Fly Fishing For Great Lakes Steelhead | How To

[@theARcritter]

I had the pleasure of meeting Jeff on the river once, such a good guy. We stood and talked for a while, he showed me his fly box and what had been working for him that day. Always cool to see how small yet open and friendly the fly fishing community is.

[@emilianoromerocepeda5071]

Rod/reel combo with fishing kit as an emergency setup kzbin.infoUgkxntWMOZsO1Zfv-pdn_XuffEtNkTYAYu4Z recommend but started to use this every day. The rod is thick and seems durable. I keep it neatly tucked into a regular backpack all the time with my fishing gear, and can grab it anytime, put it on my back and go anywhere. I just read in another review that the rod length below the reel is adjustable as well, so I will try that too for even more portability. Probably the best setup I've ever owned. I lost the cap for the eyelets, but no big deal since I still have the black cloth sheath that came for the pole and I use that. Very portable and high quality.

[@susanneferril3178]

Hi Tom, I really enjoy your videos and have learned a great deal from them all. I just wanted to thank you for they are super helpful, fun and well done. Thanks, Susi from Denver. I have been fishing since I was two years old. My Dad taught me and got me my first outfit. He was a self taught fly fisherman who took a fly line, some leader material and several flys with him as he went to WWII in the Tenth Mountain Division. He would use a buggy whip antenna as a rod. He kept his company fed with trout whenever they were near fishable streams. He started in Alaska and wound up in Italy. His company was thrilled to have the K Rations augmented with fresh trout. Thanks for your videos. Susi

[@jaroddunn6823]

This video is so informative. Answered every single question that I had! 10/10

[@YhormTheSmall]

Ive been coming back to this video on and off since it was posted so much good information thatd helped me hook up with multiple fish here in the greatlakes tributaries.

[@nicolelewis1828]

Love the sound of that reel!

[@michaelbarger2078]

Tom fantastic job! I have only tried this type of fishing once in my life so I understand the value of this video as an educational intro. Key learning points are rigging your line and reading the water of these great fisheries. Here is a lesson I learned when I went. Do not be tempted to use a fancy pattern that you brought up from the bottom on a snag! I did, and my hook broke on my only hook-up! A tough lesson to learn and a good one! Wow does it get cold up there!

[@rosenbauert]

yeah it sure does get cold. But dress appropriately and it's not as bad as it seems.

[@bobbylolimg1928]

Now that's a great sounding reel!!

[@bruceearle8716]

Great steelhead video Tom, can’t wait to try it next year in Michigan.

[@jakeyjakey4018]

i like that the host asks the guide exactly why hes fishing where he is and even has him elaborate. the guide was a bit defensive about it and didn’t seem completely honest, sometimes its good to say i dont know

[@aloncey6720]

expert hook removal 1... (hook's out) 2 3

[@Shafferhead]

Take a trip to Norway when covid is gone! Would love to meet the orvis team and Tom! That would make my year!

[@christophermesquita1147]

Here in Ontario I have had my best luck swinging in the spring when drop backs are feeding on bait fish

[@TonchyShultz]

Very good video , woow ...amazing nature thx for sharing video Greetings from Canada ! ✌🍷🍸🐺🦌🐻🍁🤟

[@LetortAngler]

“I’m gonna pull on 3, ok? Ok, Here we go 1………… YANK!” 😂 Too funny Tom.

[@davidbrown7932]

Tom your vids are by far the very best my son and I don’t have much time to fish but we try and love it , we have Orvis fly rod size 7 with a medium size fly reel what is the best fly line for Michigan rivers and the best leader

[@davidbrown7932]

Thanks so much Tom amazing videos God Bless David from Detroit

[@bassjohn4663]

This video is so helpful, I’m goin up this October and so excited to try this!

[@orvisguidetoflyfishing]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@Pwrcritter]

Nice! Wasnt expecting a steelhead video on July 4..

[@orvisguidetoflyfishing]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@SiuslawOR]

👍👍 What line (brand and model) would you recommend to indicator fish for steelhead on small to medium sized rivers with a 10’ 7wt med-fast rod? Thinking: Rio Elite Indicator Elite Extreme Indicator S.A Amplitude Smooth Anadro Indicator ? Thanks in advance 😉

[@AMJcookie2015]

Love this video. I mostly fish the lake Michigan tribs of Wisconsin. Would the white zonker work here also? Can I use a intermediate sink tip (6') and tie the tippet or fluoro leader to the fly line?

[@awflyfishing]

Awesome video👌

[@gabifishing642]

Beautiful video well done..I subscribed to your channel

[@krisvanwyk275]

really like your videos Thanks

[@ryankoehle9268]

What brand of egg shaped strike indicator is Jeff rigging? Have not seen anything like it without the slit.

[@orvisguidetoflyfishing]

We're not sure but understand it is no longer available

[@uramag7]

29:57 strong fly box right there.

[@77mrgatsby]

Great video! What size and kind of hook does Jeff Blood use for steelhead? Particularly for the blood dot egg setup?

[@orvisguidetoflyfishing]

sizes 8 to 14, depending on water clarity. average is size 12

[@jamesd.swanson2935]

Great Video :)

[@sgtSNIPESHOWsgt]

The boys just having a couple of pints with indicator rigs eh...god bless.

[@sudiste12]

Great content ! Thanks for sharing ;)

[@stevecrawford333]

How do you feel the bottom indicator fishing when you should have to drag or tension impacting the natural drift. My problem is my flys have too much weight and instantly get hung up, or I worry they arent on the bottom at all and being floated downstream by my indicator if that makes sense.

[@merdus69]

Will Orvis make a centrepin? Our Ontario fish inhabit rivers that permit more and more successful wild reproduction than in most States-side Lae Erie and Lake Ontario rivers. You might have noticed this in the ones Tom landed with John Valk (who is a legend here). No bent dorsal fins on those beauties! Very nice video, even for this centrepin angler. Thanks!

[@rickiex]

wow, i didnt know i had the same setup as tom for a rod and reel lol

[@juanscott6670]

This video is so helpful, I’m goin up this October and so excited to try this!

[@tleek]

How much of this applies to fishing pacific northwest stealhead? I’m assuming there is a lot of overlap but is there anything that should be done differently out west than on the Great Lakes?

[@TwigNTimberFishingOutdoors]

Ahhh right up my "alley" haha

[@alltroutdout7746]

What line does Tom use for tight line rigs? is he using wf floating?

[@rosenbauert]

floating but the line hardly ever touches the water.

[@tysonseafoot7834]

You’re already at the Great Lakes and it’s easy might as well swing the flies.

[@aklags]

Nice color on that jacket, new release from orvis on that one? What's it called?

[@nathanmcchristie3997]

Looks like yellow

[@georgefitzhugh6455]

Tom, what reel are you using on your two handed rod?

[@steveg8322]

I suppose rainbows,browns,brook trout,smallmouths,largemouths etc,etc,can’t be called those names when they exist outside their original range.

[@jessebourneau6426]

No salt, no steel.

[@ffoxyff]

John resembles Sean Connery... :) Epic video. Like all your videos.

[@aaronbenns9051]

they all come from those west coast strains so really they are steelhead

[@No_NetMan]

Do you ever river walk for the dsr? I swear I saw you out there, or maybe it was a lookalike haha

[@alext.7517]

For the indicator rig the graphic is wrong. It shows 9ft 0x when he said 9ft 3x

[@gregmyhre3758]

A couple shot then 2 flies on a 4 foot leader..... you must floss quite a few steelhead with that setup.

[@MichaelPhillips-jw4bj]

what type of flossing is being done with a 4 foot leader thats tightlined? what size leader do you reccomend people fly fish with? .. Steelhead holding water is walking speed water 3 feet deep+ .. the leader at 4 feet would have to be nearly vertical to reach the fish. (Thats the entire point of euro/tightline nymphing). there's no limp/slack mono to floss with lol...... The act of flossing is letting extremely long limp leaders run over fish so there's a good chance it gets in their mouths like floss.. Then you set the hook and catch the fish. anything over double the depth BELOW THE INDICATOR ,float or bobber ( overall leader length is irrevelant, its what below your float/indicator in the pool of fish freelining ) is suspect. The recommended depth on float indicator setup is float is 1.5 X depth to accout for the float forwards movement in the upper current (the upper current is faster and carrys the indicator away creating distence . Making the distence to the bottom even further.).. You can see what i mean in this articles picture www.ashevilleflyfishingco.com/blog/2020/4/15/how-to-set-up-a-pogo-style-fly-fishing-leader ... Only in the great lakes fishing culture do you see people like you. running around calling techniques flossing when they don't even know how either one works. .. ..

[@alexrugg4797]

@@MichaelPhillips-jw4bj I think he was referring to Jeff Blood's indicator rig, quick in my eyes is a flossing rig. To shame on him

[@timsmith4411]

I am watching this video excited because i fish for them every year. I just cant get over the fact that they didn't use a net. They are man handling these fish. Orvis couldn't get them a net?

[@rosenbauert]

yeah the budget was tight so they couldn't buy us a net.

[@TheBtmfdr]

I haven't brought a net with me to steelhead fish in about 5 years...

[@imaxfli]

Its critical because the line needs to drift through the fishes mouth and then you tighten the line and snag the fish. '2 flies in the fishes mouth"...yea, the dropper tangled around the fish!!!

[@collingiblin1580]

Tom you said you grew up near Lake Ontario. Are you from WNY like Rochester/Buffalo?

[@rosenbauert]

Rochester

[@maksokovac4438]

Let's goooooo

[@theARcritter]

There is nothing more true about Ohio steelhead fishing than seeing geese floating around in the background. There’s always geese. Everywhere.

[@MoistyReacts]

qua da qua suong,,new friend

[@jacobstarr9010]

So if great lakes steelhead don't have to make a transition because they stay in freshwater then why do salmon in the great lakes change?

[@Wyfbtr]

They do all fish in the lake are chrome and once they enter the rivers they change into theie spawning colors. Some fish will color up before entering the rivers.

[@Wyfbtr]

Once they return to the lake they will go from a colored up fish to a chrome fish once again and then repeat the process

[@riverwright261]

Couldnt see the indicator loop set up super bummer

[@tuckerorman3623]

Why didn't you guys land those fish with nets?

[@caleb5392]

I call them steel bows

[@guillermopetermann]

Tom is always with hid jacket Open, I just noticed, getS my OCD`S jumping

[@graydengurnett7689]

all steelhead season I use egg imitations and catch fish

[@BillSaltbush]

Ha ha ha! "i'm going to pull on three, ok? One . . ." Pulls the fly out and then, " . . .two, three". I 'get' the strategy (I've seen it before), but I'm thinking that this makes you a comedian - either that or a funny bar steward. 😂 Well done and a good tool to have in the kit. The vid almost has me convinced to make a trip into the US North-east - haven't previously been mixed up with steelhead/big rainbows. Needing guidance . . . In your parts, I've only ever 'dug up' some of your better golf courses. 😉 Merion, Pine Valley, etc., etc. Ssh! 🤫 I'm fairly proficient with a fly in Australia and New Zealand, but . . . Reciprocity maybe?

[@BillSaltbush]

. . . further . . . who's the guy at Pine Valley with the red Jeep emblazoned with trout and flyfishing stickers? I'd like to meet him.

[@RamBowMike]

Orvis rods are just to soft for my liking..... The opposite of St.Croix, Sage, etc...

[@719angler]

I heard the Great Lakes don’t have steelhead🤣🤣

[@Franky46Boy]

Big migratory (lake run) rainbow trout wirh steelhead ancestory....

[@petermoore143]

You beat me to it! I know those west coasters are all upset but to normal people aka everybody not from west coast these are stealhead. All nerds from Washington, Oregon and Cali calm down I think Tom knows what's up

[@BumSlayerS]

​@petermoore143 hey I'm from Oregon and I don't care if they think they are steelhead or not I want to catch them

[@fishingbeyond8435]

Mark did not look happy haha.

[@rosenbauert]

you should have seen the out-take. The first time around I was not holding the tippet tightly enough and the line slipped out of my fingers and the fly did not come loose. We wanted to include it but the video was not good enough.

[@flyfisherluki]

Why in this world are you guys over in America allowed to fish for spawing fish? In Europe, migrating lake trout are protected when they migrate into the streams. Makes sense in my eyes. What is your opinion on this?

[@lianxiangdu]

We got too many fish here 😀

[@838beb]

Great Lakes rainbows are in the tribs from late September until early May. And we can buy more if they get low.

[@imaxfli]

A "good drift" to these guys is getting the line in the mouth so they can tighten and snag the fish!!

[@repeatitwithme4481]

You at least look the part

[@19empire85]

Teach people how to fish, not where to fish. Theres a ton of stuff to talk about without nameing spots. Not that this video was very bad but it could have been better and I think it's important to note since the tribs are getting overrun and fisheries are being effected by it. I mean I love to watch these videos, but a person should do their own exploring and find their own spots, that's half the reward when it comes together and your succesful.

[@mattsperrazza683]

Don’t grab them by the gills man come on

[@philipmorphew6301]

Steelhead do not exist East of the Rockies.

[@ricksmith3571]

Absolutely horrible fish handling and pathetic spey casting.

[@rosenbauert]

Sorry, I am still learning.

[@RFSpartan]

There's always that one prick with too much time on his hands 😂

[@jessebourneau6426]

Not steelhead. No salt, no steel. Quit calling them steelhead. They’re rainbows. And why are you greasing them with barbed eggs? Force feeding. Anything to catch a fish I guess.

[@dominickjerovsek350]

Not sure what kinda rainbows ur catching but those look like steelhead to me bud

[@nathanmcchristie3997]

You sound unpleasant.

[@joshuaross7802]

Ok Karen

[@SeamusMcFitz-jz9if]

If a human being moves from the west coast to the east coast he is still human. Same with stocked fish. A steelhead is a steelhead. Diet might be different but so are human diets.

[@juanscott6670]

I heard the Great Lakes don’t have steelhead🤣🤣

[@nathanmcchristie3997]

I heard it’s a stupid thing to argue about