The upper Rogue has been good.......lots of fish from the hatchery hole down. Good jig bite now.


Saturday out of Touvelle went out with my buddy on his jet with his dad and his dad's friend. Tried everything. Pulled plugs, threw bait, as well as yarn balls..........All they wanted, much to my satisfaction, was the jig. 5 bites, all on my hand tied jigs. Handed off 2 to Bob, he had a blast!!

wow those are some nice fish. looks like you guys had a blast.

Im getting jealous John!! I havent been out since our applegate trip and it doesnt look like Ill be able to get out again this season Good job on the fish, I have never fished the upper rogue for steelhead but I would love to sometime. I didnt know what I was missing growing up in medford and grants pass, so many fish so close to home and I never went after them. Me and Daniel are going up to Wikiup Reservoir the first of May to try for some monster brown trout!! It should be a fun trip. Im just curious how you fish for steelhead using a float and jig from a boat? Do you anchor up in a nice hole and fish them like you would from the bank or drit them as you float down river? Good job on the fish!!

Chad

Chad,
Thanks!! We do both with the jig/float rigs. We will drift through and area sometimes like we are sidedrifting, but with the floats. We got 2 of the fish that way. Once we get a fish or a spot looks good, we will beach the boat, or anchor along the bank, and fish it thoroughly like we were fishing from the bank. When drifting with the boat, its easy to watch your float as you go through the run, having to shorten it as you get closer to the tailouts. As a fellow jig fisherman, you know how effective they are. That day out of Touvelle, no doubt, all they wanted was the jig. We usually kill em on the plugs and did not even get a take down. Caught 2 of the jig fish while we were pulling plugs staying mostly stationary in the current. I was running the jigs down both sides of the boat at the same time repeatedly and WHAMMO!!! Man they really wanted the peach colored jigs I tie this day. I like to fish the pale colors (not so bright flourescent) when the water is a little clearer. They really like that!!! Peach or orange head, orange and bubble gum pink marabou. HOLD ON!!
You know whats funny is I fish jigs 90% of the time. I have yet to catch a fish on a dark color like purple, purple pink, black pink, red black, or straight black. Wierd I guess, I know you have alot of success on the darker colors so I know they work
That first fish is from the bank up below the hatchery hole. LOTS of fish in there this time of year......great jig water it is!!! As well as the holes below it to the 62 bridge.
Id be happy to go up there with you sometime when you have some time. Also, this summer planning on fishing the GP area for the summer fish from the drifter

well maybe john should do a tu-tu on jig fishing... cause i have tried it so many time with nada... Try it every place we go and still nada... PLEASE JOHN!!!!

You have to be patient with jig fishing. It might take you six or seven times out to get your firts but after that its all downhill!! A little advice on jig fishing, you should adjust your depth often to find where the fish are holding. You might think you know how deep the hole or run is but most likely your guess of depth will be off slightly. If you move your jig up or down even six inches sometimes it can make all the difference in the world.. Good luck out there greg.

Chad

Greg,
Ditto on what Chad said.......words of wisdom Buddy. I am alwasy adjusting my jig depth. Very important. You know you are too deep when your float points down river (hitting bottom). The depth varies throughout the run as well. You gotta hit it all. As the run tapers and gets to the tailout (GREAT PLACE EARLY AND LATE IN THE DAY) you will start hitting bottom. Often times the fish will hold in the tailout. Once I figure the depth of the tailout by adjusting my jig depth, I will cast upriver and it will have the perfect drift at the perfect depth once it reaches where the fish are holding in the tailout. When I move up the run, I will adjust deeper to fish the deeper water. I target areas when Im fishing or areas of the runs. Because the fluctuation in the bottom contour, I want to make sure my jig is in the zone when it hits the specific area Im targeting. I will then have to adjust for the next small stretch of the run as I move down or up river.
The bottom line is if you are not changing jig depth constantly, you are not working effectively. Ive been in an area and have seen a fish rise a few times. I will make several passes at him, adjusting my depth by just an inch or so. You will know when you find the depth he wants it.......BOBBER DOWN If I eventually get too deep and start bumping bottom, I will work shallow it again about 1" at a time while I work him.
If I dont see a fish I will do what Chad said and adjust about 4"-6" at a time.
Remember that you want your float riding straight in the water. If it isnt, you are either bumping bottom or not mending your line enough. Float straight up and down = perfect drag free drift
Confidence is the key my friend......without a doubt. This is my #1 favorite method to target Steelhead. If I had only one rig to bring to the river, it would be my float/jig rod. I fish jigs where others would use other methods, including the fast riffly water. Once you watch your float slip under the surface for the first time, swing, and feel the surge of the steel on the other end.......its all over. You will then have the confidence you need.
Time on the water fishing is all it takes. You will get em. Man Im just overwhelmed with excitement......I WANNA GO FISHING RIGHT NOW

You're going to have to wait a bit to see water like that ...... Rogue is running about 300% of 'normal' water flow ... yes, I'm looking out the window of my motor home across from the town of Rogue River (just a tad above/across from Evans Creek). River was high yesterday, and with the rain ... how about another foot in depth this AM.

Even with 'perfect weather' it will take at least 2-3 weeks for the river to drop back into fishing shape ... save for 4-6 oz lead balls and 30# line on a drift rod.

Tell me about it. I was in Grants Pass over Memorial Day Weekend and I ended up fishing for trout at the local pond! Thats the last place I would be fishing but the river was RIPPING! I even drove up to the dam and the water was coming out up there like crazy too. Maybe this will bring in some summer steelhead. I can't wait to get into some more steel!

Chad

"Ripping" would cover it ... Ton of rain last night which isn't going to help.

We might be able to fish the Rogue by September at this rate Well at least the fish have a lot of water to move up with, the only problem is that there is only six salmon making the run this year! lol. Hopefully this is just a weird time and the runs will recover!!

Chad

We are hitting it in the morning... Now that I skimmed thru a couple books and such... I may give a jig/float another try up there after i tie a couple tonight....

Will REPORT.

Greg

Hey john or chad... Would you use a float/jig around Matson?

Anywhere you find current about the speed that you can walk that has a little riffle to it try your bobber. I also find water that is between 4 and 8 feet to be good holding water. You could fish mattson but I would try under the sports park bike bridge if I was you. You can fish from the bridge down river for a while and that is all good bobber water.

Chad

Yea... Well when the salmon startin spawning this year... Im gonna drag my dad down there to fish... Probably throw a nightmare on one rod and a glo-bug on the other and work every hole in that area.

Oh yea.. To continue with my last post...

I just had arthroscopic surgery on the 20th... So I have been put out of comission for awhile...
Physical Therapist says Im healing really well. I get to find out tuesday when I can start fishing at the river again... Hopefully he says I can when I feel comfortable doing so. I wanna hook a salmon on a jig and I know the perfect spots to do so if i can get over to Finley

But other then that... I think I have been fishing jigs wrong.

I just set at one depth around 4 feet and just fish it like that and i've been throwing it in all fast water... LMAO...

I really think I need to hook up with someone who knows what they are doing and have them show me.

Iv never tried jig and bobber fishing for salmon, Iv done roe and a bobber though. Most of my bobber fishing is done when chasing steelhead. You want to fish the tail ends and right where the hole starts to get deep. Also nice seams there the fast water gets calm.

Hey guys,
Yes.....Salmon will eat jigs Got a 33 lber in the upper river on 8# line while fising for summers last August
My personal experience with summer steel is that as the water lowers and the water clears, they will definitely hang in the upper ends of holes and in the riffles. They want something that breaks up the surface where they feel safe. The faster water is also more oxygenated and they need that as the water warms. Early before the sun gets too high on the water and before the pressure gets there, you can get fish in the tailouts, but they will quickly move into the upper parts of the runs and holes.
Greg, you will want to fish the faster water in the summer so dont give up on it. I also tie some heavily weighted fly patterns like the Otis bug and fish them like a jig in the summer under a float. They really like the buggier types in the summer in the clearer water. I will tie a small Prince Nymph as a dropper or if the salmon are spawning, a glo bug dropper. When you find salmon spawning in a tailout in the summer, fish the riffle below it for the Steelhead that are kegged up there feeding on the roe coming down. This is where the glo bug dropper will kick butt!!! Not to say the standard pinks/whites, peach, etc wont catch summer fish, because I have. I always bring 2 or 3 float setups in the summer and try all presentations.
Man......Im excited guys. The summers are on the way my friends. Fresh chrome soon
Greg, Like Chad and I said, you cannot just set the jig at 4 feet and fish everywhere. It is a constant game of depth adjustment and presentation. I have caught nice steelies in 18" of fast riffle with the jig 10"-12" under the float. I have also caught fish in 15 feet of water with my float stop 14.5 feet above my jig. You must make the adjustments in order to put your jig where the fish are. I am constantly making adjustments. Dont lose faity Buddy.....it works......VERY WELL. Start thinking like a fish and try to picture exactly what your jig is doing and where it is with each drift and presentation.
Good luck and I will keep you posted as I have reports.

REELTECH wrote:Greg,

Remember that you want your float riding straight in the water. If it isnt, you are either bumping bottom or not mending your line enough. Float straight up and down = perfect drag free drift
Confidence is the key my friend......without a doubt.

Yea I know that now... Finally found a float that I can easily use... and had my first couple take downs and completely whiffed em!!

lol

Is there also a secret to setting the hook with a float and jig!!??

If you are using a spin reel make sure your bail is completely closed before pulling up or else you will pull a bunch of line off your reel then lose the fish. Nothing really special to setting the hook, most of the time if you are using briad as a main line you don't have to set the hook very hard, just pull up. Another good thing about float fishing is most of the time you won't miss fish and the ones you do hooked will staty hooked!

It seems like most of the bobber downs that I have missed were when I had too much line on the water and didn't get pressure to the fish qick enough, so try to always be ready to set the hook, cause as soon as you let your guard down, ha ha there goes your bait

I am using a baitcaster for now.. Hopefully I get a 10 foot rod for christmas, then I will throw a spinning rod with braid on it.

Pline hydrofloat works really well for float fishing