Steelhead flies

[Guest deerhunting101]

I've just recently started flyfishing and my new hobby for the winter is tying flies. Can anyone suggest which flies I should tie for steelhead and brooktrout. .

[Guest Nick C]

One that you should try to tie is a Wooly Bugger fly. Their are many sites that will provide information on how to tie them and a lot of good books as well. I to am just starting to tie my own flies. Let me know it goes.

Nick C

[Guest deerhunting101]

Thanks I'll give them a try.

[Guest The Duck]

This simple selection will work great in our area. There are MANY other local patterns that work but these are simple and effective.

Steelhead:

Fill your box with these and you'll be set for almost anything this spring.

1) Glow Bugs......# 6 and # 8 on egg hooks ( I use TMC 105's). Tie them in chartreuse, soft orange, pink, and egg colours. Tie TONS of them because they work REALLY well and you can crank them out quickly. I'd tie a few bright coloured #4's for high dirty water as well.

2) Cactus Flies.....in similar sizes and colours as the glow bugs. ("cactus" refers to the chenille on the body)

3) simple nymph patterns in black and brown. A "Spring Stone" is easy to tie and effective. Tie them in # 4's, 6's, and 8's. ...with #6 being the first choice.

Brook trout:

You'll need to adjust the size of these flies to the size of the fish. (Small ones in creeks... slightly bigger in lakes...and HUGE ones in the Nipigon River.)

1) Woolly Buggers. Peacock olive body with a black tail and hackle. If you had to have only one fly in your box for every freshwater fish in the world it would be this fly in #6 ( or maybe a case could be made for a # 8 ). Rib over the hackle with some fine wire or some 5X mono so that they last longer.

2) some Muddler Minnows in # 4, and # 6

3) Strip Leeches...... (tied with rabbit) in olive, black, brown, or white. I Use pheasant for the hackle but it doesn't matter. If you had to choose just one I'd go with a # 4 olive one....(since the woolly buggers will cover the "black situations" for you).

I go fishing with hundreds of flies and dozens of patterns, and I nearly always end up fishing a strip leech all weekend. Go figure....

4) Elk Hair Caddis...... in # 10 # 12 and # 14........(make it a "Sofa Pillow" in # 6 or #4 if you need a bigger adult stone imitation.)

These four or five flies are pretty much all you need for brook trout. You can't go wrong.

Hope this helps.