Upper NY Tributaries producing silver steelhead even in -7C temperatures.
Posted on December 19th, 2009OK, this was definitely the coldest day I have steelhead fished this fall. My friend John Waind and I headed down to Olcott, NY this am equipped with our warmest fishing gear. My goal was to test a prototype Rapala 13′ Great Lakes baitcasting drift-rod with a R-Type baitcasting reel, 6 lb. test monofilament and single eggs. When we arrived at the river we were surprised to see about dozen cars in the parking lot. We headed down to the water and proceeded to break through about 1″ of ice to get to our first fishing spots. Things started slow and we moved further up-stream and within 15 min. I hooked my first two rainbows. We ended up moving further up-stream and found several fish holding in the fast runs behind mid-stream boulders. We ended up hooking a total of 8 rainbows with John landing the biggest fish (around 11 lb.), using a single egg imitation on his fly rod). I was very happy with the performance of the 13′ baitcasting rod. It cast well, feathered-out line downstream well, had lot’s of “spine” to set the hook and felt excellent while fighting the fish.
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