A Pair of Simple Steelhead Patterns
Introduction
I can’t claim to have extensive experience fishing for Steelhead. You could count the total number of trips I’ve taken on one hand and have a couple of fingers left over. But I’ve enjoyed some success and I’ve been asked to share some of what I’ve learned, which I’m glad to do. Sometimes it’s better for a relative rookie to write an article like this, it’s easier to keep things simple if you don’t know too much.
There are a lot of different techniques used for Steelhead fishing. The method I’ve used most so far, and the one that seems to yield the most consistent results in the Great Lakes tributaries, is to dead-drift a nymph or egg pattern. Where it’s legal I like to fish both a nymph and an egg in tandem, but you have to be careful where you do this. In some places the law limits you to a single hook for Steelhead fishing, and there may also be restrictions on how much weight can be used, how it can be attached to your leader, etc. You would do well to make sure you know the regulations in effect where you intend to fish.
Drifting eggs and/or nymphs for Steelhead is very similar to doing the same thing in conventional trout fishing. It’s just that when you hook up you will probably have a fish that’s measured in pounds rather than inches and that will fight like no trout you’ve ever seen. Small Steelhead that only spend one year in the lake before returning to their natal stream are sometimes called “jacks.” They run about 18 inches or so, but even these will often take you into your backing if there’s room to run. It’s quite a thrill to land a chrome-bright fish that puts up such a spectacular fight.
My limited experience indicates that Steelhead are typically rather undemanding about fly pattern. I’m sure that they can sometimes be as finicky as any other fish, but for the most part it seems to be largely a matter of getting the attention of a willing fish and one fly tends to work as well as another. Of course that opinion doesn’t deter me in the least from carrying a plethora of patterns and changing flies frequently when nothing’s happening.
If you are buying flies that are all the same price, there’s no reason you shouldn’t choose whatever patterns suit your fancy regardless of the nature of their construction. But since I tie most of what I use, I much prefer simple flies that are quick and easy to turn out in quantity. A good example is the Steelhead Hammer, a nymph pattern with a woven abdomen. I’ve done well with the few of these I’ve purchased, but it is not a pattern I’d ever tie for myself; it’s just too time-consuming for a fly that is at high risk of being lost to the stream bottom.
An Egg Pattern
If I had to choose only one pattern to fish for Steelhead, it would almost certainly be a Glo-Bug. Commercially tied Glo-Bugs are usually perfectly round balls. I have a theoretical knowledge of how to do this, but choose not to in the interest of being able to use an “egg gun.” The egg gun turns out Glo-Bugs quickly and with very little wasted material. The trade-off is that you do not get that perfectly round ball that some fly fishers obsess with when it comes to egg patterns. Glo-Bugs tied with the egg gun invariably have a hole in the bottom. The fish do not seem to mind this minor defect, and therefore neither do I. In fact, loose eggs in the drift are as likely as not to be damaged in some way. I hardly think the fish examine the eggs they eat from all angles and reject those that are not perfectly spherical. Experience seems to bear that out.
Once you know how an egg gun works, you can make a home-made substitute. But since they sell for under $10.00 it hardly seems worth it. It is nice to find something you can use for extra tubes, however, since this enables you to have a number of different colors of yarn loaded up and ready to tie. Any plastic tube of the correct diameter and sturdy enough to withstand this use will do. An old pen barrel would work well, for instance. A clear tube is best so that you can see how the yarn is oriented inside when you’re loading multiple colors.
If you want to tie Glo-Bugs, my advice would be to buy an egg gun and follow the directions included with the product. Solid-color eggs in shades of pink, peach, or cream are good choices, as are bicolor eggs. Chartreuse and Alaskan Roe is an excellent color combo. I like to put a yolk spot on my eggs. My favorite is the Glo-Bug yarn color named Egg, with a Dark Roe spot. To make a yolk spot, load the egg gun tube so that the yarn for the yolk spot is all on one side of the tube. When you offer the tube up to the hook, have the yolk spot color oriented on top of the tube. The yarn will flare where the thread crosses and the result will be a single yolk spot on the top of your egg.
A number of different hooks can be used for Glo-Bugs. Short-shank hooks are most commonly used, such as the Mustad 9174 or the TMC 105. Each tyer must come to terms with balancing hook price and effectiveness, since the rate of loss is relatively high. The standard Mustad hook is certainly more economical, but the TMC is sharper and has a finer barb. It’s your choice.
You’ll need a very strong thread to tie Glo-Bugs, in order to be able to apply sufficient pressure without breakage. I used to use Kevlar thread for my Glo-Bugs, but GSP works even better. It’s nearly as strong, but much thinner. I like the 100 denier GSP for all but the smallest eggs, for which I use 50 denier. I normally use red or white thread for egg patterns.
A Nymph Pattern
Most of your favorite trout nymph patterns can be used for Steelhead, although it’s wise to tie them on heavy wire hooks. Some Steelheaders use nymphs down to size 16 and even smaller, on tippets as light as 5X fluorocarbon. This tactic sometimes results in an increased number of hits, but few fish are landed due to the broken tippets and bent-out or pulled-out hooks that invariably result. I haven’t gone smaller than size 12 and I don’t think I’d want to.
Again, I prefer to tie a fly that’s quick and easy to make. Here’s a nymph I came up with that’s basically a hybrid of the Montana Nymph and the Rusher’s Steelhead Nymph. I find size 10 the overall most useful, but of course this pattern can be modified to tie larger or smaller.
MK’s Steelhead Nymph
Hook: #10 Mustad 9671, or 2XL nymph hook of your choice
Thread: 3/0 black
Tail: Sparse clump of black hackle fibers
Abdomen: Black ultra chenille
Wing pad: Black 1/8-inch Kreinik Tyer’s Braid or similar flat plastic braid
Thorax: Standard Estaz—red, chartreuse, orange, or color of your choice
| 1) | De-barb hook, mount in vise. |
| 2) | Start thread at head position and wrap a base back to the tail position. |
| 3) | Tie in fibers for tail, whatever length you wish. |
| 4) | Advance thread to just forward of the half-way mark and catch in the chenille on top of the hook with the length of the chenille to the rear |
| 5) | Wrap working thread back to the tail position, binding the chenille to the top of the hook as you go. Advance working thread back to the point where you tied in the chenille. |
| 6) | If desired, coat hook shank with cement. |
| 7) | Wrap Ultra Chenille forward in touching turns to the working thread. Be sure to leave plenty of room for the thorax and head; don’t go much past the half way point of the hook shank. Tie off chenille and clip excess. |
| 8) | Tie in braid for wing pad at the forward edge of the chenille abdomen. |
| 9) | Tie in Estaz, advance thread to head position |
| 10) | Wrap three turns of Estaz forward in touching turns, sweeping fibers to the rear after each wrap to avoid binding them down. Tie off and clip excess. |
| 11) | Pull the braid over the back of the thorax, tie down well and clip excess. |
| 12) | Form a neat thread head, whip off and cement. |
--Mary S. Kuss--
Winter 2009 Issue
