Sharpen Your Approach
Small refinements can help you connect with more magnificent Great Lakes' rainbow trout.

Hard-core steelheaders are always looking for an edge. So, I asked five veteran river rats what new and effective strategies are being used on Ontario's flows. The consensus is there are few new tactics, but plenty of refinements. This isn't surprising, since over the past three decades, techniques and tackle for catching migratory rainbows have been honed so sharp that even novice anglers can quickly get in the game. So, here are some tips to refine your presentations this season.

Know Your Backyard
John Slade from Grimsby has more than 40 years experience steelheading on Georgian Bay, Lake Huron, and Lake Ontario tributaries. He advises getting to know a few rivers well, rather than spreading yourself too thinly on many of them. "Pick a couple of streams near your home that have good runs of steelhead," he said. "Visit them under low water conditions, so you can identify a number of good holding areas for rainbows." Try to imagine what your drifts would be like or, better yet, practise a bit in each location. When the water is higher and off colour, you won't be fishing blind.

Visit these streams again after a rain and try to gauge how soon optimum conditions (water levels dropping and clearing a bit) occur after different amounts of rain or snow melt.  This will help narrow the time frame of your potential fishing trips.

Finally, watch how other successful anglers work a pool or run. "Don't be afraid to ask questions and copy successful techniques," said Slade.

Line it Right
Steelhead guides use types and weights of lines best suited to their home waters. Paul Castilano, who operates Cast Adventures guiding service (www.castadventures.ca) out of Niagara Falls, recommends using the heaviest line you can get away with. "I use 8- to 10-pound mono for my main line and then a  4- to 8-pound fluorocarbon leader," he said. "Good line strength makes playing a fish without unduly stressing it easier and results in fewer breakoffs."

Dave Wood, a long-time steelheader who has fished extensively Lake Ontario and Lake Huron tributaries, agrees. "With the now common use of fluorocarbon leaders, many anglers, including myself, have switched back to 8- to 10-pound main line," he said. "I find it makes watching and mending my line easier."

Fitting Floats
Match the style and size of float to the flow of the tributary. Generally, go smaller and slimmer in slow flows and larger and bulkier in faster, deeper rivers.

Castilano, for example, uses a small, clear acorn float on small streams, but on the Niagara, he uses a large Drennan pike float. "If I'm using a big float, I weight it down with pencil lead," he said. All floats should be weighted just enough to create neutral buoyancy.

Wood has a valuable tip for detecting more hits. "Put half your shot just under the float, as opposed to spreading it out evenly," he said.  "Even a light take will make the float tip over. This is a type of hit you might miss with another shotting pattern."

Minnows Matter
Roe bags have always been the most popular bait for river rainbows. In recent years, though, many savvy anglers have relied on minnow imitators. Both Castilano and Wood favour 1⁄64- to 1⁄16-ounce steelhead jigs tied with bucktail or marabou. Baitfish are the main forage of steelhead, so using imitations of them should be part of your tactics, too.

"I use minnow imitators fall, winter, and spring, from the time when the salmon spawn is over through to the spring steelhead spawn," said Castilano. "My favourite colours are natural smelt, black shad, and, in off-colour water, chartreuse."

Wood favours pink, white, and black imitations on the relatively smaller flows he fishes, such as the Ganaraska River.

Also effective are 2- to 3-inch soft-plastic minnows, (favourites being smelt and black shad hues) and tube jigs.

Even in relatively still flows, if a wind creates a ripple on the water, the float will bounce up and down, adding a lifelike movement to the artificial bait. Under calm conditions, Wood uses a slip-float to facilitate manually twitching the bait.

New Horizons
Looking farther afield for different experiences and challenges pays off. The huge Niagara River, for example, is intimidating. Castilano says, however, that a day on the river when the fish are in and biting will make you a lifelong Niagara fanatic.

Starting in late October and extending through May, boat anglers catch steelhead throughout the lower river.  Shore-fishing opportunities also exist at the Whirlpool, the Gorge, the Glen, Pebbly Beach, and Queenston, although it's a long hike down to get at the first four locations.

Similarly, every steelheader in Ontario owes it to themselves to sample the rainbow action in the cold flow from Lake Superior coursing down the Soo Rapids in Sault Ste. Marie into the St. Marys River. It's challenging fishing, but big steelhead from Georgian Bay/Lake Huron, not to mention some resident fish, are the rewards.
   
If you want a crack at more pristine waters, keep driving north to Lake Superior. Tom Wally, president of the North Shore Steelhead Association, points out this region has amazing scenery, sparkling waters, a lack of development, and low angling pressure. "These high-gradient rivers offer opportunities for float fishing in slower runs, but many anglers drift with slinkies or drop-sinkers in faster current," he said. "Almost any river that the Trans-Canada Highway crosses holds a run of fish."
   
Lake Superior steelhead rivers, however, are less productive and fertile than those in southern Ontario. They have been overfished, but a one-rainbow possession limit and a catch-and-release philosophy has improved the fishing in recent years. The window of opportunity to catch steelhead is also shorter than on the southern streams, sometimes only a couple of weeks in spring.

Accessing the best holes also takes a bit of leg work. "There are few trails and lots of hiking from the highway, but this is true steelheading," said Wally.

Join a Club
Another suggestion for steelheaders wanting to upgrade their knowledge is to join a local angler's association. Besides giving something back to the conservation of steelhead, you will learn a lot more about them.Community-based clubs offer an excellent opportunity to participate in a wide range of activities and gain valuable mentorship.

The Metro East Anglers is a prime example. Bruce Burt, vice-president of the group, says they ran a small trout hatchery for years, to raise fish for stocking into the Rouge River, but now help operate the larger Ringwood hatchery, previously run by the Ministry of Natural Resources. Ringwood produces most of the Chinook salmon stocked into Lake Ontario, but also other trout and salmon. Metro East has also been involved in elementary-school fisheries education and stream-enhancement projects.

"Members also assist in the operation of the rainbow fish ladder on the Rouge River and raise 20,000 yearling rainbow trout in Ringwood for release into the Rouge," Burt said. "Joining a local sportsmen's association will benefit anglers of any age or level of experience."