In the Pacific Northwest there are a few constants, things you can just figure as a “given”. These are the high probability of rain, a good chance the most productive fishing places will be crowded, and that most of the fisherman (bankies) will be drift fishing. 

Drift fishing is synonymous with the Pacific Northwest and this technique catches many fish. Keeping the bait in the proximity of the bottom is the key to catching winter rainbows... or steelhead as we call them. 

When a weight touches the bottom, it telegraphs this to the angler through a sensitive rod. An 8’6”-10’ Loomis or Lamiglas rod is popular. With a sensitive rod the experienced angler can tell what kind of bottom it is, relative size of the boulders (and unfortunately the snags also), location of drop offs, and hopefully detect the subtle “take” of a steelhead. 

Sometimes the take is nothing more than your bait stopping in a place it never stopped before, or a soft double bend of the rod as the fish mouths the bait. In rare, but memorable instances the fish will just slam the offering. Drift fishing requires the angler to be constantly alert. One of the main challenges of drift fishing is being able to detect a bite because there is no readily available visual bite detector like a float offers.

Rigging up to drift fish varies with angler and river. I will cover basic rigging. Your mainline will be tied to a swivel. The swivel will be tied to your leader. The snap part of the swivel will connect to your lead weight. 
Pencil lead is the most common weighting material and is available in rolls. It can be purchased as solid or hollow core. I generally use hollow core, as it is more versatile. One method is to connect the swivel to a 1” or 1.5” (2.5-3.75 cm.) section of surgical tubing into which a piece of pencil lead is inserted. This method allows the weight to break free when snagged without losing your entire rigging. You can also use special pliers (see below) and cut around a piece of pencil lead, insert it into a piece of parachute cord, burn the ends to seal it, then snap the lead apart, making a very effective slippery bottom weight. 
You can also leave a long tag end of line when you tie to the swivel and cinch on a piece of hollow pencil lead cut with the pliers. You need a selection of hooks ranging in size from #4’s to 2/0. 
A very handy tool is a lead pliers made just for hollow core lead. These are a needle nosed pliers that is drilled (using a 5/16” bit) just behind the cutter almost thru the other side of the pliers taking care not to drill completely thru. The tip of the drill bit needs to penetrate thru leaving just about a 1/8 hole. This tool will allow you to cut hollow core lead without pinching the small hollow center. These pliers will cut 5/16" roll lead or the smaller 1/4" lead wire used for small rivers.

West coat reels are typically level-winds and everyone has their favorite. Popular reels include Ambassador 5500’s, Shimano Calcuttas and Curados, and other similar quality products. Most anglers spool these reels with a 12-pound test mainline for winter fishing and 8-10 pound test for summer fishing. Popular lines vary widely among anglers. I have had very good results with Maxima, Izorline, and Mean Green. Ande Tournament, Berkley big game, and others will work also. It is imperative the line have excellent abrasion characteristics because it will be constantly chafing on the rocks. You should cut off abraded areas periodically and inspect your line often when fishing in rough conditions. I generally fish with Curados and Ambassadors spooled with Izorline, Mean Green, or Maxima. I choose left-handed reels because I like to hold the rod in my right hand for extended periods of time waiting for a bite or when fighting fish, even though I am right handed. Once a right-handed angler gets used to using left-handed reels, it’s hard to go back. 

You will also need to purchase lots of swivels. Size #8 or #10 black swivels are fine. A yard of surgical tubing sized to fit around the pencil lead is very handy. You cut off pieces as needed. For leaders I choose a lighter line of the same type as my mainline. Often, leaders will be about 30-36 inches long but you are better off tying them longer and adjusting them for the conditions. For instance, if you arrive at a river and the current is very strong with lots of small pockets behind boulders, you will need to shorten the leader to 24 inches, increase the weight, and probably use a larger corkie (more info on those later). If the river is slower with more visibility, you may have more success with a 5-foot leader. Be willing to adjust to the conditions.

For bait I generally use roe. Fresh properly cured roe is great bait for steelhead and salmon. Sand shrimp, shrimp, crayfish, and night crawlers are also popular. Corkies are especially popular here to float the bait up off the bottom and also to attract fish. They are small brightly painted balls of foam, often the size of a small berry. Popular colors include pink, red, orange, black and many others. I fish a lot of red while others may fish a lot of pink/pearl and we have similar results. Presentation is often more important than color. Corkies can be very effective by themselves, alone or with a small addition of colored yarn. Popular yarn colors are white, chartreuse, peach, and red. The choices are many and everyone has personal favorites.

This is just a basic primer, but one that should get you started in the right direction for pursuing fish in the Pacific Northwest. Good luck to all of you. 
 

( Editor's Note:Tom Gion is an experienced Washington State angler who builds much of his own equipment, including a drift boat he completed recently. We have shared many stories and tackle tips over the years and send each other samples of tackle used in our respective areas. Tom is married with a young family and has an amazing amount of fishing experience to share. From commercial fishing in the Hawaiian Islands with rod and reel to salmon and steelhead fishing in Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, his stories are insightful, amusing and full of great tips. Hopefully we can expect more from my friend Tom in future. Grant Ferris)