Chilly winter weather brings a lot of excitement for fishermen around the Pacific Northwest. Winter Steelhead fishing is one of the favorite targets for anglers from December through April. Here are a few of my favorite Winter Steelhead lures for tackling your next trophy. A variety of Winter Steelhead fishing techniques utilize these lures, so you have plenty of options!
P-Line Pro Steel Spoons
P-Line Pro Steel Spoons are some of the best out there. Swinging spoons in the medium to heavy flows of winter rivers can produce violent strikes from the trophies we all dream about. You need to pick up a couple Pro Steel Spoons for your Steelhead arsenal!
Yakima Baits Maglip Plugs
Mag Lip Plugs have become the most popular diving plug for Steelhead across the Pacific Northwest. They run true and dive deep in moderate river currents, have a very enticing skip-beat action that Steelhead love, and come in a ton of epic color patterns. Size 3.0 and 3.5 are the most popular, but also check out the smaller 2.5 Trout Mag Lips for a clear water option.
Plug Fishing Tip: Use two plug snaps (snap the one from the end of your line onto the one that came on the plug), this will allow your plug to swim and dive consistently.
Spin N Glo
This is a classic Steelhead lure. It’s been around forever. Old timers still plunk Spin N Glo’s all around the West. I use these with regularity when I’m backtrolling bait divers and drift fishing as well.
BnR Holey Worm
BnR Holey Worms are another of my favorite Steelhead lures. Made in both 3.5″ and 5″ and plenty of colors. Thread a corky or cheater on your leader before your worm and get the perfect buoyancy for drift fishing.
Soft Beads for Steelhead
BNR Soft Beads and Aero-Baits are both really fishy. These soft plastic Steelhead beads are neutrally buoyant so they tumble naturally along the river bottom and are best fished under a float. Add a little split shot on your leader to ket them down into the strike zone. Best soft bead sizes on the West Coast are 10mm to 20mm, depending on fish aggressiveness and water clarity. A chewy-soft bead option with every size and color you could want!
Aerojig Rabbit Jigs
My very first bobber and jig caught Steelhead was on a black rabbit fur jig many years ago. That fiery Snoqualmie River Summer Steelhead ripped the bobber underwater and gave me a thrill with five minutes of acrobatics at the end of my line! If you are looking to add a few jigs to your float fishing arsenal, grab a couple Aerojig Rabbit Fur Jigs. For more info on the technique, visit: Master the Art of Float Fishing for Winter Steelhead.
Aerojig Marabou Series
Aerojig Marabou Jigs are my go-to when I want a larger profile that undulates the most in slow to moderate river currents.
Aerojig Hackle Series
Aerojig Hackle Jigs have been a staple in my Steelhead fishing jig box. I really like the low-profile when the water is super clear or I’m fishing in an area where I know the Steelhead have seen alot of fishing pressure.
Corky & Yarn
One of the most classic Steelhead rigs is a corky and yarn drift-fishing setup. Such simple and inexpensive gear sure has brought a bunch of Steelhead to the bank over the years. Corkies are buoyant, so they help lift your hook and yarn just a few inches off the river bottom, right in line with the Steelhead’s gaze. Yakima Bait Corkies come in plenty of sizes and colors.
Blue Fox Vibrax Spinner
Blue Fox Vibrax Spinner is a time tested lure that works well from the bank. I lean towards Blue Fox Vibrax sizes 3-5. Favorite colors are blue, copper, gold, silver, green, purple. One of the most aggressive bites you can get from Steelhead will come from a spinner. I like to swing these like a spoon, and if the current is a little softer, I will slowly retrieve it.
Steelhead Slammer Spinner
Steelhead Slammer Spinners are a great lure for swinging through a Steelhead run. These are made in Oregon by some pretty serious fishermen! Their slender body design helps get them to sink fast and fish well through moderate currents. Make sure to have a variety of body colors and blade colors, like nickel, copper, brass and black.
BS Fishtales Brads Wigglers
The original Storm Wiggle Wart was a decades-long favorite for steelhead fishermen, then BS Fishtales came out an even better lure called the Brad’s Wiggler in all the best colors! These are definitely on the list of best Winter Steelhead lures for boat fishing. I always have a box full of these in my drift boat. The standard Wiggler size is my favorite.
Plug Fishing Tip: Replace the factory hooks with sticky-sharp Gamakatsu trebles, which have greatly increased my bite-to-landing ratio. Go with double split rings and a single barbless siwash hook off the tail if you are fishing at a time when Wild Steelhead are around.
Beau Mac Cheater & Yarn
Another popular drift bobber that is responsible for leading countless Steelhead to the bank. Always carry a selection of colors and sizes of Beau Mac Cheaters and Glo Bug Yarn. You can tie these on a single or double-hook leader and use for drift fishing, side drifting or bobber dogging.
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