Jerry Bush

It can be almost too easy to catch trout during the first couple of weeks after stocking occurs. Most trout fin for a week or two, often visible, in the same pool or very near where they were dumped into the streams.
They aren’t accustomed to the wild and eagerly feed on almost anything that drifts by. Give the fishery a month or so, and the days of easy pickings fade away.

The best steelhead fishermen understand the life cycle and tendencies of the fish from smolt to adult. They understand why the fish return to the tributaries each year and they are aware that many holdovers remain in the streams until spring.
They also realize that spawning can take place from November until March, so fresh steelhead continue to access the tributaries throughout that time frame.