Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Bobber and Jiggin' it




Well since the rivers were out shape last weekend I kept on preping and I'd figure I do a how to post. Most of my steelies have came from bobber and jig so far and I've gotten pretty good at it. I'll start with the tackle:

Tackle:

I dont have a lot of money (yet) so I own many North River rods and love them they are $89.99 and often go on sale at Fishman's. My favorite for jigs is #NR-S-962L; it is 9' 6" and 4-10lb rated.








My dad has an Okuma SST 10' 6" rod which I also like, especially for mending. The one flaw for my North River is that I havn't found a stronger model, like a 6-12lb or 8-15lb which is why I like my dads SST. If I hook a trophy on that it's gonna be a fun ride.
 
The reel is everying so don't be a cheapscape when it comes to that. I like the shimano's (stradic, saraha, symetre, etc). I own all three of those with no complaints. I got some sarahs on sale for 60ish bucks and love them.
 
 
 
My uncle decided it would be fine to by a 20 dollar Okuma Avenger reel and has missed a couple of fish because the bail didn't close. So to sum it up buy at least an 70 dollar reg price reel.
 
For line I like 12-20lb berkeley fire line, I have had no problems with it. I've heard great things about power pro also (30lb hi-vis).
 

The Rigging:

I like to start out by using 10lb maxima ultra green leader. I cut 2 arm spands of line (about 12 feet). After that I attach one end to the main line using a blood knot (http://www.animatedknots.com/bloodknot/index.php fyi start by wraping the leader fist, it's a lot eaiser)
 
For a float I like to use a thill 1/8oz turbo master; this bobber is extermeley easy to indicate how your jig is fishing. I have tried the Steelhead Stalkers simular float but found it often tangles and does not float right. For this float all you need to do is take off the rubber pieces thread them on your leader and rig your float.
 
Next tie on you jig of choice.
 
 

 
 

Jigs:

My all time favorite jig is the nightmare variation by aerojig or any nightmare jig. I have caught many fish on these and I will keep on catching fish on them.
 
First Bite also makes a quality jig, although I have not fished them I have tied some of my own with first bite components with good success and from the product reviews I'm going to have pick some up. First Bite also has came up with a nightmare pattern that looks great (the jig in the above photo are made from First Bite components). http://www.firstbitejigs.com/
 
However if I were to only have one thing under this setup it'd have to be a 6" pink worm from mad river and a 1/8oz white jig head. This rig flat out produces fish in all water conditions. A lot of people cut or buy smaller worms..... Not me, I like the long ones and I belive they are cheaper to buy than a good selection of feathered jigs.
 
 

 
The xfactor teaser also has shown some good results and that egg jig is a custom that I have not fished yet but people on ifish have taken an intrest in.
 
View IMG_0878.jpg in slide show
 
I like to store my jigs on the Fish-Eng leader board, it's great for virtually everything except big plugs.
 

Fishing:

There are a few things that make this rigging effective, first is depth:
 
You don't want to be too deep or too shallow. Steelhead see up so your presentation should be 2 feet or so off the bottom. Learning to read water is very important in these situation. Don't be afraid to go deeper or shallower, this thill bobber only takes a couple of seconds to move and slides with ease.
 
Second, watch your bobber. You want it to be upright not pointing up or down stream. If it is pointing down shorted your leader if its point up let more line out. Oh and if its leaning to the side mend your line, thats what the long rods are for.
 
Lastly, fish long hard. Let line out the bail until you cannot see your float. Only do this if you have the stretch to yourself or if your on a stretch with some buddies. 
 
 
Hope this helps, thanks for reading
 
Eric Thomas
 
 
 





Tuesday, November 27, 2012

About Eric

Hi all, my name is Eric Thomas and I love to fish. The main things I like to fish for are salmon, steelhead and trout. I have been fishing for my whole life and have loved it since day one. I am 16 and I'm working towards becoming a full time guide one day. The past two years I have started to really grow as a fisherman and have acquired many guide skills. With this blog I would like to help me readers gain the proper knowledge to learn how to fish or get some reports on where to fish. My home rivers are the Clackamas and Sandy rivers and I have fished the Nehalem Bay heavily this year (both the jaws and up by Wheeler) with great success. I feel that in becoming a guide I need to get my name out there and this blog is one way I plan to do so. In my reports I plan to give you some basic information and not all my secrets ;) and also I will post some tackle tips like how to tie up various jigs or rig your rod for specific fishing situations. In this coming 2013 season I plan on learning the Willamette at O.C. for springers, Tillamook Bay and its Tribs for Fall Nooks, Coho and Steelhead. This summer I plan to go to Alaska and get my feet wet in the guiding business; maybe also make some money along the way. I hope you all can maybe learn something from my blog and maybe I'll see you out on the water sometime or possibly be your guide in the future. Enjoy!


P.S. That is my uncle and best fishing bud (next to my dad) creepin' in the back. lol.