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Steelhead Sculpin Intruder Style
SWF (above) This fly comes to me by way of a freind from Beloooow the bridge.(lower peninsula) I have known Chris for several years now and have been witness to his growing knowledge of the steelhead. He has created this fly and I am confident that it should be a must in all our boxes as it has already proven itself time and again! Hook-size 4-8 either egg or caddis 2X strong Tail- shimmer fringe Collar-ice dub chenile(chart) Gill-uv ice dub pink Eyes- mini dumbell body-olive yarn
CEP (below) The origional idea for this fly came from Callies Perpetrator. This pattern depending on the size it is tied in works well in high dirty water or tied in a smaller size is good for skinny claer water that has been pressured. Trailer hook-8-10 egg hook Body hook-size 4-8 2 x strong 4/6x long Body-peacock natural rib -flat tinsel Wing-rainbow flash collar-nat guinea cone-tungsten size for depth
Fly of the week 2/13/2013 Bears Hex Nymph It has been brought to my attention by one of the website readers that I had not posted a fly that I referred to in a report. Here is the fly with the original receipe I learned from the book Fly Fishing for Great Lakes Steelhead An Advanced look at an emerging industry By:Rick Kustich and Jerry Kustich. This is without a doubt a must have have for a Michigan steelheader. Hook-4x Long Nymph 4-8 Thread-Brown Tail-Three strands of natural gray ostrich herl Rib-Fine silver wire Body-Cream or light yellow Antron Dubbing Gills-Filoplume tied on top Back and Wing Case-Pheasant Tail Hackle-Gray soft hackle palmered through thorax Eyes-Black plastic (mono or dumbell small)
1/30/2013 Bears flash back This is a fly that I have fulled around with in the past and kinda forgot about it until yesterday when it picked up a large hen for me that I after a breif fight lost. I have changed it a bit from the origional and Ill note that as I go along with the origional recipie. tail-black hen hackle barbs body-fuzzy black yarn(I use arizona diamond braid) shellback-blue/green peacock crystal flash(I use electric blue) rib-blue wire binding down crystal flash(I use silver) collar-soft black hackle eyes-silver bead chain or similar I also bulk up the head a bit with 1 or 2 strands of peacock hook size 6-10
GLP Hook STD Nymph 2x Strong 4-10 Tail Black marabou Body Arizona Diamond Braid Underwing White Calf tail Hackle Guinea Natural Eyes Black Mono Head Peacock or Ostrich wrapped figure 8
Fly No Name As I said in my report I have a freind who asked me to re-do a fly that I have been using for years called the spey bugger. This is the end product and over the past few weeks has provided some huge results for both steelhead and LR browns. Again this flie has no name and it can I suppose be tied in an array of colors but so far I have tied it in all black and black /olive. 1. hook size-std nymph hook 2x stong sizes 4-10 2. tail is marabou with 4/6 strands of flash. Marabou length equal to hook shaft 3. body is leech yarn or I like to use arizona diamond braid if you can find it. 4. underwing is white calf tail equal to shaft of hook 5. throat is schlappen first with a second wrap of natural guinea There it is and as I said this fly has been providing great results when dead drifted under an indicator
Compramised STS bugger The origional STS bugger was tied by Ray Schmidt of Schmidt Outfitters and if you go to www.schmidtoutfitters.com you can see step by step how to tie it. I call it compramised because I have changed very minor things that have made it work a little better for me. Step 1 hook down eye nymph hook 4-10 I like to either place a small bead or 4 to 5 wraps of wire to add a little weight. step 2 tie in marabou tail brown and black or mix in a little olive. Put 4-6 strands of flash. step 3 tie in grizzly then peacock and ostrich hackles for body. I dont know why but this color pattern with the grizzly works well. Wrap forward and done. One note about this fly I take alot of strikes on this fly after the drift is done when I am slowly lifting the rod sooooo dont just rip it out of the water at the end of the drift.
Green Lantern This is a fantastic bait fish pattern that I like to swing in deeper water on sink tip lines. it looks like a big ball of protein and will move fish even on the coldest of days. Hook size-2-6 2-4x long First I like to tie in a 1/4 inch strip of zonker this will help in preventing the marabou from wrapping around the hook. Second stack a small bunch of marabou on top of the rabbit Third tie in uni yarn for body as well as schlappen for body then wrap forward. Stopping approx 1/8 inch befor the eye of the hook. Fourth I like to add a healthy bunch of green mirror flash or crystal flash Fifth 1 strip on each side of a saddle hackle tip to match Sixth a nice tuft of austrailian oppossum fur or similar Lastly I nomally use a cone head but as I have been using fish skulls quite a bit I decided it time to rty them on some of my other steel head patterns. As I said in the beginning this is a great bait fish pattern when fish are looking for a good meal.
I have shown this fly before but here is a step by step with a few photos. This fly was shown to me by a good friend and teacher of two handed rods and fly tying, I have not seen my friend Jon for many years now but everything he taught me is still utilized today! Hook size varies to size you choose. This is a very diverse fly that I tie them from 4-10. First tie in a piece of Zonker strip at the back of hook about 1/4 or so in length. This prevents Marabou from rapping around the hook. Second, on top of the rabbit stack your marabou(equal length of hook) and Flashbou or Crystal Flash to match. Third, wrap the body using uni mohair or leech yarn. Fourth, I like to use 2 or 3 types of feathers at 3 to 4 wraps each. On this fly pictured I used: Dark Purple Schluppen Natural Mallard Flank Front Grizzle Hackle Once you have tied it all in, comb out the hackle with an eyebrow comb. This seperates the feathers well! This is a very effective fly and an absolute must for anyone who likes to swing the fly. Color combos that I have used: Black Olive Black and Purple Black and Olive White and Purple Orange and Wine
Ephron Duns 10/12 Tied parachute hook size- 10/12 Body -white or cream dub or uni-yarn Hackle and tail- Lt blue dun Emerger Hook size- 14 Body- white or cream dub or uni yarn yolk- lt orange ice dub tail- z-lon and mallard
7/10/12 Golden Stone Size=6-10 Body= yellow bb foam Wing=foam or mallard tip Hackle=deer or elk Legs=silly legs Vis dot=red yarn This fly is great for fishing fast rough water as it floats very high and well. Next weeks fly will be two. A ephron emerger and a dun as the hatches have been running a bit early this year. So over the next two weeks or so keep your eyes peeled for our last big may fly hatch the Ephron.
Way behind so I am going to put up 2 flies this week 1 dry 1 streamer. Streamer of the week is the White Zoo Cougar. This fly along with the origional has been very effective in provoking fantastic strikes. hook=4-8 3-6x long body=pearl or opal mylar tail=white marabou wing=white buck tail under white mallard flank Head=white deer hair The dry fly is one that is running in force right now here in my area the Lt Cahill. We fish this in size 14 but I do keep them in size 12 and 16 in my box. hook=tmc or like sz 14 dry fly tail=cream hackle fibers body= cream dub and make one super cool mix in or use some ice dub para post= calf tail is what I like hackle=cream
This is a Fly I like to use when the water starts to warm as the bait fish and such start to move around.(This is a swung fly) Hybrid Bunny Spey hook-daichi 2427 or similar size 2-8(smaller size for low clear water and pressured fish) Zonker strip grzzly natural body -arizona diamond braid or leech yarn rib-flat tinsel gold or silver collar-blue eared pheasant or schlappen If not fishing with a sink tip I will wrap some match stick lead around the shaft of the hook.I also like to add some marabou to the tail.
Re- Run 1-21-12 The Green Caddis (rock worm) is a fly that I have posted previously but due to several people asking about it again I am going to re-post it with tying instructions.I hope this helps you all. 1.hook-tmc 2457 sizes 6-12(to add weight .015 wire wrap or smaal bead head) 2.Green Highlander uni yarn (or similar) 3.3-4 strands of peacock Follow the pics this is a very easy pattern to tie and extremely effective an absolute must in a Michigan steelheaders box!
Attack of the CLOWN 12/12/11 As water temps plumit into the bitter cold zone our quarry will slow to a crawl along the rivers bottom there for we must present our fly Loooow and slooow!! The mighty clown egg has always and will forever be a favorite of mine.Colors working well now are char/cheese.Ive also been exper with some blues and pinks with char Ill let you all know how that works.Sizes 6 and 8 reducing that size to as low as 12 in clear water.
Ice Ice Baby 2/16/11 Unlike that song that was gone with a blink of the eye,these patterns will be around forever!These have proven to be GOOD and SOLID go to patterns for Steelhead and Browns.The top two are tied by Will H local Guide and Fly tier they have been named the ICE CADDIS. hook TMC 2457 body and collar Ice dub (color to suit) Bead 5/32 tungston The bottom fly just a rock worm but the body is done with Arizona Diamond Braid,it has worked well for us.
Hello all!! As I said in my reports section its been awhile since my last posting life right now is proving challenging trying to juggle life and work and the Fly fishing shop and guide service. Any way I dug up some old school patterns that I used to tie but as we all get caught up in the newest and latest we tend to forget about some old patterns that tend to work well.I was strolling through a book(Flies for Steelhead By Dick Stewart & Farrow Allen) a book I suggest if you can find a copy.I found 2 Michigan based patterns that I used to use about 10yrs ago.I had varied them a bit and I will include the proper recipie. 1.Nolas pink spey tied w/ tag flat or oval silver tinsel,body pink glo bug yarn,rib oval silver tinsel,collar blac feather from neck of ruffed grouse and winggoose quill dyed pink. 2.Black Krahe spey body black squirrel fur or sub,rib oval silver tinsel,hackle black spey,throat guinea barbs and wing segments of silver pheasant wing set low. As you see I have modified them a bit and they work well I like to tie them a bit small and fish them to pressured fish when the big flies just spook them.Also in deeper water I will put several wraps of lead around them to sink them a bit more.
1.clown egg 2.rock worm(caddis larva) 3.Jeff (bear) Andrews Neon stone
Well as trout season draws closer to end, it is time to start turning our thoughts toward the BIG ones(Kings,Steelies and Browns) Here are the first of what we call the spey Buggers.Some might say that this is not a true spey and that is OK but this is what we call it. Hook size 4-8 2x or 3x long tail zonker strip w/ marabou on top body arizona diamond braid marabou and blue eared pheasant for throat You can make these in your own colors these are the colors that work best for me.I use these on my switch and spey rods floating lines in the fall going to sinking tips in the winter.Also using a bead when fishing w/ floating lines. |
December 21, 2012
December 7,2012
November 22nd 2012
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Spey Bugger.jpg)
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7/30/12
6/18/12
2/29/12 Bunny Busters
October 30,2011
These are what I (my opinion only) consider to be three of the most important flies to have when indicator fishing for steelhead and browns.
September 5,2011
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