Fly Fishing For Great Lakes Steelhead: 4 Best Methods That Work

Fly fishing for Great Lakes steelhead can be done using methods like nymph fishing, streamer fishing, Spey fishing, and even euro-style nymphing. It’s important to know which method to use and then have an effective setup and the right flies.

I have been guiding for steelhead with a fly rod for over 20 years. There are some tips and tricks that I will share with you here because if you’re not using the same methods, leader setups, and the same fly patterns the guide use, you are probably missing fish!

Fly Fishing For Great Lakes steelhead: The Rivers

I have fly fished for Great Lakes steelhead from upstate New York to the western shoreline of Lake Michigan to as far north as the north shore of Lake Superior, and everywhere in between There are literally hundreds of great steelhead rivers that flow into the Great Lakes that anglers can fish.

During the spring and fall, just about any creek or river could have steelhead entering it. All it takes is large enough rains that flood these creeks and rivers and attract any steelhead that is swimming by.

At times, these streams could be getting runs of thousands of steelhead over a few days which can provide exceptional fly fishing opportunities. I’ve guided clients to many days with over 50 steelhead in the net, but timing is critical.

There are too many steelhead rivers to list, so I will discuss the best steelhead rivers on my page, 61 Best Great Lakes Steelhead Rivers.

The Fly Fishing Methods For Steelhead

There are four methods that I use when fly fishing for steelhead around the Great lakes. The one I use will depend on my client’s preference or on the type of water that I’m fishing. Some methods are more effective than others, so I discuss that below.

Nymph Fishing For Steelhead

Nymph fishing in small to mid-sized rivers is almost always the most effective way to catch the most steelhead. You can also nymph for steelhead in larger rivers if you know where the steelhead will hold and concentrate. Anyone interested in catching steelhead while fly fishing should consider nymph fishing.

Nymph fishing for steelhead means that you are drifting small insect-like flies or flies that look like eggs under an indicator or with a tight line method. The goal is to get your flies into the strike zone and then drift your flies past that steelhead in a way that looks natural to the fish.

The more natural your presentation is and the better your flies and your fly setup is the more fish you will catch.

Unfortunately, many anglers fly fishing for steelhead do it poorly. When we are on the river with our clients, I and other guides spend most of our time teaching them how to get a great presentation, as we know that presentation is the key to catching more fish.

It’s the presentation that matters the most, not the fly. However, most new anglers get it backward and they focus too much on the fly and not enough on the presentation. When they don’t catch fish, they either change flies or change locations, which can help, but fishing poorly with a new fly or in a new location will still give you the same results: NO FISH.

Proper and effective presentation combined with the right flies and the proven tactics used by me and other guides who are sometimes catching over 50 steelhead a day when nymph fishing is what I will teach you on my page Nymphing For Steelhead.

Euro Nymphing For Steelhead

Euro Nymphing for steelhead is a new concept that is slowly growing around the great lakes regions and at times Euro nymphing for steelhead can be very effective and even the most effective method. I use this method on pocket water and smaller runs and pools.

I have been using and perfecting Euro Nymphing methods for steelhead all around the Great Lakes since about 2006.

Euro nymphing for steelhead is a tight-line method of nymphing that doesn’t use an indicator. With Euro nymphing, you will use a colored line called a sighter strategically placed up your leader, and you will use 1 to 3 weighted flies. You DO NOT use weights or split shots at all.

Where you place your sighter and the flies that you use are only a part of what makes Euro nymphing for steelhead so effective.

What really makes Euro nymphing so effective is how you control your depth, speed, and overall presentation. I know that some of my clients who I have taught Euro nymphing are now catching the bulk of their steelhead using this method.

I discuss how to use this method effectively, show you my leader setup, discuss the types of water where this method works best, and show you my best Euro nymph flies, as well as how to use this method with any fly so that you don’t need to go out buy all new flies, all on my page Euro Nymphing For Steelhead.

Spey Fishing For Steelhead

Spey fishing for steelhead on the great lakes rivers is growing in popularity. I was just out yesterday teaching another new angler how to effectively Spey fish for steelhead. Some anglers who enjoy fly fishing for steelhead think that Spey fishing is by far the best way to catch steelhead.

Spey fishing for steelhead on Great Lakes rivers requires the use of long Spey rods, reels, and lines that can cast bigger flies and weighted sink tips a long way with little backcast room. Once your flies hit the far side of the river, you simply swing your fly across the river and wait for a bite.

It’s the fun of the cast and the hard yank of a steelhead grabbing your fly that attracts many anglers to Spey fishing for steelhead.

There are a few simple casts that I teach to my clients and only a handful of Spey fly patterns that I use that will be effective on most rivers around the Great Lakes.

It’s also very important to learn how to cover the water effectively and how to get your fly down to the fish. Getting down to the fish requires sinking tips that are added to the end of the fly lines.

I discuss all of this in great detail on my page Spey Fishing For Steelhead.

Streamer Fishing For Steelhead

I always have streamer flies with me just in case the fish are aggressive and will chase a well presented streamer.

The honest truth is that I use the same flies and the same advanced streamer fishing tactics for steelhead as I do when I fish for summer brown trout, rainbow trout, and brook trout.

I often tell my clients that I treat steelhead in a river like oversized trout, or I call them “trout on steroids”, and that’s because I know that most of the same tactics that I use for trout will be very effective for Great Lakes steelhead.

However, most guys use very simple and basic streamer fishing methods when they fish for steelhead and for trout and that means they are missing a ton of fish.

When I teach my advanced streamer fishing classes, I tell guys that I can cover three times more water with three times fewer casts and do it in half the time it would take most anglers.

I can also do it in a way that triggers more bites from both steelhead and trout which is why I call it advanced streamer fishing. Fishing faster and more efficiently allows me to get my flies in front of more fish in a shorter period of time and it doesn’t tire me out as fast.

Learning these methods will help any fly angler become more effective and catch more steelhead with streamers. I discuss my advanced streamer methods for steelhead on my page Streamer Fishing For Steelhead.

Watch the guys from the new fly fishing show and me having some fun fly fishing for Great Lakes steelhead – HERE

Tight Lines

Graham