steelhead flies

[djwattswatts]

I have a ? about chooseing flies when on the river for steelhead how dose one go about doing so, i have read you dont need to match the hatch cause steelhead or not in the river to feed but they will take flies out of habbit. i have read also that color of water and if it sunny out can make a differents also.

[Darian]

DJ,.... I'm not considering equipment choice (Spey or single handed casting) in this note and my comments are not intended to cover every method or choice of fly.

Generally, your choice of flies will be dictated by your choice of whether you're fishing on top or underneath the surface and whether you'll be casting upstream or down (swinging). :) If you're casting upstream, you're probably going to be nymphing or dry fly fishing. If you're casting downstream, you'll be using wet patterns (of which there're so many there's not enough space on this BB to list them all).

I'd recommend you get a good book on this subject or join a local fly fishing club where you can get answers from people with first hand experience and where you can ask follow up questions. Not sure where you live but two local clubs are the California Fly Fishing Unlimited (Sacto) and Granite Bay Fly Fishers (Granite Bay). The other option is to go to a local fly shop and ask questions and buy the suggested patterns.

Of course, you could always do what the ol' timers used to do, just pick a fly and go fishing. With very few exceptions, Steelhead do not have a large brain and are not high IQ types. :D :D

[Rick J]

Darian - not sure what that says about my brain as they seem to defeat me more times than not!!!

DJ - I would agree with Darian - another thing to consider is that your selection may well vary depending on the season you are fishing - summer/fall vs winter/spring and the stream you happen to be fishing - some rivers big flies seem to work best while on others smaller can be better. An example - if I am fishing the Klamath the first fly I will reach for would be a #6 or #8 bead head moss back. If I am on the North Umpqua it would likely be a 1/0 leech of some type or a big tube fly or maybe a noisy waker (know that before October, no weight of any kind on fly or line is allowed on the NU)

[jbird]

Something to consider is that fly selection is probably the LEAST important part of succeeding at steelheading. That is due largely to your observation that it is not necessary to match any hatch. You are correct too about color and light/water conditions. Black patterns for dark conditions and lighter patterns for bright conditions. Their is an old saying here on the rogue, "It doesnt matter what color you use, as long as its black". I think the ultimate steelhead fly for anywhere in the world is probably the black egg sucking leach. This fly works swung weighted and unweighted as well as nymphing deep.

The single most important aspect to catching steelhead is getting your fly in front of them. This starts by understanding their behavior. then matching that with the correct line/leader/fly combination. The best thing about steelhead is they typically dont get jaded from being overfished. They are migratory so they dont get pounded by anglers like resident trout. Steelhead are big, dumb, aggressive rainbows and thats why we love em.

[wjorg]

jeez, I cant get over that Avatar......

[Darian]

Hey Walter,.... I know a certain place where..... Oh,.... nevermind.... :-\" :-\"

[jbird]

wjorg

I "borrowed" this avatar from a member on another forum. Everytime he posted something, it didnt even matter what he said, I was just glad he posted. :lol: ....and its not even a fishing forum.

[Jgoding]

Wjorg,

I can get you a reel just like that if you really like it that much =p

[paulegan81]

that looks just like the new hardy promotion.......

[Ffdoc]

Reel ? What reel ?

[DFrink]

Green is my new favorite color!