Steelhead Fishing – Catch and Release

Steelhead Fishing on the Clearwater River

Catch and release season on the Clearwater River is exciting! The weather is beautiful, however, the hot fish is what anglers come for. Our July 15th catch and release opener on the Clearwater River marks the beginning of our 8 month season. Our steelhead that arrived to the Clearwater have made the Pacific Ocean their home for 2-3 years. Hence the phrase B-Run steelhead, meaning, Big fish!

Spunky Clearwater Steelhead: Catch and Release

The freshly arrived fish are super spunky. They are chromed in color and very acrobatic. They pull hard, in other words, make the reels drag sing. There’s a nice mix of A & B run fish.  This offers our anglers plenty of hook-ups. The A-Run Steelhead, much smaller in size than the 3 salt B-Run fish. In any event, fishing is awesome and the weather fantastic!

Clearwater Techniques

Clearwater Steelhead fishing is much different from west side rivers. We fish more middle river, pounding riffling water. Fish are on the move, therefore, catch em there! Side drifting is the number one technique. Drifting steelhead roe cured in Pro-Cure’s brine is the hot ticket. Fishing tail-out can be productive at times. Back-trolling Brad’s divers and our coon shrimp rigs work awesome. There are times to bobber dog a bead and yarn set up. Some guys like a softer presentation, choosing float and jigs. However you like to fish, it all works.

Clearwater River Permits

We own 2 exclusive permits to operate our guide service on the Clearwater. Stott’s Fishing  has a team of 6 fishing guides. The catch and release  Clearwater is a super popular fishery and brings anglers in from all over the world. Make sure you book early for this World Class Steelhead fishing.