Selecting Flies for the Pacific SteelheadWritten by Cameron Larsen
Popular flies for Steelhead vary greatly whether you are fishing in Pacific region or in Great Lakes. The fisheries have developed separately and so have preferences anglers have for flies cast to their intended prey. We will primarily concentrate on Steelhead flies on West Coast in this article and concentrate on flies of Great Lakes region in a future article. There are some common patterns used in both regions as well, and we will point those out as we go along.Fly fishing for Steelhead can be traced back to Eel River, in Northern California, during late 1800’s.. And many of first Steelhead pattern’s roots can be traced back to same era as well. There were a few problems during this time, and none more crucial than lack of material with which to tie flies. Standard featherwing trout patterns became foundation of many steelhead patterns. Other patterns were adopted from English trout patterns and Atlantic Salmon patterns. Many of today’s most popular Steelhead patterns can be traced back to these beginnings. Green Butt Skunk, Skykomish Sunrise, Purple Peril, to name just a few all hail back to these early beginnings. I keep several fly boxes stocked just for steelhead, I always think I’ll leave a few home, before I head out, but rarely do. How many flies you decide to carry is up to you, but there a few things to consider when selecting an assortment of flies. The most popular colors for Steelhead flies are as follows: black, orange, purple, red, and chartreuse. The key is to have a variety of colors in fly box before heading out. Although old adage “bright days, bright flies, dark days, dark flies,” is a decent starting place. One also remember time of day one will be fishing. Summer steelheading is done mostly in darker hours, and therefore dark flies are popular like aforementioned Green Butt Skunk, and its variations.
| | The ubiquitous Wooly BuggerWritten by Cameron Larsen
The ubiquitous Woolly Bugger, never quite spelled correctly to my eyes, appeals to eyes of every gamefish imaginable. If I had one pattern to fish rest of my life, no matter what fish, no matter what conditions, this would be it. Steelhead, Trout, Salmon, Bass, Shad, Pike, you name it, they will hit this pattern. And best thing? Usually fish will be bigger than average, strikes harder than average, and action better than average. The origins of Woolly Bugger can be traced back to Old English pattern Woolly Worm, which is also a very effective pattern. Most credit Russell Blessing with actual invention of Woolly Bugger in early 1970’s in Pennsylvania. Although, Jack Dennis claims it is a variation of Black Martinez popularized in West. And still others claim it was originally a Bass imitation developed in late 1800’s in Missouri. Whatever origins popularity of this pattern cannot be denied. Besides being used for all game fish, Bugger’s popularity can also be attributed to its versatility. It can be tied in almost every color imaginable. The most popular color’s are black, brown and olive, with purple and white right behind. But almost every color has been tied, and different color combinations are often used on same fly. Another characteristic that makes bugger so popular, is that you can’t fish it wrong. Okay if fish are slurping delicately on #24 Tri-co spinners, you don’t want to plunk a #6 Bugger right in center of them. But if you are searching sub-surface for any kind of fish, in any kind of water, you could do a lot worse than selecting woolly bugger.
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