Customer Reviews

Float Fishing for Steelhead: Techniques and Tackle

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Float Fishing for Steelhead: Techniques & Tackle was a great read written in an uncomplicated, straight-forward way. Vedder is good at talking to his readers about fishing as if the exchange was between two friendly fisherman out in the wilderness somewhere in between casts. His argument about the virtues of float fishing are excellent and he draws comparisions to the other methods of fishing and very reasonable conclusions as to why someone would want to float their line in a wild river full of snags and obstacles as opposed to bouncing on the bottom. It makes perfect sense and it WORKS. Vedder knows what the fish are doing when they come up the river and how to get that grub right in front of their faces, and he tells you how to do it in a language that is very easily understood. Its a quick read, and he touches on the other methods of steelheading just barely, but enough so if you want to try throwing a few lures when all else is failing there is a bit of guidance. Float fishing is not the same as bobbing for worms. There's a lot more to it than that and Dave gets into detail without making things complicated (something, I might add, that holier than thou fisherman tend to do way too much.) Using a float is an excellent way to: KNOW what your line is doing, SEE the bite, AVOID the snags, PLACE your offering in hard to reach areas, LAND some big fish, and ENJOY the whole experience. Thumbs up for Dave Vedder!

This book is good as far as it goes, however, overall I was disappointed by this particular Dave Vedder work. It provides a good overview of the subject but lacks the specific and detailed information that I have come to expect from books by this specialist publisher. For example, you will find very little information to assist making a rod purchase decision (and float rods are expensive due to their length!). Given the small size, few pages, and lack of real substance, I consider this book to be very overpriced.
My recomendation is to instead purchase "Jig Fishing for Steelhead & Salmon" which is also written by Dave Vedder. This is very detailed and comprehensively written and includes the information of value from his float fishing book.

Now finally a good book about float fishing. The author provides good description of the sport. He does a good job at letting the reader know what equipment will be needed and how to fish them. He also does well addressing the concerns of west coast steelheaders as well as great lake steel headers.

Would recommend for beginners and those new to float fishing.