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3. Wet Flies for Steelhead

Hi everybody,

Since my camera was all set up for some other wet fly topics, I took some photos of a few of my favorite Steelhead flies. In light of the season, perhaps some of you might find them interesting.

West Coast Steelhead flies are some of the most beautiful in our sport. The old roughly tied down-eyed wet flies of the past have long since given way to elegant patterns borrowing heavily from hairwing salmon fly construction and techniques developed on the rivers Dee and Spey in Great Briton. However, they do have their own subtle nuances and are certainly more colorful in keeping with their heritage.

I tied these flies for fishing and they come directly from my boxes. That's not to say I use them all the time because I don't. The truth is I mostly rely on Western Coachman, Green-Butt Silver Hiltons, and various Muddler styles for Summer-runs and Half-pounders. Winter fish mostly see orange or purple General Practitioner variations and various Marabou Volcano derivatives off the end of my line. But its great to open a box looking for the magic fly and see them there in all their glory. For me, it's part of the morale boost needed for the next hundred casts between fish (or more.. especially this year so far). This is not to say they aren't fished and don't work because they are and do. And occasionally, old Iron Head agrees.:)

First up are a couple of hairwing wets influenced by Ed Haas. His commercial flies were renowned for their consistency, neatness, and incredible durability. One of his secrets was the doubled back wing which accounts for the unique look of his heads:

Skykomish Sunrise

Nighthawk


Next up are some under-collar hairwings:

Sunburst

Winter's Hope


This is a nice fly to swing when the October Caddis are about:

Heather Mallard


The following are four Speys influenced by West Coast legend Syd Glasso. The first is his pattern, the next is mine, the third is a classic spey design according to Knox only with a lot of orange instead of the traditional somber colors, and the the last is classic Kelson:

Orange Heron

Past Midnight

Orange Spey

Tri-Color


These two are known as strip-wings and have their origins on the river Dee. Their wings are very slim and mounted individually on top scissor fashion. They are also known for palmer hackle on the rear half of the body. In a concession to practicality (since I do fish them), they are tied here on spey hooks. The originals were tied on straight long shank hooks with gut loops:

Rogue Dee

Akroyd


This one's an oddity. I was tying a bunch of T & L's up for somebody and neglected to put wings on a few of them by accident. They ended up in my box, and danged if they didn't work really well on a trip. I've tied them for myself this way ever since:

Wingless Thunder & Lightning


The last two are a homage to a living legend, Dec Hogan. Though I've never met or talked to the man, IMHO his book A Passion for Steelhead is the last word on contemporary Steelhead fly fishing and should be in every serious anglers library. His DVD on Spey Casting is the most entertaining (and therefor most instructive) on the market:

Mahoney


Pink Coast

Gorgeous flies, Kurt!

Simple wingless wet patterns also work well tied on large up eye hooks for steelhead. I have never had the opportunity, yet to fish for these, but I have a good friend who wants to take me for these fish as soon as I'm up to it.

Mark

WOW Kurt, those sure are BEAUTIFUL flies you have there! That takes some SERIOUS tying skills to get them to look that good.

"For me, it's part of the morale boost needed for the next hundred casts between fish (or more.. especially this year so far)."

Therein lies the dilemma that I mentioned on another thread. LOTS of fishing time - in cold, damp weather that chills the bones - for dubious success. I have gone steelhead fishing probably 100 times in my life and never had so much as a hit. All I have ever caught were small brown and rainbow trout that would have been a lot more fun on my 3- or 5-weight; one good-sized common shiner; and four suckers, two hooked in the nose and the other two hooked in the left pectoral fin...Still, I try. Last night I tied up 8 Egg-Sucking Leeches, all black bodies with 3 in orange egg, 3 in hot pink egg, and two in chartruese egg (would have tied a third but my shoulders & neck gave out on me). Listened to three old King Crimson albums to keep me going during the tying frenzy...

Again, Kurt, those are lovely flies you have tied up there, and thanks for sharing them with us. Mark, I do hope you get to do some (successful) steelhead fishing. How are you feeling these days? I hope you are doing well!

Jonathon

Thanks guys.

Mark, I hope you make it out. One thing's for sure, I'll wager you certainly won't be wanting for beautiful flies when you do!:)

Jonathon - My understanding is your runs are much healthier than ours. You should be able to find some fish, you just need to find 'em where you can catch 'em.:) The water you describe sounds like an exercise in frustration trying to tackle with fly gear. Go find some fly water, there's got to be some near you. I wished I could describe it for you, but fishing for Midwest landlocks is a whole different deal. Different water, different fish, and I don't have much experience with them. What I've read is that most fly fishing is done with deep nymphs and eggs under indicators at the heads of pools. For some reason, I guess the fish aren't scattered along lies in the main sections of runs or the tail-outs. Perhaps for lack of the rocky bottom structure they prefer? Anyway, more scouting on your part before you wet a line will reduce the frustration a lot. Once you get into a couple of those bad boys, it'll be interesting to hear who's more hooked, you, or the fish. Caution - it's a powerful virus. Once contracted it is very difficult to shake.:)

Regards,

Kurt

When I started to fish for Great Lakes Steelhead in the early 1980's, I had no knowledge other than "how to" articles in Sports Afield and Outdoor Life. So I did just that. And pretty successfully, too. I tied flies like Kurt's, but with way less skill.
Very nice!!

Kurt...I lived in the Seattle area, and O-deed on steelheading...told folks I lost wives, and jobs over that Steelhead. I lived on the Snoqualmie River in Fall City, and had some years of incredible late Summer-run fishing in Sept.-Oct. There is no heron in those patterns no doubt? I always wanted to choke one of those birds, and had a fish pond owner tell me he would get one for me, but never did. Looks like you used some mallard flank like on the Orange Heron. How do you get the barbules to arc back, and not have some flare off like a bad hairdo? More than likely pheasant rump used as well. I was in steelhead heaven anticipating the big tug swinging flies like that only not as well tied.

Hi Sayfu, Ha! No Heron, Just carefully burned and dyed goose shoulder. Blue-eared pheasant is just too wimpy for my tastes.


All feathers have varying degrees of curvature. You have to strip one side on some feathers. On others, if you fold them in line with the flue, the down curving barbules will keep the upcurving ones subdued. Usually if you stroke any of them back before folding, you're screwed. Occasionally more than a few barbules will spring on you when you try to wrap so you have to start over with a new feather. If it's just one or two, just trim them out next to the stem. This is best done with the tip of a razorblade held aginst it right at the stem while pulling on the offending barbule (for a clean shave without stubble.:)). The same rules apply for hackle wings (plucked from the sides of necks) and pheasant crests where you use the various curvatures built in to the feather to match the intended purpose. Training feathers and other tricks used for "show" flies don't work, as the first time you use them they revert to their natural shape.

regards,

Kurt

So Tony, what did those articles tell you to do? I'm curious. I will actually be hitting Three Pipes behind my house tonight and swinging those #8 weighted Egg-Sucking Leeches that I just tied up last night. What types of flies did those articles recommend? I know things have changed, but as they say, old is new again, and who knows what's actually going to end up working for me.

I have some hair-wing steelhead and Atlantic salmon flies I tied many years ago that I have never fished - I tied them just to see if I could do it and because they are so beautiful! I've also got egg patterns and some really gaudy Woolly Bugger and KBF variants. And a few big nymphs, don't fish nymphs much but I did tie up some specifically for steelhead fishing a couple of years ago. If (or hopefully, when) I get one you all will see it on here. Since it's all of a ten-minute walk I really don't have much excuse for not trying...

Jonathon

Jmd
Quartering down and across, upstream mend, long tapered leader - get the fly down deep and swing it through the best holding water - accelerate and then let it rise in the column just a bit... WHAM!! Fish-On!
The sink tip lines were starting to show up around then, so I tried that, too. I couldn't really find any in my local shops, so I made my own with leadcore trolling line. Later, I bought a leadcore leader kit (from Orvis, I think) and learned to use a short, level, heavy leader with even more success. By the time I owned a "store bought sink tip fly line, I had already started to use the egg patterns that remain so successful.
I remember a trip to New York in '85 when I used a new fly that I had heard about - the suckerspawn. I had never seen one, and I tied them on size 8 hooks with a dull brown yarn (the color of sucker eggs, right?) Well, some of the NY tribs were "no snagging" which basically meant - no weight on the leader, and no other fishermen around.
My cousin and I had a trib to ourselves and sight nymphed these enormous flies to holding steelhead and laker browns on an upstream, drag free cast.
Holy cow! Did those flies ever work!!
Funny, John, but what you say is interesting - I would never even think about throwing giant suckerspawn today - but it just may work.
I still enjoy swinging hairwings for steelhead, but the crowds make it tough. The only place that I can do it on an "all day" basis is within the Seneca Reservation near Gowanda, NY. I wish they would increase the tribal license to a hundred bucks!
I have caught exactly one West Coast steelhead in the lower 48. I filled my mule deer tag near White Bird, ID and fished the Snake for one day. Sadly, I must admit that I caught the little guy on a globug...

Hey Tony, thanks for the info! Unfortunately, my just-completed fishing expedition revealed yet another discouragement: MY WADERS ARE LEAKING. That now makes two - my old neoprenes started leaking a couple of years ago and I have never been able to seal them up, right in the crotch too. Now it's the Simms breathables...I was wondering why the damned river felt so freaking COLD!! Then, the answer: big damp spots inside the left knee, behind the right knee, and, of course, THE CROTCH.

Well, that gives me the thought of fishing out of the kayak. I might just have to try this...

I was using a Beartooth 8' loop-on sink tip for this fishing, and it felt like throwing a brick. At least, it didn't pop off on every other cast like split shot do...

Every year at this time I try my hardest to get my enthusiasm up for this steelhead thing, and it just keeps getting harder and harder. Maybe if I actually caught one of the damned things my attitude would change, and maybe fishing out of the kayak - which has proven extremely successful for me this year on other fisheries - might be the ticket, at least to having more fun while doing it. However, those smaller trout on midges and etc. on lakes are almost more tempting simply because I know the success rate for me is so much higher, not to mention contemplating the only non-fly form of fishing I'm still interested in, and that involves a hand auger and a little sled...

Don't mean to hijack this thread with my own personal philosophical debate, but as the days grow shorter and the temperatures drop, it gets harder to find things to do in my copious spare time with no full-time job...missing summer and those dry flies...

Jonathon

Jmd,
I hate to say it but I don't think the fishing out of the Huron is nearly as good as Michigan. Saw an article that dated back about a year and half saying that the salmon have been almost completely decimated by the zebra mussel on the lower half of L.Huron. I would guess that's also true of the steelhead. I've also read those beautiful flies we see here just aren't the thing for midwest steel. In Steelhead Dreams I believe he said said egg fly, caddis nymph, and stonefly are your best bets.

I talked to a couple of people who fish stones exclusively. I also talked with a gentleman who was bound and determined to catch a steelhead on a fly and did so at Weber dam on the Grand of all places, in November!. I would recommend you try Croton, I know it's not the most pretty place to fish with all that concrete but just keep your eyes downstream and it's actually really nice. I'm guessing you've been there so I won't hype it too much. One of the best odds of quarter and swing.

Beautiful flies!!

Strmanglr, no I actually haven't been over there. I just moved up here to Oscoda this year and the Au Sable is practically in my backyard, so it's a little bit hard to convince myself to drive for four hours just to fish when I can walk ten minutes or drive the same. There are still some salmon here, not in the numbers of 10 or more years ago when you couldn't walk the banks without tripping over their dead bodies in November! But a number still came in, and they're about done now. Steelhead numbers are supposedly down as well from "the good old days" but they are still around. In fact, I saw two last April in a very small creek that hits the Au Sable near my place, one little foot-long guy that could have been a regular rainbow if I didn't know better and a bigger one, 18-20", who was stuck on his belly on a sand bar in very shallow water!

Yes, eggs seem to be the most popular around here, and nymphs too, from the folks that I have talked to. There is supposedly a growing Spey crowd here in the Great Lakes. And a good friend and fellow fisherman said it's a good idea to try something different on these fish, as they get jaded from being shown the same thing over and over and over again.

My issue is whether or not this is really worth spending the time on, given substantial past efforts and a total lack of success. There are trout lakes open all year and while the weather is still not too cold I could hit them in the kayak, and when it IS cold there's always ice fishing. The leaking waders and unpleasantness of throwing a lot of weight on a fly rod kinda takes the fun out of it, and I do fish for fun, not survival...Like I said, maybe if I actually catch my first one it will change my attitude.

In the meantime, tying steelhead flies is actually quite fun and something to do during the dead of winter. It kept me going a couple of years ago...

Jonathon

I can't help but talk of steelhead. It is my favorite fish to catch.
Maybe you all have read this book already, maybe not-Steelhead Fly Fishing by Trey Combs. Want to get really jonesing for steelhead? Or live vicariously through others? Great book! Wonderful color plates of all the flies you'd ever want to tie. Another one that I found really good was Great Lakes Steelhead by Bob Linseman. And of course I already mentioned Steelhead Dreams by Matt Supinski. Read those over winter and by February you'll be casting in your living room for steelhead. :)

Steelhead, the fish of a thousand casts.

Muskegon at Croton is worth the trip if you've never been there. Seriously wide and huge, it is worth the drive just to see those 100' wall of trees. They put in a bubbler on the dam and it's making a difference. You can dry fly fish there almost year round. I went up there after salmon in the second week of October last year and it was unseasonably warm and there was a hatch going on! If you need the solitude then you can try Tamarack Creek. A small creek I debated mentioning here, it holds trout and can be fished year round. No steel in there though. Of course the White R. and the Rogue are close as well. If you haven't fished the Rogue below Rockford, I wouldn't recommend it so much. Quite urbanized and fished.

Allright enough. . .my name is strmanglr, and I have an addiction. . .

I have Bob Linesman's book, and I'm trying to get it to inspire me...might have to pick up Matt Supinski's book, too, since he fishes Michigan a lot...

"Steelhead, the fish of a thousand casts." Therein lies the problem for me...maybe if it was on nice summer days I wouldn't have so much of a problem with that. Still, the dead of winter can make a man desperate, and desperate men do desperate things...so I won't rule it out, but I will say I am far more successful at ice fishing! And there are loads of opportunities for that around here, including for trout. We'll see...can't say that I've had that rush to turn me into an addict yet, strmanglr.

Jonathon

Why 1,000 casts? Just forget the first 999. I had to get into a mindset of enjoying efficiency of effort...repeating the same cast over and over in a flawless way. Became a challenge. And the success lies in the fact you can do it, and become a well oiled machine. And then the reward is incredible. I have to say that in my day, in the Fall, I hooked up far, far more often than once every 1,000 casts, but it was in that narrow 60 day window in the Fall of the year. And I often knew precisely where the steelhead were located...I could spot them.

Absolutely S-man! Also, his first book Steelhead Fishing & Flies which was written back when I started. Lots of great history, great stories. Combs is the acknowledged dean of steelhead writers. IMHO, he and Joseph Bates, Jr. are by far the best writers on what some of us call flies that aren't designed to imitate insects (though a lot of steelheaders believe that it's no coincidence that many of the somber black, orange, and purple patterns on rivers with populations of Pteronarcys, Dicosmoecus, and Isonychia are popular).

Regards,

Kurt

You got me thinking here, or remembering, whatever...Do you remember Randy Stetzer's book, "Flies: The Best 1000"? He had these patterns in there similar to your Orange Spey above that were these beautiful, I guess, caddis imitations that were tied for steelhead...I'm at work and can't remember some of their names, but they were primarily brown, tied on the larger hooks, with longish fibers slanting back from the head of the fly that just screamed movement...There were maybe a half-a-doz or so and I think he gave the originators name...

The wings were tied downwing like your spey...I'll have to remember to look them up tonight...I was always impressed with them.

Spence

I have to agree with you Jonathon. There are a couple flies up there that probably couldn't be tied any better...Those are flies you put in the shadow box. I have revisited these pictures now several times since he's posted them.



Kurt...I think we have all been here before, no?! What did Strmangler say up above somewhere..."Hello. I'm so-and-so and I'm an addict." :)

Thanks for the kind words Spence, though actually they're full of flaws... But they were tied to fish with, not go on exhibition. I'm pretty sure they've all been in the water a time or two and a few have even caught fish (or at least had 'em on a second or two:)). The rest of the time they're stuck in Wheatleys (a few barbules here and there have been "clipped" by the clips). Notice that some of the heads are a little rough and dull? That's what fishing and an 0X turle knot can do, even to Cellire.:)

Have you guys seen any of Bob Veverka's work? All I can say is, "Wow."

Regards,

Kurt

Beautiful flies with very neatly tied, and lacquered, heads.