Fly Tying Basics

Anytime there are steelhead in a river, the waters will provide the fish with some sort of food. This may vary from tiny aquatic insects to chunks of flesh from a rotting fish. Any source of steelhead food can be fabricated on a fly tying vice.

Anyone can tie flies...in fact, my nine year old son is working on the tying bench already. Flies can be as basic as a piece of yarn tied on to a hook. As a matter of fact, the first fish I caught on my own fly just happened to be caught on a yarn fly. Catching that fish had to be one of the biggest thrills in my fishing career.

It was a cool summer morning on Catfish Creek, a Lake Ontario tributary. I was seeking out the Skamanian Steelhead, which is a rare fish for that area. Within ten minutes, I practically stepped on a fish which appeared to be at least 15 pounds. I backed up away from the fish to position myself for casting. I cast out this small yarn fly that I had tied the night before...a white body with a red head. I had no confidence at all that this would work.

The first cast to that fish had to be one of the worst casts I had ever made, drifting nearly five feet away from the fish. As I went to reel in the line to make a better cast, the fish exploded with a burst of speed, screaming towards my fly. Right in front of my face, I witnessed the jaws of the fish open and clench down on my fly. My heart skipped a couple of beats. The fish shot up river like a bullet and left me with a broken leader. From that point on, I have been hooked on fly tying.

Don’t get me wrong, I am not an expert fly tier by any means. Steelhead flies are easy, as they’re nothing like tying dry flies. Most of my patterns take less than two minutes to tie.

My fly box consists of only a dozen or so different patterns. My heavy hitters which are well-known flies are the green skunk butts, stone fly nymphs, woolly buggers, purple perils, glo bugs, marabou flies, the brassies, and a few different egg patterns and comets. Hair’s Ears and other natural fiber patterns also accompany my box. These are all steelhead gems and can be found in basic fly tying books.

Here are four flies that you may or may not have seen before. These flies must be tried!

The Laser Fly

Shown to me by the late Gary Johnson, the laser fly has proven to be a consistently successful steelhead fly across North America. This is a very bright and colorful fly, acting as an excellent attractor. The laser fly has been a hot fly for me, while fishing Vancouver Island’s trophy rivers. The Cowichan, Gold and Stamp river systems produce large steelhead runs. The laser fly seems to attract the wild steelhead with great success.

The laser fly is tied with several different colors of glo bug yarn. Choose four to six colors of your choice. From each color, cut one piece approximately an inch and a half in length. Split each piece in half vertically to cut down the bulkiness. Simply place the first piece towards the back of the hook (Mustad #9671, size 6 to 8) and tie it on one side of the shank. The next piece will go on the other side of the shank, but a bit closer to the eye. Continue tying on the pieces, working your way to the eye and at the same time, be sure to cover all sides of the hook. There should be at least one piece on each side, bottom and top. The piece on the bottom should be a bit thicker than the rest, as this will allow you to split the piece in a Y shape to allow the piece to accommodate both sides of the hook. The top piece should be tied on last, right up to the eye.

After everything is tied and secured, start to pull back on the fabrics, in an attempt to blend everything together. I use a pair of forceps and stroke the fly from the eye to the back of the fly, even ripping out many strands of fabric. You’ll know when it’s done...everything will appear smooth as if it was all one.

Work this fly along the bottom of the river, fishing it like a nymph or streamer. This fly seems to work best on cloudy days or in slightly discolored water. The laser fly is definitely the best attractor fly in my box. Give it a try!

Random Tandem

The ultimate double- egg pattern! The action on this fly is incredible. The two eggs are separated by monofilament , appearing to the fish as two separate eggs. This fly can be tied in several different colors, including two different colored eggs if desired. The Random Tandem will attract not only steelhead, but browns, rainbows, dolly vardon and even salmon.

Start by purchasing cheap, long shanked hooks. Tie on a small glo bug as close to the eye of the hook as possible. Then, with a pair of pliers, break the shank of the hook off right next to the egg. You will now have a glo bug fly without a hook. Next, tie a leader to the eye of the broken hook and leave about four inches to work with. Then, on a good glo bug hook, tie on the mono, leaving the other egg trailing back from half inch to an inch and a half. Make sure the back egg is secure. Then, tie a glo bug over the mono on the good hook, and you’ll have created a true Random Tandem.

The best of these flies are tied with little additives, such as the creating of a small dot in one glo bug or adding a little flash here and there. Be creative and experiment with different combinations of colors and styles. Also, a Triple Tandem can easily be made, providing more of a cluster effect.

When fishing this fly pattern, it may be in your best interest to fish them in a similar way to fishing eggs. Steelhead tend to hit this pattern extremely hard and powerful, and this may cause something to give.

The Thunder Fly

Named after the great steelhead description, “Heavy Metal Thunder,” which this fly tends to produce. Steelhead love this fly in all parts of the continent. I have caught steelhead on this fly from the Great Lakes, all the way to Washington state’s Olympic Peninsula, as well as up the coast of British Columbia.

Believe it or not, I took a trip to Montana and ventured the mighty trout rivers in the “Big Sky Country”. As I spent a half day attempting to “match the hatch,” to no avail, I glanced into my fly box. I grabbed out a Thunder Fly just for kicks. I had nothing to lose. Within a few casts, the Big Sky started to “thunder” as my rod doubled over and I was fighting my first Montana trout. I couldn’t believe it! I continued to take trout on this pattern the entire trip in many different color patterns.

This fly is similar to an egg sucking nymph, but a little different. Start creating this by using a size 6 to 10 Mustad #3906B. Be sure to use a peach colored, stretch thread or something similar for this particular color Thunder fly. Tie on two black goose biots for the tail to create a forking effect, similar to a stone fly tail. Then, wrap the thread around the shank, so the bottom half of the hook is peach. Right where the tail of the fly begins, tie on a piece of florescent green larva lace. Wrap the lace over the peach thread and tie it off half way up the shank. Next, cut a piece of peach chenille, and pull the fabric off one end to expose the string for easy and neat tying. Tie the chenille on, just above the larva lace and create an egg shaped ball. Be sure not to make the egg too close to the eye, because there is one last step remaining, and you will need the room. With this in mind, tie on two more goose biots for wings. Just as the tail, be sure the two biots are facing the same direction with the tips curving backwards. The wings should be in a V shape and not too long. Do not exceed a half of an inch.

This fly can be tied in several different combinations. My other favorite combinations are tied with black thread, white biots, red larva lace and black chenille. Another is an olive pattern, which is extremely effective as well with olive thread, tan or white biots, olive larva lace and olive chenille.

These flies are half buggy and half eggy at the same time and will trigger light hits, mostly sucked in by steelhead. Many times, the fly will be stuck directly in the fish’s tongue and throat area. This is good and bad at the same time, as this may cause the line to rub along the teeth of the fish, causing breakage in the line.

The Douglas Fuel Fly

I consider this to be my own creation, using the best of all worlds. This fly is a must try for any angler. It is designed to form an erupting effect in the water, similar to the reaction that borax has on eggs. The secret is a combination of the material with a special scent formula working together.

You’ll have to pay a visit to a fabric shop to get a material called loop chenille. This white, absorbent material is very inexpensive, and only a couple of feet of it should last a lifetime. The material creates a milky look under the water, and in combination with the scent, this baby will sizzle down river. Steelhead will go out of their way to pound this bubbling beauty.

Substitute fabrics can be used, as loop chenille is difficult to find. Be sure to choose white, sleek, and absorbent material.

Start with a Mustad hook, size 6 or 8 #3906B. or a similar style. Cut off a small piece of loop chenille, about an inch in length. Be sure that all the strands are connected (the material is looped around wires, so you’ll know what’s connected and what’s not). Take the one inch piece, twist it up tightly, and tie it on top of the hook towards the back, for the tail. Then, tying on a piece of orange chenille as a butt, and tie off. Next, proceed to cut off a four to five inch piece of loop chenille, tie on and wrap loosely, forming a ball slightly covering some of the orange chenille and close to the eye. Only tie off once, when there is about an inch and a half left on the piece, but don’t cut. Then pull back all the loose fibers and attempt to spread the fiber around the fly. Now you can tie it off completely and make your knot. Be sure to use the same color thread as the chenille (a white thread will work as well).

The formula for the fuel is sold on this site--it’s called FUSION.

The best thing about tying this fly...it’s very tough to mess it up. This fly can take less than a minute to tie and it is one of the deadliest flies I have ever fished with. Like the Random Tandem, be prepared for powerful hits. Feel free to add loop chenille to enhance other egg patterns as well.

All the steelhead flies mentioned have produced fish, and they happen to be my personal favorites. Knowing what flies to use on a particular river, and when it is best to use them, is primarily a trial and error process. Asking around in the area you are fishing may inform you of the “hot” colors and patterns on that particular river.