Steelybeads- Our Favourite beads for Steelhead Fishing Vancouver Island!
Steelybeads are hands down the best gear for steelhead fishing Vancouver Island, because as you probably already know salmon and trout eggs are a favourite meal for most freshwater fish, but especially Steelhead! These eggs are a great source of nutrients and are in abundance come fall, as the first salmon begin to return home to spawn and start dropping their eggs, so why not try to imitate this as best you can. These are one of the best baits you can use under a float, bottom bouncing, and dead drifting. We find they work especially well in the Cowichan River.
One always wonders why would salmon, steelhead and trout eat the eggs of their own species? Some say it’s a natural instinct to eat eggs and others say it’s a predatory behaviour to eat the eggs of other species to give their own young the best chance of survival. Either way if the fish are going to gobble them up like humans do candy, then we need to fish with them.
With all the different bead and rubber eggs on the market it can be overwhelming for the first time buyer. If you’re Steelhead fishing on Vancouver Island, you already know we're not allowed to use natural roe and the next best thing will have to do. These steelybeads really are the next best thing to natural roe. After years of trial and error, switching from soft baits to single beads and clusters, I’ve found the best product for all my egg fishing needs. Steelybeads.com is not just another bead company. They have really put the time and care into painting their custom colors. They understand the morphology of the eggs and the transformation the eggs go under while in the freshwater. This is what gives their product the upper hand.
Colors to use for Steelhead Fishing Vancouver Island
When Steelhead Fishing you need to consider the color of beads, as Salmon, Steelhead and Trout can turn off or on a specific color, like the switch of a light! Without any warning at all.... You’ll need a good selection on hand. From dark to light, and even some green- yes green! You’d be surprised how often green is the hot bead of the day. If you find your favorite color stops working switch it up and keep changing until you find a bead that the fish like.
Colors like sunrise, orange crush, chumpy and hoh orange to name a few, will be a great addition to any Vancouver Island Steelhead fishing tackle box.
Best methods for using steelybeads for steelhead fishing Vancouver Island
Steelybeads.com have the best pegging system available. Their steelybead slip stop peggs come in a variety of colors to match your bead or even mix it up to add more contrast to your bait.The reason for pegging your beads, is to get the most natural looking presentation. The realistic semi buoyant bait will tumble down the current staying just off bottom with minimal snags.
I’ve found that 2 inch from the hook has been giving me the best hook up right in the corner of the mouth every time, but feel free to play around with different lengths, 1 to 3 inches, but no longer.
When fishing with beads there are a few things you need to take into consideration like, time of year, water levels and clarity. There isn’t one bead for every situation, so you’re going to need to switch it up from time to time. As a rule, the higher or dirtier the river, the bigger the bead. Steelybead.com make a good selection of sizes to choose from 6mm- 16mm, with the most common being 8mm to 12mm for a clean flowing system, but for those days when the water is running high and fast the 14mm to 16mm are the ticket to hooking Vancouver Island Steelhead.
The best method that I have found Steelhead Fishing on Vancouver Island is to float my beads under a float. You can set your depth and keep your bait in the strike zone longer. Using a leader length of 18 to 24 from your weight of choice, just remember the egg needs to be off the bottom even bouncing along from time to time.
I hope this helps you catch more Steelhead this season, as I know it helped me, Enjoy your time fishing and check back often for more helpful reviews and tips, and remember to keep wild fish wet!
