at all possible to reduce the jewelry, if not then it's courteous to snap them off for the fish and also surrounding fishermen.
 
it seems that where ever i go except on the wild trout streams in the spring time that people are standing right on top of the fish. you can definitely hook many fish by standing back and drifting an egg pattern or minnow pattern into the nice water where fish might be. i would like to learn to be a better nymph fisherman and maybe the guys that are standing in the seam with the steelhead are highsticking?
 
The first couple year that I steelhead fished, I almost exclusively high stick nymphed them. I think its a great technique when performed correctly. My only argument against it would be that often guys lose their technique, while doing it, and rather than presenting the fly and leader, in a perpendicular angle towards the streambed, they over-reach the cast and swing the flies, causing lining. Lining often results in snagging the fish in the mouth, which is okay with some guys, but I don't think its all that sporting. No doubt that foul hooking fish is an inevitability, and the example Ryan gave of setting the hook on a fish that visabily takes your fly, only to have it pull and snag another fish is a prime example. I guess my point is, and I know JayL has mentioned this in the past, but using an indicator allows for a perpendicular presentation of your leader and flies. This, in turn, limits lining and gives direct contact with the fly, which has helped my hook up ratio.
 
3wt7X wrote:
The first couple year that I steelhead fished, I almost exclusively high stick nymphed them. I think its a great technique when performed correctly. My only argument against it would be that often guys lose their technique, while doing it, and rather than presenting the fly and leader, in a perpendicular angle towards the streambed, they over-reach the cast and swing the flies, causing lining. Lining often results in snagging the fish in the mouth, which is okay with some guys, but I don't think its all that sporting. No doubt that foul hooking fish is an inevitability, and the example Ryan gave of setting the hook on a fish that visabily takes your fly, only to have it pull and snag another fish is a prime example. I guess my point is, and I know JayL has mentioned this in the past, but using an indicator allows for a perpendicular presentation of your leader and flies. This, in turn, limits lining and gives direct contact with the fly, which has helped my hook up ratio.
Click to expand...

Fwiw, I have never witnessed Jay use a suspension indicator.
 
jdaddy wrote:
3wt7X wrote:
The first couple year that I steelhead fished, I almost exclusively high stick nymphed them. I think its a great technique when performed correctly. My only argument against it would be that often guys lose their technique, while doing it, and rather than presenting the fly and leader, in a perpendicular angle towards the streambed, they over-reach the cast and swing the flies, causing lining. Lining often results in snagging the fish in the mouth, which is okay with some guys, but I don't think its all that sporting. No doubt that foul hooking fish is an inevitability, and the example Ryan gave of setting the hook on a fish that visabily takes your fly, only to have it pull and snag another fish is a prime example. I guess my point is, and I know JayL has mentioned this in the past, but using an indicator allows for a perpendicular presentation of your leader and flies. This, in turn, limits lining and gives direct contact with the fly, which has helped my hook up ratio.
Click to expand...

Fwiw, I have never witnessed Jay use a suspension indicator.
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After living together for so long, Tilt finally got in Jay’s head………and he’s got himself a pin outfit. He’s now moving to Montana (where nobody knows him). I fear, if he gets caught fishing that thing out there, the local buckaroos may hang him from the nearest ponderosa pine up in the high country.
 
I have tried and tried to floss, line and snag steelhead, but I find it is easiest to catch them if they actually take the nymph, egg or streamer. Other steelhead anglers are much better than I am at flossing, lining and snagging.
 
:-D :lol:
 
afishinado wrote:

After living together for so long, Tilt finally got in Jay’s head………and he’s got himself a pin outfit. He’s now moving to Montana (where nobody knows him). I fear, if he gets caught fishing that thing out there, the local buckaroos may hang him from the nearest ponderosa pine up in the high country.
Click to expand...

Well ya, he's used Raven and Thill floats. But those are floats. See? LOL.

Actually those floats could teach a lot of fly fishermen a thing or two about indicators, namely they are most beneficial to show the progress of your drift. Seeing a float go under is secondary.

Can you imagine the success a pinner would have in MT? Jebus.
 
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