Two-Pound-Theory Steelheading

Convincing fishermen that it can be done is the hard part

Look at how thin the monofilament mainline is on the rod setup! It’s running a eight-pound test mainline with a six-pound test leader. It was good enough to hook into this outstanding huge native salmon! I used a ten-and-a-half foot Lamiglas Rod, No. 2 hook, No. 10 corkie, hot pink yarn, and a dash of steelhead egg scent to make it all worth striking! As hard as this fish fought is was no match for the combination of necessary light tackle that it took to hook and land it.

by Timothy Kusherets

The two-pound theory is about fishing with line that differs by only two pounds while Drift-fishing for steelhead and salmon any time of the year. The theory shows anglers how to fight fish on light line and how to vary strengths of line by only, you guessed it, two pounds; but the fishing line tops out at twelve-pound test and bottoms out at six pounds. Ultimately, the light line and the ability to fight the ferocious fish equate into more fish than ever before. It simply doesn’t matter how large steelhead or salmon get, the two pound theory for steelheading works. The first step to this fishing technique is to first address river conditions, which in this case involves spring time fishing.
As rivers blow out fish go off the bite for the most fundamental reason. Debris, as it flows downriver, threatens to crush and mortally wound any fish so they gravitate to the banks where they hold. Seasoned anglers know that they can still successfully fish the waters but because of the turbulent conditions necessitates heavier test for the same reasons Bassers do e.g., boulders, branches, and logs. Most Steelhead will run in, under, and around structures close to banks rather than brave the gauntlet sure to confront them in the open river and that’s when the risk of losing fish really takes place and the reason for the heavier fishing line but if you want more bites you’ll still have to use lighter line…at least by comparison to most and that means the first thing to consider after the test of the line is the drag of the reel.
With light line it’s vital to consider the smoothness of the drag because the first bump in the tension will be enough to snap it. Each reel will have varying degrees of drag capabilities so it’s largely up to each angler to figure it out; suffice it to say, making the reel perform should be done in the comfort of a home with the help of a doorknob and scale. Gear up your entire outfit as though you were about to go out and fish and tie the end of the line to a hand scale and then the doorknob. By tying line to a scale and knob you’ll be able to set the drag to one-thirds of line capabilities; that is to say, if you start out with twelve-pound test then set the drag to four-pounds. There aren’t many steelies that can break that combination; but you’re apt to hit into fewer fish than the angler with ten-pound test and the same can be said for eight-pounds and so on. After tying up, pull back on the rod and watch the scale. When the tension has been perfectly set think about the smoothness of the drag. The ability to decipher how smooth the drag really is set largely depends on the length of the rod. Each time you pull back on the rod at least the length of the rod and make the drag sing the same way it would if the end of the line were hooked to a fish. If, while pulling back, there are skips in the line that jolt you back and forth check to see if the reel needs cleaning. If the reel is clean then oil or grease will smooth out the gears, or washers of the drag system. After every precaution has been taken to ensure that the drag is set and smooth then it’s time to consider “thumbing” the spool.
Thumbing is largely a metaphor for applying temporary tension to the spool with either the thumb or palm of your hand depending on whether or not your reel is a bait-caster or spinning reel. The only time to thumb the spool when fishing with light line and the varying need of “thumbing” is done of the basis of line test, which is more art than science so you’ll have to practice.
With your rod all geared up and tied to the doorknob and scale, continually pull back on the rod. Each time you pull back, put the palm of your hand on the side of the spool and look at the scale to see how much tension is being added to the drag. Thumbing the line should be done until you can maximize the line-tests capabilities; so, if the line is ten-pounds then you should be palming the line until the scale reads ten-pounds. The premise of the tension is to allow you to apply maximum tension one hundred percent of the time without the threat of snapping it and here’s how it works. Each time a steelhead makes a run softly put the palm of your hand over the side of the spool and quickly apply pressure for a few seconds at a time, usually about three to four seconds before lifting the hand away from the spool. If the fish continues to run routinely apply the hand with one to two second intervals with the intervals becoming shorter as the amount of line on the spool pays out. There isn’t a fish in the river, or lake, that can combat this kind of fighting technique when properly applied; that means that any angler wanting to test his ability to fight steelhead on light line has a great chance of landing fish even on the first try. The reason to even use this technique is because fish tend to hit lighter line because it’s harder to see even when waters run turbid with limited visibility. It’s true that with lighter line anglers run the risk of losing fish but they also hit into more fish than fishermen with heavy test, but light line isn’t the hardest thing about this fishing technique.
The fundamental difficulty with this kind of fishing actually has nothing to do with the fish or the line at all, rather, it’s convincing fishermen that it can be done at all is the hard part.
While fishing a river known to house some very large Chinook there were some fishermen who were using eighty-pound braided fishing line; yet none were catching fish. Throughout the entire day any fish that was hooked was consequently lost due to snagging, though not by design. Near the end of the day I happened upon that river and got out the gear to fish it with light tackle of course. Within half an hour I had the first fish on the hook and the other anglers raced over to see how the fight was progressing.
“What in the heck are you doing? Why don’t you just yard the fish in and get it over with?”
“If I could I might just do that but since I’m using such light line I’ll have to play her out on the six-pound test I’ve got.”
“I’ve fished a lot of rivers and over for over twenty-five years. No one would be certifiable enough to fish with that kind of line so you must be one of those liars.”
And that’s how it went for most of the fight. It took about twenty-minutes to bring the great looking hen it, and it was worth it. The moment it I was able to tail it the hook fell out and we all made an “OOHHH” sound as the small hook fell out. I snapped off a photograph and put it back in the blue and then proceeded to show just how thin the line really was. Wouldn’t you know it? Even in the face of abject fact the other fishermen could not believe it. Over the course of the rest of the afternoon I hooked and landed three more fish and all of them were over forty-pounds! There wasn’t a fisherman there who would come down to the necessary six-pounds and not even the size of the fish could convince them that it worked. By the end of the day only one other fisherman had successfully landed another fish and that was snagged underneath the jaw; with the eighty-pound line he still had a struggle to beach the fish. As the light began to wane yet another fisherman came over, presumably to talk. Without saying a word he took his fishing rod and broke it over his leg and left the banks of that great river and I haven’t seen him since. So, I’d say, the hardest part about using this great spring steelhead fishing technique is convincing anyone that it works, in the field anyway.
Every person who has gone out to the water with me has gotten fish the very first time they fished for steelhead and salmon. How many guides and experts can claim that all their clients have gotten fish the first time out? If a novice can get fish with the light line and palming the spool then a seasoned fishermen will definitely get fish on the hook and bank ultimately showing that the two-pound theory works very well indeed.