Winter Steelheading
A dissapointing winter for ice anglers provides great steelhead fishing.
by Craig RitchieThis winter, the steelhead season that normally shuts down by early January never shut down at all. Despite snow-covered riverbanks at times, and some cold snaps that left ice shelves along the stream edges, the rivers have, for the most part, remained wide-open, providing the novel opportunity to keep fishing from waders right through March so far. For those of us who have been out, it's been a real treat with plenty of action and entire rivers largely to ourselves.
![Instead of waiting for colder weather and better ice, some anglers have jumped back on the steelhead bandwagon and enjoyed some of the best mid-winter action in years.](/images/article_photos/cRitchie/2023/winterSteelhead/januarySteelhead.jpg)
This winter, the steelhead season that normally shuts down by early January never shut down at all. Despite snow-covered riverbanks at times, and some cold snaps that left ice shelves along the stream edges, the rivers have, for the most part, remained wide-open, providing the novel opportunity to keep fishing from waders right through March so far. For those of us who have been out, it's been a real treat with plenty of action and entire rivers largely to ourselves.
At a boat show I couldn't help overhearing a couple of other anglers moaning about the lack of ice, one saying he hasn't fished since November. To me, this is a lost opportunity. Though it's true I won't put much wear and tear on my auger this winter, I'm not about to let this unique opportunity slip by, and neither should you.
![Even popular rivers have been all but deserted as most anglers stare at their ice fishing tackle and wait.](/images/article_photos/cRitchie/2023/winterSteelhead/snowyBank.jpg)
Given the colder season, I've also enjoyed not having to crawl out of bed long before dawn in order to enjoy the best action. In fact it's been quite the reverse, with the best fishing coming in the afternoons, after daytime temperatures have reached their peak - especially on those few days when the sun has made an appearance and given the fish a little more zip.
The fishing has been dead easy too, since apart from me and a couple of equally crazy friends, most of these streams haven't been touched in weeks. Simply drifting egg sacks on bottom through all the big obvious holes and runs has worked splendidly, with no need to use finesse tactics or fussy approaches.
It's also been mild enough that tapping bottom with smaller inline spinners like Worden Rooster Tails, Blue Fox Vibraxes and the venerable Mepps Aglia has been at its best. The water is still cold so stick with more compact sizes and more subdued colors for the best results.
![Spinners like the Mepps Aglia, Blue Fox Vibrax and Worden's Rooster Tail produce well when fished slowly on bottom.](/images/article_photos/cRitchie/2023/winterSteelhead/vibrax_roosterTail.jpg)
![In deeper, slower pools small baits like the Luhr Jensen Hot Shot can be extremely productive when fished deep and slow.](/images/article_photos/cRitchie/2023/winterSteelhead/hotShot.jpg)