Salmon and Steelhead

Screenshot from "Tube Fly Series Episode 1: Riffle Hitch Tube" The riffling hitch is a pair of half hitches tied behind the head of a wet fly that makes it skate and wake across the surface. It's fished for Atlantic salmon in water warmer than 50°F, on a floating line and a nylon (not fluorocarbon) leader, with the cast quartered downstream and an upstream...

Find the right switch rod for summer steelhead fishing The best switch rod for summer steelhead in 2026 is an 11' or 11'6" 7-weight, paired with a 450-grain Skagit short head and a compact Scandi for surface presentations. Three current rods anchor the realistic choice at every price tier: the Echo SR Switch at around $329, the Redington Claymore 7116 at...

Morrish Mouse fly pattern for Alaska rainbow fishing A mouse pattern stays on top in Alaska when three details are right: a continuous strip of 2mm closed-cell foam runs from tail to head as the underbody, the deer hair is packed tight with GSP thread and a hair packer, and the rabbit zonker tail has the fur trimmed off the strip except for a small tuft at...

Green Highlander, Bomber and Black Bear salmon flies Three flies — a Bomber, a Green Highlander, and a Black Bear Green Butt — cover the early-June bright-fish window on the Quebec and Maritime Atlantic salmon rivers more reliably than any other selection. Bombers in #2–8 handle surface and waking presentations; the Green Highlander in #6–1...

Green Highlander, Bomber and Black Bear salmon flies Three flies cover most of what an Atlantic salmon angler actually needs in the first three weeks of June on the Gaspé and Maritime rivers — a Bomber, a Green Highlander, and a Black Bear Green Butt. The selection isn't sentimental: each one solves a specific problem a fresh-run salmon presents in that...

The "book two years out or don't bother" advice for Skeena River steelhead trips is half right and half misleading. June is when Bulkley, Kispiox, and Babine lodges actually open up — not because demand has cooled but because their deposit calendars (Bulkley River Lodge's hard June 15 balance, Steelhead Valhalla's 120-day full-payment trigger) push a...

From "Steelhead Showdown: Swinging vs Nymphing Explained" by The Portland Fly Shop Tight-line and indicator nymphing produce more steelhead hookups than swinging a fly in cold, fast water — that's a settled claim among working guides and magazine editors, and the reason is physics, not preference. When water drops below 40°F, a steelhead's response...

From "M37 Trout Routes Tour Ep. 2 Pere Marquette River w/ Alex Lafkas and Russ Maddin" by Christian Gradowski Fishing April is the Pere Marquette's final strong steelhead window before summer, with fresh fish, active spawners, and dropbacks all present in the same reaches through late April. The river runs unregulated from Baldwin to Ludington — no dams...

From "Double Hand Salmon setup for Iceland" by Fly Fishing by Robert Iceland has a reputation for being intimidating, expensive, and built for experts. The country's best-known rivers — particularly the East and West Rangá in the south — are actually some of the easiest places in the world to fish for Atlantic salmon for the first time. The wading is...

Get your gear ready for steelhead season! The steelhead off-season checklist that actually matters is short and calendar-driven: ship waders in May (Patagonia averages up to 12 weeks), service your reel now rather than in July (Hatch runs 7–9 weeks from arrival), inspect every tip loop and stinger tether, reverse your mono running line, and tie compact...