Dan's World

Outdoor Wisconsin host Dan Small welcomes you to his special on-line sanctuary. Join Dan as he braves the winter blast for some great steelhead fishing.

Stream steelheaders are a tough bunch. They have to be, for this sport takes an angler to the edge and sometimes pushes him over. Bad weather, cold water and a quarry that would rather fly than swim are givens, no matter when you play this game. But play it in the dead of winter, or at night, and you'll think you've gone mad.

Until you hook a silver rocket, that is.

That's when the adrenaline pumps and the mind screams “Yes!!” Then, frozen fingers and treacherous footing be damned. You strain to keep your rod arced, as 12 pounds of cold muscle rip upstream through a deep pool, then reverse direction and tear through a shallow riffle, hell-bent for Lake Michigan.

Welcome to extreme steelheading!

This angler has pursued Wisconsin's steelhead for years, but this past fall, I had an opportunity to fish for them in Indiana. The rules are basically the same in both states, with one major exception -- Indiana allows fishing at night, while Wisconsin does not. Of course, I had to try steelheading after dark. The feeling that I was getting away with something was tantalizing.

In both states, steelhead can be found in Lake Michigan tributaries for eight or nine months each year. This time of year, dark fish are likely to be holdover Skamanias, while bright, fresh-run steelhead are probably Chambers Creek strain (Wisconsin) or Michigan strain (Indiana). The brighter the fish, the more likely it will fight wildly, jump frequently and make tackle-busting runs. Dark fish that have been in the river longer tend to slug it out in one hole, but still put up a worthy fight.

Where to go

In Wisconsin, the larger rivers offer the best winter fishing. From south to north, try the Root, Milwaukee, Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Kewaunee and Oconto. The regulations booklet lists restricted areas and hotline information numbers.

All the Indiana steelhead streams are located in Porter County: the St. Joseph, Little Calumet and Deep rivers and Salt and Trail creeks. Some are closed April 1 through June 15. Check the Indiana Fishing Guide for closed areas.

Fishing regulations are also available online at www.state.in.us.dnr. Hotlines: 219-874-0009 (Lake Michigan and tributaries); 219-257-TIPS (St. Joseph River).

Steelheading gear and tackle
Steelhead will hit flies, yarn, spawn, spinners, spoons and small wobbling crankbaits.

Fly-rodders will want a nine- or 10-foot rod in seven to nine weight. I use both a Lamiglas Pioneer P909 and a St. Croix Legend L9089. A sturdy reel with a good disc drag is a musta fresh fish can strip your line with one blistering run. I've been happy with a Scientific Anglers Mastery Series 89. Use a floating or sink-tip line with plenty of dacron backing. If you fish only with spawn, opt for a multiplier reel, like a Martin 72, loaded with eight- or 10-pound-test monofilament.

Spin-fishermen should choose a seven-foot or longer rod with plenty of backbone and a soft tip, a reel with a good drag and eight- or 10-pound-test line.

Insulated waders with felt soles, a wading staff, long underwear, a fleece or wool jacket and a rain jacket or windbreaker are musts. Fingerless gloves allow knot-tying and other tasks without exposing hands to the cold.

Polarized sunglasses will help you spot fishing during the day. At night, wear a headlamp or lantern with a neck strap.

A how-to primer
If you've never caught a stream steelie, it's best to go with someone who has until you get the hang of it, as fishing for them can be frustrating, especially in winter or at night!

The easiest -- and also most maddening -- technique is sight fishing. This works best for fish that are spawning or holding in shallow or clear water. The easy part is finding a fish. The maddening part is getting one to bite.

Once you've spotted a fish, cast upstream so your bait, fly or lure is on or near bottom before it reaches the fish. Drift it past the fish and repeat until the fish takes or spooks, or until you tire of pestering it.

Flies, yarn and spawn are best worked upstream, while spinners, spoons and plugs are more easily fished downstream because you can swing them back and forth in front of a stationary fish.

Spawn and spawn imitations are deadly when steelhead are spawning or in fall when they line up behind spawning salmon to chow down on eggs that drift downstream from their redds. In winter, bright or dark flies and flashy hardware will draw strikes.

Most of the time, winter steelheading means fishing blind in holding water: deep runs, pools, undercut banks, logs or other structure that will hold resting fish, just above and below dams and rapids.

When fishing blind, spawn, yarn and flies should be fished deep, with just enough weight to keep them near bottom without snagging. A strike indicator or small float makes this easier in slow runs or pools of constant depth. Set a float to keep bait six inches off bottom and strike whenever the float stops, hesitates or jumps.

Try to stay downstream of a hooked fish. If a strong fish gets below you, it can use the current and easily break off. A partner fishing downstream can sometimes net a fish for you. Otherwise, you're in for a long, crazy battle that usually ends with a broken line and lost fish.

My Indiana outing came during an outdoor writers conference in Merrillville in October. Fellow writer Roger Taylor, who hails from Illinois, invited me to join him on a tributary to the Little Calumet. Indiana is accommodating to nonresidents: at 8:22 p.m., I bought a one-day license for $4.75 that was good until midnight.

In a small town near Valparaiso, Roger parked on a side street and we slid down a steep bank to a narrow, but clear, stream that gurgled through a couple of blowdowns and around a rocky bend. It looked promising. Roger gave me a black Woolly Bugger, then tied one on his spinning rig and pinched on a couple split shot. With my nine-weight fly rod, on this tiny stream I'd be dapping, not casting, a fly.

"Shine your light just above the water," Roger said. "When you see a fish, note the spot and turn off the light."

Wading upstream, we spooked a pair of Chinooks spawning and one steelhead below the pair. The water was low, but there were fish.

We fished several deeper runs to no avail and spooked a couple more fish in shallow water before we could get into position. Finally, with a half-hour left on my license, I found a steelhead in a shallow riffle and drifted my fly past it three or four times until it took.

Then, as they say, all hell broke loose.

The fish headed downstream, jumping twice, then turned, came back past me and jumped again. I could only guess where it was until it splashed me on a jump. Somehow, I managed to keep from falling on my face and wrestled the fish into my net before it made another downstream run. When I turned on the light, its cold eye glared defiantly.

The commotion brought Roger downstream. We snapped some photos and slid the steelie back into the water.

"That was great fun!" I said.

Roger just grinned. I had just enough time left on my license to get back to the car. Three hours of exciting fishing and one nice steelhead—not a bad deal for a buck-fifty an hour!

Extreme Steelheading, Wisconsin & Indiana Style

by Dan Small