Having just gotten back from my first steelhead trip a couple weeks ago, I've still been spending a lot of time daydreaming about the experience and wishfully planning my next opportunity. As you might guess it's a long drive from my home here in Kansas to the closest steelhead water (it's a pretty long drive just to reach trout water, it's halfway across the country in either direction to find steelhead!) so wishful thinking is all I've got at this point. With the itch still maintaining it's grasp on my psyche and no other method of scratching it I ended up resorting to sitting down at the bench and tying up a few more spey style steelhead patterns. Part of the motivation was the fact that my tying desk still looked like someone had thrown a multi-colored chicken into a box fan from the tying binge pre-trip. I figured I might as well knock a few more flies out before putting the blue-eared pheasant and guinea feathers back in the "seldom used" drawer.
I'm not going to blow smoke and tell you that these are great looking flies, but they're all based on patterns that I know can be successful under the right circumstances. I don't know this from personal experience, I only know because the patterns all came from the Oak Orchard Flyshop steelhead pattern page on the internet and are recommended by several of the gentlemen associated with the shop. I personally fished with these guys on my trip and besides being great people, they knew their shit when it comes to steelhead fishing. The purple/black spey and the blue/white spey both got bit on the trip, as for the others they'll just have to bide their time in my box until I can get back up there.
Unfortunately, maybe the only thing worse than my fly tying ability is my photography skills so the pictures aren't really much to look at but I'm gonna throw them up and make you suffer through it anyway.
If you would like any of the recipes for these flies I would recommend going to the Oak Orchard Flyshops old website and checking out their fly patterns pages...lots of good stuff to keep you busy over the long, cold winter.
Jeff those are beautiful flies. The tying is well done.
ReplyDeleteI love the gentile flowing hackle and the colors.
And a "bravo" for your presentation and photography.
ReplyDeleteThanks Alan...I kind of enjoy tying these type patterns actually. You can use your imagination a little and throw different colors together to make some interesting patterns.
DeleteI'm going to have to see if my local browns and rainbows have any interest in a swung large spey fly.
Jeff,
ReplyDeleteThose are awesome. I want one just to sit on my desk and admire all day.
Lynn
Appreciate it Lynn. Compared to some of the more "classic" tyers for these type patterns mine look pretty shoddy, but all in all I was pretty happy. With a few special materials all of these are easy ties, just like a large soft hackle with longer materials.
DeleteCompared to the flys I've normally got in my vise they do really stand out!
Jeff, you're too modest. The flies are great as is the photography. I'd be really interested in knowing if anyone has ever used flies like these in smaller sizes for trout. I'm guessing they'd work.
ReplyDeleteThanks Howard. I'm going to find out for myself before the Winter is over. I don't see any reason that they wouldn't work though, after all steelhead are just big migratory rainbows. Most of these flies are tied on a size #2 or #1 hook so they're not that big. Just like a big soft hackle!.
DeleteThose look good to me. Nice to know from your own experience that they work, too.
ReplyDeleteI think these flies would work good anywhere on lower, moderately clear flows. Obviously you might need to go with a bigger profile or flashier colors in stained water but for normal conditions I think they'd catch fish anywhere. I'm going to use the same style pattern and tie up a few baitfish patterns for the local warmwater fish as well, we'll see how it goes!
DeleteAt least somebody is getting out there because my bucket list hasn't got many lines through it. Good to see someone challenging themselves and winning at it. Next on my bucket list - use those old glass rods I bought. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI hear ya man...as I said earlier, my bucket list always seems to get longer but nothing ever gets crossed off.
DeleteYou shouldn't have too much company out there on the streams this time of year at least, a nice glass dry fly rod is on my "want" list as well.