“Heavy Metal” Steelhead Fly Tutorial

The Heavy Metal  fly is a variation of the Derek Fergus “Rockstar” steelhead fly.  Instead of using dacron backing or fireline to connect the hooks together plus the need to use two vises to build this fly I used the “Fish Skull” shanks which are available in 55, 35, and 20 millimeter lengths.  Enjoy……..Rich Youngers

Note: This is the first of a series of fly tying tutorials for steelhead and pacific salmon flies.  If there is a specfic steelhead or Pacific Salmon fly that you would like me to do a tutorial on just let me know.

Hook: Daiichi 2451 size 2-4 or Daiich

Hook attachment: Fish Skull articulated shank 35mm.

Rear body: Hot Pink Senyo’s Laser Yarn. (use dubbing loop method)

Rear body support hackle: Hot Pink Schlappen.

Rear body main hackle: Hot orange ostrich herl.

Front body: Hot Pink Seno’s Laser yarn.

Front body support hackle: Hot Pink Schlappen.

Front body main hackle: Light Pink sstrich helr with a few strands of Flashabou.

Eyes: Medium or large nickel plated brass eyes.

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The “Sasquatch Wench” Steelhead Fly

A great steelhead fly created by Jason Atkinson.

Great Event On Tap In March

Northwest Fly Tying & Fly Fishing Expo
March 9th & 10th, 2012

Located at the Linn County Expo Center -
(Google Map), Albany, Oregon

The NW Expo has been heralded as the “largest fly tying event west of the Mississippi”. Come to the Expo and be part of the crowd of fly tyers and fly fishers building their knowledge and seeing old friends. At the Expo you will have the opportunity to:
•Learn from 187 Fly Tyers
•Explore 50 Exhibitors
•Observe Daily Casting Demonstrations
•Choose from 90 Classes on Tying, Casting, & Fly Fishing
•Attend the Daily FREE Fly Fishing Education Program
•Participate in Raffles & Silent Auctions daily
•Attend the Banquet & Auction Saturday night

Admission:
General Admission: $5.00
FFF Members, Veterans and Youth 18 & Under: FREE
Parking is also FREE (See About>>Lodging for RV parking and fees)

I personally know everybody involved who works behind the scenes on the expo and these individuals work very very hard to make this event successful year after year.  I highly recommend that you make it out to the expo in March.  It’s a great show……Rich Youngers,  Creekside Flyfishing

Upcoming Clinic At Creekside Flyfishing

Spey Fly Saturday 2012

“Advanced Steelhead Fly Tying Clinic”

With Brad Burden

Brad Burden is one of the best fly tyer’s in the country and is an expert on spey flies and their construction. Brad dresses Spey and Dee flies to perfection with exacting emphasis on detail. Brad’s spey flies, Dee flies and classic salmon flies have made their way to the pages of many first class books.

Clinic Objective:

To teach refined techniques of tying traditional steelhead wets and Spey’s as a focus.

Clinic Outline:

Learn tips about fly construction including:

Underbodies, floss / tinsel bodies vs. fur

Wing sets – hackle tip, strip wings, body feathers

Selecting and mounting Bronze Mallard wings

Maintaining sparseness

Overall proportions

Maintaining small heads

Converting standard wet patterns to speys

Alternative spey hackle substitutes

Selecting and mounting crests and tails

Steaming and dying materials

Brad will be demonstrating three project flies; Golden Demon Wet, Black Gordon Spey, and the Fireant Spey. His emphasis will be on constructing smooth underbodies, selecting, folding and tying in throat hackles, alternative tag/tinsel construction and mounting Bronze Mallard Wings. Brad will also demonstrate great ways to do floss bodies and fur body construction. There will be demo’s on spey hackle folding, feather tip wing sets, Golden pheasant body feather wing sets, crests and tail selection and mounting, and folding and tying teal throats.

This clinic is intended to help you improve your tying skills, applicable to tying any spey fly. There will also be time to address any problem areas you are experiencing, with emphasis on providing you helpful tips to make you a better steelhead spey fly tyer.

Date: April 7th

Time: 10:00am – 3:00pm

Instructor: Brad Burden

Where: Creekside Flyfishing, 350 Liberty St SE Salem, Oregon 97305

Cost: $65.00

Pre-registration required

to enroll call Creekside Flyfishing at 503-588-1768

Important: Pre-registration is required for all our classes as we limit the number of students. Class fees are due upon registration and are needed to confirm your spot in a class. We are no longer able to hold a place in a class without payment. Fees are non-refundable if you cancel and a replacement is not found for your spot. If a class is canceled or postponed due to lack of enrollment, anyone enrolled will have the option of a refund or they can transfer to another class.

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Winter Steelhead

It’s almost time, It’s almost time, It’s almost time.  I keep telling myself over and over It’s almost time for those big native winter steelhead to start entering our coastal river systems.  February through April is my favorite time to fish steelhead over any other time of the year.   Give me snow, heavy rain, hail, howling wind any day to chase wild winter steelhead and I’ll take it as it is worth it.

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Tight Lines……Rich

Winter Steelhead Fly Tying Class

Three Session Fly Tying Class

Learn to tie tube flies, spey flies, traditional wets and intruder style winter steelhead flies.

Instructor: Rich Youngers

Class Dates: January 19th, 26th, February 2nd, 2012

Skill Level: Intermediate

Time: 6:00pm – 8:30pm each night at Creekside Flyfishing

Cost: $65.00

Class limited to 6 students

Pre-registration required

To enroll call Creekside Flyfishing at 503-588-1768

Important: Pre-registration is required for all our classes as we limit the number of students. Class fees are due upon registration and are needed to confirm your spot in a class. We are no longer able to hold a place in a class without payment. Fees are non-refundable if you cancel and a replacement is not found for your spot. If a class is canceled or postponed due to lack of enrollment, anyone enrolled will have the option of a refund or they can transfer to another class.

Hot New Tying Hook Now At Creekside Flyfishing

Dave McNeese's "Blue Heron" hook

Blue Heron Spey Hooks by Dave McNeese

These hooks feature a fine blued finish in C-80 steel with a very small, long return eye angled at 5% to prevent the fly from riding up on the swing. Dave designed these hooks with a slightly longer point and they are tempered hard, not brittle with a very old receipt so the point will NOT break off on the rocks during a back-cast. They are long with a beautiful flow and are the finest exhibition hooks made. Sizes: #1 = 2.25″, #2 = 2.00″. 10 hooks per package. $13.95

We have these hooks in stock at Creekside Flyfishing.  Give us a call at 503-588-1768 to order.

Winter Steelhead Season Is Upon Us

Wild Coastal Steelhead

Fly fishing for winter steelhead consists of two techniques; the wet fly swing and the dead drift.  In all reality the dead drift method will take more fish than the traditional wet fly swing.  Though, nothing beats the “grab” from a steelhead on the wet fly swing.  This “grab”, that we search for keeps us out on the river under the harshest conditions.

Tackle

A nine to nine and a half ft. single hand rod in a 8wt. with a medium fast to fast action is the best choice for winter steelhead fishing.  If you want to pursue steelhead with a double handed rod then a rod in the 12’6”- 13’6” in 7-8 wt. range.  Switch rods are also a good choice for steelhead fishing. The best two sizes would be an eleven foot seven-weight or eight-weight.  My next blog post will be on all the different types of lines for fishing the doublehand rods.

Fly lines for winter steelhead fishing can vary but no need to get to technical.  For dead drifting egg patterns with split-shot under a strike indicator the best choice is either the RIO Steelhead & Atlantic Salmon, Rio Clouser line, RIO Indicator line or the Scientific Anglers Steelhead taper.   Another line system that works well for the traditional wet fly swing method are shooting head systems in both single hand and spey.  Depending on the water level, you can use a floating, intermediate up to a type six head connected to a floating shooting line.  Shooting heads are 24-30 feet in length with various tapers and grain weights depending on the manufacturer.

Chasing steelhead via the wet fly swing is the traditional method that has been practiced for many years.  When a steelhead takes a fly fishing this method you want to make sure your arm is securely fastened to you arm socket.  The hits are hard and every time it’s different.  You’ll never get used to the take, guaranteed!

Fly Patterns

There are so many fly choices available and it can be challenging to select patterns to attract northwest steelhead. I love tying and admire all the different steelhead flies, but most flies are tied to attract fisherman’s eyes more than the steelhead. Basically, try to keep your fly selections simple, especially when just starting.

If  your swinging flies, use  flies like my “Winter Run”, “Steelhead Mojo”,  Orange or pink Pick’yer pocket, General Practitioner, Dal-Lama-Pink/Purple, Hickman’s Party Boy and Hartwick’s Hoser.  When water is that perfect “steelhead green”, use a smaller more subtle shade of pink such as a BH Cabellero Egg, BH Lifter, and My “Salmon River MVP” egg when your dead drifting.

Finding Good Water

Look for water depth of three to six feet with the current moving at a walking pace. Underwater structures, such as rocks and ledges, can be important holding lies.  Steelhead will also hold in the transition zone where the current change from fast to slow.  Steelhead will never hold in back eddies or stagnant water.  Tailouts are important holding lies also especially at sunrise and sunset.

Presenting the Fly

The traditional way for many years is the “swung” fly method.  This is done by a 45 degree angle downstream cast and throwing a good upstream mend.  This is very important when using sink-tips or sinking shooting head systems as you want to get the sinking part of the fly line straightened out so the fly and sink-tip will be in-line. You should only have to mend once through the swing under most conditions.  When working a new run, cover the water below you first. There are times that steelhead will be right at your feet just off the bank.  Strip off about 20 feet of line and make a few casts to cover the water below you.  Once you have worked the water below you, strip off about three feet of line and cast down and across again.  Make three casts and swings then strip off another three feet of line and repeat.  Once you have stripped off as much line as you can cast then you start taking about a three feet step downstream every third cast with the amount of line that you have out and work through the rest of the run.   I figure if you can’t get a steelhead to strike within three casts in the same spot he is not there to begin with.  You want to keep moving.

When dead drifting for steelhead you want to look for what is called “pocket water”.   This water consists of narrow runs through boulders and ledges and this type of water is not the same water that you could swing a fly through.  Dead drifting a fly is a very good method on the small coastal streams.  To present the fly to the steelhead, the line is cast upstream, generally at an angle of 45 to 60 degrees.  The flies must be allowed to sink on a slack line as the fly drifts back toward the angler.  The slack is removed as the fly proceeds downstream by keeping the rod high and stripping in the excess slack.  If none of the slack is removed, the angler will not be able to quickly and effectively set the hook.   On the flip side, if the line is tightened because all of the slack is removed, the flies will drift too high in the water column, not remaining down in the steelhead zone.  Fishing with a floating line and dead drifting egg patterns under a strike indicator, the leader of choice is a 9’ 1X-2X tapered knotless leader. To this you will add 18” of tippet of 1X-2X fluorocarbon. Nine feet of leader would probably be enough; however by adding the tippet, the knot stops the Split-shot from sliding down to the fly. You want to keep the Split-shot about 18 inches away from my fly. With this system a strike indicator works the best. Start with the indicator 2 times the depth from your fly. Do not allow the indicator to suspend your fly. Cast with open loops, you do not want that Split-shot to hit your rod, or your head.

Run Timing

Coastal winter steelhead starts in late November with hatchery fish and they usually run through the end of January.  The wild steelhead run starts with a few fish coming in January and then the runs builds in February and continues through mid-April.  Some of the smaller coastal streams close for steelhead fish at the end of March.  Always check the Oregon state fishing regulations…..Rich

Great Steelhead Fly Fishing Video

Enjoy this video of Goran Anderson fly fishing the Deschutes River. Recently, Leland Fly Fishing Outfitters joined Göran Andersson (pronounced Yo-Rawn) of LOOP for a float trip down Oregon’s Deschutes River. Göran invented underhand casting, also called Scandinavian casting, in the middle of the last century, and has been perfecting the techniques and associated gear ever since. His ability to fish with little to no back cast space, in addition to his near-superhuman oneness with the fly, have earned him the nickname “Magic Man”. Key to his casting style are deep-flexing rods designed for a compact casting stroke. We feel lucky to have spent a little bit of time with him on the river, which, whether located in Sweden or central Oregon, is definitely his natural habitat. Thanks to Leland Fly FIshing Outfitters for producing this great video.

Fall Fishing Update

Me holding a November Chinook of a few years ago caught by Tim Lancaster on a bamboo fly rod.

The weather has turned on us and winter is on the way.   I think out here in Oregon we got robbed of a summer season once again.  We do still have some decent fishing going on for Fall salmon though.  We have had a series of storms lately and fish are making their way upriver and anglers are having fair to good success.  The river levels are good right now and there is good numbers of salmon in most of our coastal rivers.

Upriver tactics are a bit different from tidewater techniques.  We still use a 10wt fly rod but the line setup is different.  The RIO multi-tip line is a must for swinging flies.   Brightly colored flies in hot pink, Chartreuse, and hot orange will cover all the bases.

The fish in the picture was hooked on a Clouser Minnow in a Chart/White color.  The amazing thing was that my client hooked it on a 10wt rated bamboo rod and a Hardy Salmon reel.  It was quite a battle and we landed it about 100 yards downriver from where we hooked it.  That salmon was released back to the river and hopefully it made it upriver and found a mate to make more big salmon for the future…..Rich