Hey Wes
I am from Michigan and did a lot of Winter steelhead Fishing, the
patterns that produced well for me were,1.) Weighted shank and eye
Eggsucking Leech
2.) Weighted shank and eye Black Stonefly nymph(Dominator) 3.) Weighted
eye Jig A Bugger, Orange.
The more weight that you can get away with the better, although there
are a lot of factors to take into consideration, getting it to the bottom
is the key factor, The steelies hug the bottom in the deep winter and
seek slow deep holes in order to conserve energy, the food sources are
not as plentiful as they will be in the spring, Also seek holes with lots
of large wood,you may lose 10 flies before you get a take but it will be
worth it if she comes out of the wood to eat your fly, Remember sometimes
a fish WILL NOT move left or right to pick up a fly in the deep winter so
vary your slow deep drifts in order to get it right on the end of her
nose and make it easy for the Steelhead to eat it. My best times for some
reason in the Deep winter has been between 11am to 1pm, could be many
reasons for this, Be patient and persistent and you should prevail and
have dominion over the Steelhead you seek.
Good Fishing and let us know how you did and what it took to get your
Fish.
God Bless
Scott Crosby
