Fall/Winter Steelhead River Locations

[its an addiction]

Alright guys, Mr. Mull's recent article got me thinking about what to look for when locating Steelhead. So, let's talk deciding factors or indicators you look for to dictate where you will anchor up on a river for Steelhead. I am familiar with all the set ups and such for Steelhead, just not so sure where I am supposed to look for them.

I've fished the Joe below Berrien a few times last fall and had some limited success.

In the past, it seems I've anchored in some of the deeper runs close to wood and pretty close to shore.

What does a prime piece of realty look like? What do you look for in a spot before you drop the anchor?

Thanks guys!

[1mainiac]

First thing I check is water clarity I fish clean water completely different than dirty water. I mean completely different like runs i fish in clean water get avoided in dirty water. Second what do you plan on doing plugging holes is different than running float setups and different than bottom bouncing. Learn where the run tails out and leads in and depending on how you plan on fishing adjust to that. Running floats i tend to setup just above the lead in and float to the tail out. Bottom bouncing I setup to the side just below the lead in and cast above it to let the bait work thru the run. Pulling plugs you need to know how deep your lures will run and how much line out it takes to get there. We run a lot of Hot n Tots and vary between 40 and 75ft of line out so when running them I setup above the run, run my lures out to the lead in and let them dig in the we work the anchor motor and oars to work thru the run to the tail out. Usually the most explosive hits come at the tail out because you back the fish up till it gets mad and hits.