Wisconsin spring steel

Chris Rennert wrote:
Rodney, I caught them all on jigs and spawn, scent up of course :-)

I'm wondering how they would respond to a Berkley Gulp minnow, on the
Wiggle rig ?

With mouth that big surely they feed on minnows ?


--
Rodney Long,
Inventor of the Mojo SpecTastic "WIGGLE" rig, SpecTastic Thread,
Nutri Shield insect repellent. ,Stand Out Hooks ,Stand Out Lures,
Mojo's Rock Hopper & Rig Saver weights, and the EZKnot
http://www.ezknot.com

"Rodney Long" wrote in message
I'm wondering how they would respond to a Berkley Gulp minnow, on the
Wiggle rig ?

Rodney, I am a big fan of the wiggle rig. I have handed out about 10 of
these little kits to friends and family members. However, up here in
Michigan, you would be illegal using the wiggle rig on a river for
steelhead. The wiggle rig would be considered to be a drop shot rig, which
is illegal in this state on streams, rivers and drowned river mouths.

Rodney Long wrote:
...
With mouth that big surely they feed on minnows ?

Steelhead don't actually feed at all once they leave the
lake and enter the streams to spawn.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Ken Fortenberry wrote:
Rodney Long wrote:
... With mouth that big surely they feed on minnows ?

Steelhead don't actually feed at all once they leave the
lake and enter the streams to spawn.



How do you catch them if they are not feeding ?

--
Rodney Long,
Inventor of the Mojo SpecTastic "WIGGLE" rig, SpecTastic Thread,
Nutri Shield insect repellent. ,Stand Out Hooks ,Stand Out Lures,
Mojo's Rock Hopper & Rig Saver weights, and the EZKnot
http://www.ezknot.com

Rodney Long wrote:
Ken Fortenberry wrote:
Rodney Long wrote:
... With mouth that big surely they feed on minnows ?

Steelhead don't actually feed at all once they leave the
lake and enter the streams to spawn.

How do you catch them if they are not feeding ?

With eggs usually. They don't eat the eggs but they'll move
them around trying to get rid of them so that only the eggs
they've lain or fertilized are left on the bed. Likewise if
a big stonefly tumbles into the bed they'll get rid of it
so it doesn't bother the eggs. It's strictly housekeeping
not feeding. They couldn't eat if they wanted to, their
stomachs shrink to nothing during the spawn.

--
Ken Fortenberry

Ken,

I will agree that Steel head do not actively enter the rivers to feed,
but they are still opportunistic, and especially fall runners (Skamania
strain here in Wisconsin) will consumer huge amounts of Brown trout and
Salmon roe. Then in the spring, I have taken steel head that I thought
still had eggs, that were only fat because they were packed full of
sucker eggs. Regardless of why they are eating, they do eat. They will
attack crayfish, minnows, or just about anything else that maybe
invade their Redds, but that is such a short period of time in the grand
scheme.

Also, last year, late winter, very early spring, I was fishing some very
slow moving water, and as I was walking out, I stepped through some ice
on the short, and up through the hole popped a bunch of minnows, and a
1" Bluegill. I grabbed them all, put them in a cup and used them for
bait. I bet I didn't get 2 drifts with the gill before my float shot
down, and right up to the top came about a 10lb buck.

Are they there to feed in the spring with the water nearing 40 degrees,
probably not, but will they eat? Definitely.

Chris