Six Great Lakes Steelhead Nymphs

I am hoping this post will be the official rebirth of my blog. It has been a wild couple of years with mother nature throwing us a few curve balls, and the outbreak of COVID 19, but we have made it and are welcoming in the 2020 steelhead season with open arms. With the completion of smallmouth season in the middle of October and trout season slowing down, I have been sitting at the bench tying up a lot of bugs for this steelhead season. These days I find myself splitting time between both Lake Erie and Lake Ontario tribs, and wanted to share a few of my favorite flies, not only to fish but also to tie. I have plans to do a few new tying videos over the winter, we will see how that goes, so stay tuned.

Until then enjoy a few photos and recipes from nymph box.

 

The Double Squirrel Jig is one of my favorite trout nymphs, so I decided to up size it and add a barred jig hook to the recipe. I do pinch all my barbs when steelhead fishing, but I do like the little extra security of the small bump from the pinched barb.

The Double Squirrel Jig
Hook: Ahrex FW550 sz. 14-10
Bead: Hareline Slotted Tungsten Bead - Black 
Thread: Veevus 140 - Fl. Hot Pink 
Rib: Veevus Pearl Tinsel sz. Small 
Tail: Hareline CDL Light 
Body: SLF Squirrel Dubbing - Natural Fox Squirrel 
Collar: SLF Squirrel Dub - Drk. Brown

The Sour Patch Stone is a new one for me this year. In the past I have done well with black stone nymphs, some as simple as just a tail and some black dubbing on the hook. That was no fun to tie, so I spruced it up a bit, added a hot bead and some rubber legs with pink accents and away we went. 

Sour Patch Stone
Hook: Ahrex FW550 sz. 14-10
Bead: Hareline Slotted Tungsten Bead - Lt. Pink 
Thread: Veevus 140 - Fl. Hot Pink
Rib: Ultra Wire - Fl. Pink sz. Small
Tail: Rooster Hackle Fibers - Black 
Abdomen: SLF Squirrel Dubbing - Black 
Thorax: SLF Whitlock Blend - Black Stone 
Legs: Round Rubber Legs - Black sz. Small 
Shellback: Veevus Holographic Tinsel - Black sz. Large 
Flashback: Veevus Holographic Tinsel - Pink sz. Med 

This little nymph is a confidence fly for me when fishing any Erie trib. It is simple, natural, and seems to get the attention from steelhead even in low and clear conditions. It is quick to tie, and will likely be the first fly I tie on most days.

Home Fry Nymph 
Hook: TMC 3769 sz. 12 
Thread: Veevus 8/0 - Brown 
Rib: Ultra Wire - Copper sz. Small
Bead: Hareline Plummeting Tungsten Bead - Black  
Tail: Hareline CDL - Medium  
Abdomen: SLF Squirrel Dubbing - Drk. Brown 
Thorax: UV Polar Chenille - Brown sz. Micro 
Shellback: Pheasant Tail - Natural 
Legs: MFC Barred Rubber Legs - Brown sz. Small 

I am obsessed with stoneflies. I love flipping rocks over and finding them anytime I'm on the water. I also love that steelhead eat them like crazy. I have a lot of fun tying stoneflies and just like the fly above, they are always a confidence fly for me. 

Bubble Gum Stone 
Hook: Partridge Sedge Caddis sz. 8
Thread: Veevus 8/0 - Brown 
Bead: Hareline Plummeting Tungsten Bead - Lt. Pink 
Tail: Hareline Life Flex - Brown 
Antena: Hareline Life Flex - Brown 
Body: Fly Fish Food Small Stonefly Chenille - Black Brown 
Legs: Lively Legz - Purple Fleck sz, Large 
Shellback: Turkey Quill - Natural 
Flashback: Veevus Pearl Tinsel - Pink 
Collar: SLF Whitlock Blend - RFS Nymph Thorax
 

Landon Mayer's Mini Leech isn't just a fly for large western trout. It is deadly for great lakes steelhead and brown trout. I tie them on size 10 jigs for bigger water, but a size 14 is the sweet spot for me. It is a great fly to fish under an indicator or use as your anchor fly when fishing euro style.   

Mayer's Mini Leech Jig
Hook: Ahrex FW550 sz. 14-10
Bead: Hareline Slotted Tungsten Bead - Lt. Pink
Thread: Veevus 8/0 - Black 
Underbody: Pearl Tinsel - Black 
Body: Pine Squirrel Zonker - Black 
Collar: Ostrich Herl - Black

The White Death is a funny looking nymph. It definitely looks more like a streamer to me. However most of the time I am dead drifting it under an indicator with a smaller nymph or egg trailing it. There are so many small baitfish in Erie tribs, this fly is like candy to a steelhead.

White Death Variation
Hook: TMC 5262 sz. 8
Rear Thread: Veevus 8/0 - Fl. Orange 
Front Thread: Veevus 8/0 - Black 
Underbody Weight: Lead Wire - .015 (30 Wraps)
Underbody: Hareline Flashabou Tubbing - Silver sz. Small 
Body: Micro Black Barred Groovy Bunny Strips - Yellow/Olive/ White 

Featured Fly - The Funny Bunny Tube

It’s been a long time since I've done a featured fly post. I could make a bunch of excuses about my computer and not having time, but I won’t. I don't have any video editing software on my computer right now, so tutorials are what you are going to get.

This tutorial was inspired by my latest trip to Erie PA with my two buddies Jack and Rob, trip photos to come in the next post. We had two amazing days of fishing nymphs and eggs, however day three was a different story. The water came down significantly and cleared up, and they weren't having it. So, after a morning of only getting a few fish to eat, I remembered a conversation I had with my buddy, he was telling me about how he and his clients did well with streamers a few days before. As the wintery mix of snow and rain was pelting us, I grabbed this little bunny leech and tied it on. I had fish eat on the swing, the strip, and even the total dead drift. There were leaves in the water, so I stuck with flies that were predominately white with accent colors of pinks and oranges. Tired olive and brown, but they weren’t interested.

Short story, but let’s get down to the good stuff.

Materials:

Tube: HMH Tube sz. Small - Clear 

Thread: Danville 140 - Fl. Pink 

Flash: Krystal Flash - Pearl 

Tail/Body: Black Barred Groovy Bunny - Fl. Pink / Orange / White 

Underbody: UV Polar Chenille sz. Med - Pearl 

Collar: Black Barred Groovy Bunny - Fl. Pink / Orange / White 

Legs: Round Rubber Legs sz. Med - Fl. Pink 

Head: Brass Conehead - Pro Tube Fly / HMH

Step 1: Leave a little space at the rear of the tube, making a small thread base.

Step 2: Tie in 4-6 strands of pearl krystal flash. The length should not me more than an inch long. 

Step 3: Tie in the bunny strip, it should extend about a third past the krystal flash.

Step 4: Tie in and palmer the uv polar chenille forward. Leave about a 1/4" of tube open.

Step 5: Pull the rabbit zonker forward and tie off.

Step 6: Make one wrap of the zonker around the tube creating a collar.

Step 7: "V" tie in rubber legs on each side. They should extend just past the tips of the rabbit.

Step 8: Slide the cone over the tube and secure with a dab of superglue. Then burn tubing down to the cone head.

Step 9: Cut a small piece of junction tubbing on the back and slid the hook in.

Finished Fly: The Funny Bunny

Steelhead Saturday November 12th 2016

If you aren't doing much this Saturday, stop in the Boiling Springs shop to get yourself ready for this years steelhead trips. We will be having tying demos, casting demos, gear check list and fly selection presentation, and a steelhead movie to finish off the day. We will have 2 sales reps there, Mike Colegrove from Simms, Winston, and Scientific Anglers, and Steve Silverio from Partridge and Regal Vise. There will be Coffee, Donuts, Beer, and Pizza as well. Below is the schedule of events for the day.

10:00am - 11:00am - Frank (Chip) Swarner - Tying Great Lakes Steelhead flies

11:15am - 12:00pm - Jake Villwock - Steelhead Gear and Fly Selection

12:15pm - 1:00pm - Beer and Pizza

1:15pm - 2:00pm - Dusty Wissmath - Two Handed Spey Casting

2:15pm - 3:00pm Jake Villwock - Steelhead Tube Flies

3:15pm - 4:00pm - DVD - Metalheads

There will also be other tying demos throughout the day, as well as some product demos from the reps.

Featured Fly - Angry Leech 2.0

So, this fly came to mind only a few days ago. The base of many of my steelhead streamers come from the Starlite leech , which was my all time favorite streamer when I was guiding in Alaska. The Great Lakes Angry Leech that I did last winter was my variation of the startlite without the chenille egg as the head. So this variation came about when I decided to add the "egg" back to it, by using a different color rabbit loop on the front. This will add nice movement to a swung or stripped fly. The startlite leech was a great steelhead and salmon fly in Alaska, and the first steelhead I landed on the Salmon River was also on the Starlite. I am excited to try its cousin, the Angry Leech 2.0, out this weekend on the Salmon.

Materials:

Hook: Senyo Shanks - 40mm

Trailer Hook: Daiichi 2557 - sz 4

Trailer Hook Wire: Senyo's Trailer Hook Wire 

Tail: Rabbit Zonker - Black, Purple, White 

Body: Estaz - Same as Rabbit 

Collar 1: UV Polar Chenille - Orange, Pink, Chart.

Legs: Sili Legs - Same as Polar Chenille 

Collar 2: Rooster Saddle or Guinea - Orange, Pink, Chart.

Eyes: Senyodelic Bead Chain Eyes - Blue 

Head: Rabbit Dubbing Loop - Same as Tail 

Hot Head: Rabbit Dubbing Loop - Orange, Pink, Chart.

Step 1: Leaving about 3/4" loop off the back, tie in the trailer wire. Adding head cement or super glue to help secure the wire.

Step 2: Tie in the bead chain eyes, you will see later why there are four total instead of just two.

Step 3: Take the thread back to the loop, tie in the rabbit zonker, secure and move thread forward two wraps.

Step 4: Tie in the estaz and wrap the thread forward.

Step 5: Wrap the estaz forward, leaving about a 1/4" between the eyes and the estaz.

Step 6: Tie in and wrap the UV Polar Chenille 4 times. This will add a nice accent of flash to the streamer.

Step 7: Tie in the tips of the rubber legs, forming a nice loop.

Step 8: Trim the legs to the desired length.

Step 9: Tie in the Guinea feather tip first. 

Step 10: Make several wraps of the guinea feather until the stem gets too thick. 

Step 11: Bring the rabbit strip forward, tying it in just in front of the eyes

Step 12: Once you trim the extra rabbit off, make a dubbing loop of the same color rabbit.

Step 13: Wrap the loop, once behind the bead eyes, then figure 8 around the eyes, finishing in front of the eyes.

Step 14: Make one more loop with the chosen pop color.

Step 15: Make two or three wraps in front of the purple head.

Step 16: Whip finish and Cut off.

Finished Fly:

Awesome Great Lakes Steelhead Fly

 

Wild Alaska Steelhead, that fell to the Starlite Leech

Alaskan Steelhead

Salmon River - Maiden Voyage

This weekend marked the first trip for my new ride. The boat or raft, whatever you want to call it, performed perfectly. The Salmon River was the destination of choice, and a good choice it was. I took Jack and Rob, both had never caught a steelhead on the salmon, and Rob was going for his first ever. The river was a little crowded at the top, but once you got away from the crowds it was quite relaxing, and the fish were around and eating. Day one was a little slow, Jack and Rob each hooked 1 and lost them, and I got 2. The second day we left the boat on the trailer, and headed for the DSR, hoping the crowds would be less, and the fish would be fresh. Rob lost 2 and Jack went 1 for 2. Sucker spawn was the ticket, stoneflies and caddis larva were used, but they seemed to enjoy blue and chartreuse sucker spawn. It felt good to be back on the water, and it felt even better, fishing out of my new toy (or investment). Weather is starting to feel more and more like winter, headed up again this weekend, to fish a couple repeat clients!