Fly Fishing Techniques: Nymphing for Steelhead

January 6, 2007 By: Marshall Cutchin

Andy Simon and Mike Davidchik offer up some of their experience in dead-drifting nymphs for steelhead on WashingtonFlyFishing.com. Among the tidbits: “Anadromous fish do not use the same lies as fluvial (stream and river resident) fish. Fluvial fish will select lies than allow them to feed easily, and are willing to fight a little more current and expose themselves a little more than anadromous fish to accomplish that. Anadromous fish, on the other hand, will commonly lie where the current is soft….” It is interesting to note that the authors repeat the importance of getting flies to the bottom — somewhat at odds with Dec Hogan’s advice in his recent book A Passion for Steelhead. Of course it is entirely possible that they all agree, and the difference is only in what their definition of “bottom” is.