Bobber and jig fishing, I believe, is the single most effective way there is to catch steelhead. Recently we've seen jigs cross over into salmon fishing, especially for coho.
When in the boat I repeatedly have people ask, did you tie these jigs, and for a moment I have visions of my tieing desk, that at times is MOUNTAINS of feathers, rabbit fur, and all the other material that can be tied on to a hook to entice fish to bite.
PINKS aka Humpy salmon, means pink jigs. Pinks show up in the Puget Sound area in odd years by the MILLIONS, literally! When on roll I can pour, powder coat and tie 400 pink jigs in an 8 hour day. In 2009 I actually supported myself for 6 months just tieing pink jigs, I felt like a drug dealer, I'd tie 1500 jigs in a week, then meet a guy in a parking lot who'd buy the jigs from me in cash, no bill larger than a 20, then re sell them to Humpy fisherman 100 miles up the freeway. The whole thing seemed very seedy.
Today I no longer tie jigs on that scale, but I do tie all the jigs we use, plus all the jigs we offer through our website, this is a manageable amount, and I'm not selling them to a guy in a sleazy parking lot while looking over my shoulder for the "Jig Task Force" to come out of the bushes, guns drawn, yelling FREEZE SCUMBAG! I know that some will argue the effectiveness of jig fishing for steelhead, there's now those who are fishing a single plastic bead that resembles a single egg, I've used it myself and at times its deadly. I CAN tell you this, nothing, and I mean NOTHING, has revolutionized the way we fish for steelhead more than the art of bobber and jig fishing. Today you can buy rods, reels and even high tech braided lines designed just for bobber and jig.
If you're wanting to learn more about bobber and jig fishing give me a call, we offer an on the water introduction to float fishing, where we go over reading water, gear selection, and presentation, you'll leave feeling confident I promise. I think I've said enough on this topic, besides I've got jigs to tie, and if you already fish a jig for steelhead, save some fish for the rest of us!
