At 09:29 PM 10/26/2005, you wrote:
So..what are your current favorite steelhead flies? I just finished
a bunch of pearl colored Deschutes Madness flies and wish to know
what you're tying. As they say, inquiring minds want to know. Joyce
Joyce,
Since I'm guessing your fishing for steel in larger rivers
that what PA offers, I don't really have a good idea on what to tell
you. In PA, our steelhead run up trout sized streams as the water
temp/flow permits. The standard patterns here are the egg pattern
group - Sucker Spawn, Crystal Meth, Glo-Bugs. I also use an Estaz
Egg, which is nothing more than Estaz in steelhead colors (chart,
pink, white, orange) palmered up a hook. I mix mine up too by adding
a gold beadhead to all those patterns as well as krystal flash tails
as well. I'm in the Steelhead Swap and am tying a concept type
fly. I also found an idea in an old magazine I was going through --
'steelhead' a nymph pattern. Here's what ya do -- take a staple
pattern - ie a Pheasant Tail Nymph. Tie it as you normally would,
until you get to the thorax. At that point, mix it up - I take
chart. estaz and make THAT the thorax. Finish as normal. That combo
has probably been my No.1 goto fly since I've tried it. Works just
as good or better than the original PTN's on the stream. That pretty
much describes my flybox for steelhead. I have the woolybuggers and
other stuff you'll see listed on fisherie.com's website. I want to
add some sort of bucktail streamers for next trip though -- they seem
to have been working lately.
Hope this helps.
Garry
Da'Burgh, PA
Is It Fishin' Time Yet?
