Fall Steelhead

"Do largemouth bass fight like that?" Jim Bedford said with a knowing laugh in his voice. I replied only by smiling through gritted teeth as my first fall steelhead made yet another sizzling run. Earlier Jim had likened steelhead to baby tarpon with their high flying acrobatics, powerful surges and fast runs. Having caught my first (and only) tarpon only a couple months ago, I could easily understand the likeness.

Jim Bedford fishes for steelhead almost daily through the heart of fall run out of Lake Michigan, and he has been chasing them all his life. He has authored four books (one to be released next year), all heavy on trout and steelhead fishing, and has written hundreds of magazine articles about the subject. Spending time astream with him, therefore, is like getting a Master's education in Michigan steelhead fishing.

Jim does the bulk of his steelhead fishing with in-line spinners, which he makes, and with minnow-imitating plugs. His No. 1 plug is a Bomber Suspending Pro Model Long A. He also likes the XCalibur Twitch Bait, which was the bait I was swimming through a boulder-bordered run in the Grand River when my first fall steelhead attacked.

Our time together in steelhead waters passed too quickly, and I'll definitely be back.