First Time Steelheading

[robert clark]

I am headed to upper new york to fish for steelhead in two weeks, and I have been surfin the net lookin for patterns to tie. I have never been so any info is appreciated. I have tied up several egg patterns, some chartreuse nymph looking things, and a few STS buggers I saw on schmidt outfitters. Help me please!!! 🙂

[Abe Mathews]

I was unsuccessful in my attempt at steelheading, but you have got to have a couple of egg sucking leeches.

[Mark Schafer]

Robert,
Any plans for your fishing method i.e. indicator,bottom bounce, streamers, multi fly etc. If I had no other input and had to pick two flies to  start with I’d start with  purple woolly bugger and an angora cheese egg colored egg.
MS

[robert clark]

I normally do not fish indicators but my fishing buddies say it is almost a must. Im up for anything if it means tying into one. So purple is a good color? I ties some yellow sucker spawn and some orange sucker spawn, along with a very gold golden stone(I read somewhere that gold works well). Do you strip the buggers or just dead drift them? I dont know if they will chase a fly or if you have to bump it off their noses. I appreciate your help.

[Tim Angeli]

Robert,

Eggs, eggs, eggs.

[Tim Angeli]

I almost forgot about caddis.

[robert clark]

Thanks for your help, if I catch a nice one I will try to post a picture. Thanks again! 🙂

[Eric DeWitt]

Here’s a couple shots from a steelhead guides fly box.  Lots of hex type nymphs.  Also, lots of eggs.  I like the nuke eggs, and also Estaz eggs – basically a nuke egg but with estaz yarn for the center.  Variations on orange are a good place to start.  Also orange centers with white and oregon cheese outsides.  

check out fishbaldwin.com for some great explanation on indy rigs, and also some good info on steelhead fishing.  

The “little fry” and “Hubb’s Hex” off Jeff Hubbards page are great flies, as well as the rest that he lists.

http://outfittersnorth.com/spey-flies-steelhead-trout.php

[robert clark]

I appreciate the info, nice lookin flies by the way. I have tied several egg patterns up, and I dont know if they will work but I tied a couple of very gold golden stones. Some article said sometimes they like gold. I also tied several copper johns, some chart. caddis. Like I said I really appreciate the info. 🙂

[anonymous]

As mentioned before, eggs, eggs and more eggs.  Anything from a natural cream to a radioactive chartreuse will work as far as color.  I like to base my fly choice off of water clarity.  The higher/dirtier the water, the bigger/brighter my fly is.

Dead drifting tandem rigs of 2 eggs or egg and nymph combos under indicators will produce far more fish than swinging, particularly this time of year.  Remember to use plenty of weight and keep in mind that if you aren’t losing flies, then you probably aren’t “in” the fish.  

You might want to get into a lot of fish, but if you are willing to take a hit in terms of numbers of fish hooked, then swinging big streamers is the way to go.  There is nothing like 10 pounds of chrome mauling a big streamer and deciding that he isn’t very happy about being hooked!  Big buggers, zonkers and other flies with lots of motion will work just fine for this.

Take lots of pics and keep us updated when you get back!

[Karlin Bilcher]

Dead drifting eggs under an indicator is by far the most productive, this time of year.

[Rob Snowhite]

what i would fish in specific order:
1. flash back pt
2. green z long wing caddis
3. mc fly foam egg – peach, oregon cheese, blue
4. egg sucking leach
5. winter stonefly
6. brassie (chrinomid)

some of these patterns are in my much need to update slideshow:
http://robsnowhite.com/consulting/images/Flytying/nymphs.swf

send me an email and i can put you in contact with a guide friend who might be able to let you know what is working now.

and i started using the thingamabober in colorado, dorky but awesome product

check with salmoncrazy.com to see what is working, whitakers too.
watch out for ponderosa, eat breakfast at timbers.

[robert clark]

Hey, just got back from my trip. I wanted to update you guys. Well, it rained, alot! The water was up and muddy so it made it extra tough. We went to a dam tailwater the first day, it was the only river not blown out. I hooked one that shook the hook seconds after he came to the surface, the rest of the day was a zero. Next day we found some smaller creeks that my buddies had fished before. On my six drift through a hole I hooked and landed my first steelhead. Not that I landed him in that hole it was about a hundred yards downstream! 🙂
Anyway next couple of days I landed at least two a day(hooked a pile of them, they are scrappy), had a blast. I wanted tothank youguys for your advice. Chartreuse was the key, in a caddis style patern with a small wing tied off the back. As soon as I figure out how to post pics, I will put some on. Thanks again guys.

[bill heffner]

I am headed to upper new york to fish for steelhead in two weeks, and I have been surfin the net lookin for patterns to tie. I have never been so any info is appreciated. I have tied up several egg patterns, some chartreuse nymph looking things, and a few STS buggers I saw on schmidt outfitters. Help me please!!! 🙂

I have had luck with a blue Copper John in size 14.  Also the scrambled egg pattern is a good one too.   You must get you fly on the bottom.  

A good book is John Nagy’s   “Steelhead Guide”  it is written for Lake Erie Steelhead fishing but he has many good patterns and techinques for catching Steelhead.

[Author]

Posts