# Drift fishing?



## racetech (Dec 2, 2013)

Is drift fishing for steelhead a common practice on steelhead alley? Does it work, what kind of water conditions, etc? Anyone do much of this? Just seems like a lot of snag ups and lost equipment to me lol


----------



## stak45dx1 (Jun 21, 2011)

I've only ever seen one guy doing it in all my trips to the rivers... But I have heard from a very good guide who does many speaking engagements as well, that it is effective.


----------



## Archer4life (Apr 16, 2013)

Drift fishing can be very effective. You just have to be careful on choosing where to use that technique. Places like a boulder studded run or runs with a lot of wood cover on the bottom are not good choices for it. Better off with a float. You hear the words presentation mentioned in these posts especially by the fly guys. Well that's exactly why you should add bottom bouncing to your bag of tricks. Sometimes all it takes to get a hit or to fire up fish after you have already pulled a few and they stop hitting is to change your presentation. You can bottom bounce by just removing you float and pinching shot a foot above your bait or you can use a three way swivel rig. This allows you to pinch shot to the tag line dropper you tie off the one end of the swivel. If you get snagged, with a few pulls the shot should pull off the tag thus saving the rest of your rig. Slinky sinkers are another option for your dropper. Made and used them for years. They work well.


----------



## SelfTaught (Mar 27, 2014)

I know a guy who does very very well year in and year out throwin a jig lettin it sink and driftin on the bottom. He has some different methods/colors based on the water conditions, but I'd put him up against almost anyone on catching fish. 

& yes, better pack a lot of tackle lol snags in any river fishing situation is evident.


----------



## racetech (Dec 2, 2013)

I dont loose a whole lot of gear float fishing. usually can pull a snag out backwards but when i loose a jig its usually my favorites lol. And a lot of times you can wade out and unsnag yourself. But im not hopping in a hole of unknown depth!

Maybe ill give drifting a try as i learn the rivers a bit more i dont want to be donating rig after rig to the river lol


----------



## ballast (Sep 15, 2011)

All I do is drift w/a float and eggbags. I catch fish almost every trip. (knock on wood) but I've lost 3 hooks this year an have never lost a float. You don't have to be a pro to catch um drifting but the better u get the more u hook into. The biggest problem is slack line , line twist, AND NOT BEING CLOSE TO THE BOTTOM!!!


----------



## racetech (Dec 2, 2013)

ballast said:


> All I do is drift w/a float and eggbags. I catch fish almost every trip. (knock on wood) but I've lost 3 hooks this year an have never lost a float. You don't have to be a pro to catch um drifting but the better u get the more u hook into. The biggest problem is slack line , line twist, AND NOT BEING CLOSE TO THE BOTTOM!!!


Not sure if you mean float fishing? As in bobber? Just curious, the drift fishing im talking about doesnt use a bobber. Feel free to educate me if im missing something lol


----------



## Erieangler51 (Sep 24, 2012)

Float fishing and drift fishing are 2 different things. Drift fishing is putting a weight on and a spawn sac or bait of choice and drifting it on bottom. A lot of tackle can be lost due to snags. I used to drift fish walleyes in Minnesota. Float fishin is suspending a bait under a bobber and letting it float down river.... 2 very different techniques


Sent from my iPhone using Ohub Campfire


----------



## Archer4life (Apr 16, 2013)

Actually once you get good at bottom bouncing you can drift through rocky boulder strewn runs without getting snagged. "Too often" The trick is to quarter you cast down stream and swing the bait just like the fly guys fishing streamers. You have to play with the amount of shot to get it right depending on the current


----------



## ballast (Sep 15, 2011)

O, figured I was missing something on this post? Drifting is easy! Definitely gonna loose rigs tho. Put on weight till u get hung then start taking it off. I think if you're tick,tick, ticking the bottom it's too much. Tick.......tick.......tick..... Is better


----------



## rickerd (Jul 16, 2008)

try Czech nymphing techniques around boulders. Can be killer and less hang ups. Or maybe you feel the hang up right away and can deduce the difference between a rock and a fish. I love it when I hit a rock, think its a rock so I roll the line forward enough to remove the tension, then a fish grabs the fly falling off the rock. 

Rickerd


----------



## yonderfishin (Apr 9, 2006)

Ive been reading and watching videos on something called bobber dogging , looks like you could call it a hybrid of float and bottom bouncing. In our rivers and streams probably only possible when the water is really high and just about unfishable since its more tailored toward big water situations , but they make weights out of the hollow core lead wire that slides through snags instead of getting hung up. I plan to try that sometime when the river is too high and fast to fish any other way. Just thought I would mention it since its pretty interesting the ideas people come up with.


----------

