Favorite Steelhead Fly

Prospector

Prospector

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Joined
Jul 7, 2015
Messages
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Location
Butler Co home, Forest Co camp
Over the last few days I went through my steelhead boxes and filled every empty slot with a brand spanking new fly. Flies that are my best producers I carry 25 in that color and flies that produce in very niche situations I carry 4. In total I tote around about 750 flies when I truly use about 5-6 patterns per day. But the extra ones aren’t that heavy.

Now I’ll concentrate on my “surplus box” that I take on trips to quickly replenish for the next day.

All of that leads me to….I find that on the stream I rarely see two people fishing the same fly. So I’m curious, what is your “go to steelhead fly”? Mine is a FL Orange Crystal Meth Egg
 
For years it was a chartreuse estaz egg, but blue and pink were also in the mix depending on light/conditions.

Lately it seems fish are spookier so I go with a stonefly pattern. The best for me seems to be a Prince nymph.
 
Hotspot euro-nymphs were the ticket for me last season.
 
It depends on the fishery honestly but I find the sucker spawn to be the best flies for most fisheries. A buddy and I have a few variations using different materials but sz14 in cream usually does well. That or chartreuse estaz egg. Mind you if I’m purely nymphing (which is more often in Erie) I’ll use random euro patterns on stout hooks and it works. Hopefully Erie isn’t a zoo this year but I’m not holding my breath
 
I took one trip to Alaska years back and used a Hobo Spey in blue and purple. Had an epic time swinging that fly. One fish after another. It still haunts me and is my favorite steelhead fly. I've never been able to catch an Erie steelhead on it. Erie seems to be an eggs game mostly.
 
Years ago when I did the steelhead thing my number one fly was a simple beadhead nymph.

Size 14 Tiemco 2457 with a simple amber sow/scud dubbed body. I typically used bright orange thread. I think it looked like a single egg.
 
Define favorite. If by favorite you mean the fly I've caught the most on, then some form of an egg fly. If by favorite you mean the fly I fished one time and had the most memorable experience catching a steelhead on, that would be a mouse fly! This puppy was caught in the Manchester Hole on Walnut in 2013 (sorry to spotburn). It wasn't too terribly crowded by Walnut standards and I was running through flies in my box. Caught one on a black stonefly, then tied on the mouse on a whim. Skated it across the surface a couple of times, watched as the fish looked up, then charged the mouse and crushed it. A local meat fisher wanted to know if I was keeping it and I looked him in the eye as I slow released it back into the hole.

13 - 11.jpg
 
In Summary — lots of overlap (9 eggs, 4 nymphs, 3 streamers)

Sucker Spawn (3)
—FL Orange Crystal Meth
—sz14 in cream usually does well
—pastel angora yarn in Pink and yellow

Estaz (3)
- chartreuse estaz egg (twice)
- blue Estaz
- pink Estaz

Single Bead (1)

Single Egg (1)
- simple beadhead nymph. Size 14 Tiemco 2457 with a simple amber sow/scud dubbed body. I typically used bright orange thread. I think it looked like a single egg.

Some form of an egg fly (1)


White Death (3)
-White marabou with pearl crystal flash streamer. Stripped or drifted
-White marabou jig
-grizzled white bugger or pimped out white zonker, I believe they call it White Death


Hotspot euro-nymphs (2)

Stonefly Nymph (1)

Prince Nymph (1)
 
I have only gone steelhead-ing two or three times, but my best fly by a long shot was a white crystal bugger.
 
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