Because that’s the only way any of us will be getting any Steelhead for the foreseeable future. My philosophy of “use every method possible to catch fish” gets literal when I break out an auger and start drilling holes in the ice, popping the underwater camera down, and jig fish through the ice with a 27″ ice rod.

We should see some safe ice to do this again this week but if you go on your own be extremely careful. Ice over moving water is always a huge question mark. If you are interested in doing an ice trip for Steelhead give me a call and I’ll be happy to take you out.

Most baits used in open water will work for Steel under the ice and using a float, but I prefer to use my shorter jigs to get bit quickly. Often they hit them with enough force that they set the hook themselves. With just a few feet of line out and keeping a continuous jigging rhythm, if you feel anything out of the ordinary, it’s a fish that just inhaled the jig. If you keep the hole clear of slush you can often see the strike. Most often however they hit jigs hard and the fish is running and stripping line by the time you’re heart slows down.

I don’t think my Grandfather, a Pacific Northwest salmon and steelheader most of his life, would have ever believed that one could ice fish for Steelhead. Fortunately this is just another benifit of the Erie fishery. One of the true 365 day a year fisheries, whatever the texture of the water is.

Old man winter is bringing his A game this year and he’s bringing it for 4 quarters and 2 overtimes. I’m always prepared for the matchup. -JB