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Favorite Great Lakes Steelhead Flys

25K views 47 replies 7 participants last post by  removed_by_request 
#1 ·
What are yours ?

Here are mine:

Nymphs

- Hex nymphs - many different patterns, natural colors, bead heads

- Caddis - PM, Disco,Viagra and many other variations

- Gartside Sparrows

- Stone - PM Stone, Bears Stone,many others variations. Otis Bug etc.

- Fresh water shrimp - Mysis several variations

Egg Flies

- Single egg yarn fly - Oregon Cheese, Apricot, Early Girl, Peachy King, Chartreuse, baby blue colors

- Clown egg

- Nuke egg

- Cactus Chenille eggs

- Bead egg and skein

Hair Wings

- Blue Berg

- Black and Boss Comet

- Cossebooms and Rats

- Black Bear Green Butt

- Skunk - Green butt and normal

- PM Interceptor - Fluor Green

- Crick

Streamers

- Graus Tiger

- Blue Smolt

- Chinook smolt

- Cardinelle

- Smelt & Alewife - Several variations

Marabou Speys

- Popsicles - various colors

Bunny leeches

- Black, Purple,
 
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#31 ·
Late getting in on this one

Mostly use my own patterns but some traditonals too:

Marabou speys of assorted colours and styles

Weamers
- Dirty Harry - purple and black
- Guardsman - black, red & gold
- Lil' Sucker - tan, white and gold

Streamers
- Rainbow Smelt in long and short shank versions
- Joe's Niagara Smelt

John Valk's Petite Steelhead Wet in yellows or oranges

Traditional PNW
- Green Butt Skunk
- Van Luven and variations

Traditional Wets
- Partridge & Orange including variants

Nymphs
- GRHE
- Little black stiones
- flashback stones
- GRW

The usual gang of buggers and leeches, mostly olive, purple and black.
 
#34 ·
Thought you'd never ask.

It's my own concoction, part spey wet fly, part streamer and can be fished like either. Basically, you tie a simple spey or marabou spey fly then add a streamer wing and eyes if you wish. It has a number of advantages. Most baitfish have a bulbous whiteish body with a thinner, longer, darker upper body and tail. The Weamer fits this profile. It has far more movement than a standard streamer and if you use a dubbin ball behind a marabou collar, it'll produce a blunt pattern with a sculpin-like profile that'll push a lot of water. If you want a thinner profile, then palmer the marabou over the front half of the hook shank.

Sample:
 

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#38 ·
They are substantially different in the water, slimming way down. The first one took the chinook in my avatar.

These two pictures were prototypes and the ones I tie now tend to use more marabou and a bit less flash. Browns, steelies and chinook love the Lil' Sucker. I tied up two of them and in the first five minutes on Penns, I hooked a big brown and lost it and the fly. In the first two minutes on the Saugeen, it took that chinook but it messed up the hook. On the Salmon River, NY, in desperation (I was doing an o'fer), I worked on the hook and within a few casts had a JATO equipped steelie that I lost when the &^%$& knot came undone.

I tied up the Dirty Harry as a large, dirty water fly but it seems to work on the Grand in clear conditions as well.
 
#41 ·
Here's the Dirty Harry, the original Weamer. It's the one that's done the most damage so far. The Credit is often high and dirty so I tied this one to push a lot of water and create a large, solid profile. There's a big, purple dubbin ball just behind the marabou. When it's swung, the marabou forms a tear-drop shape and the widest section can be almost a 1/2" across.

The alewife pattern was tied with the Niagara River in mind as well as the surf or pike. I still haven't come up with a name for it yet.
 

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#43 ·
FYI

Check out Winter issue of Fly fishing Tying Journal - Winter issue on mag stands now.

M. Supinski article on trophy GLs steelhead and six of his best patterns. Taught me a few new things to keep in mind.

FYI, it took him 33 years to land a 20 LB GL steelhead so what is our probablity ?

Better odds probably to win the lotto, Lipripper advise your brother of that. You sure he won't buy my lotto tickets for me ?

PM Out
 
G
#44 ·
Don't forget he fishes(and has fished more than most). It also helps having a river in your back yard.

Really suprised you never touched a 20 during the glory Skam runs of the early 80's. Saw a ton of huge Tunas comme off Mich. City pier. Lots of high teens and a goodly number touching 20# mark. We used to carry a scale with us and weighed as guys would allow.
 
#45 ·
Mark,

Early 80s lost a few big ones there, but was not into the spinning spoon chucking from the pier and bait, was fly fishing north in Michigan where there were very few skamanias in the rivers. Fly fisher first, big steelhead are a lesser objective unless I can get them on the fly I am not really interested.

Oh well its not over yet, still in the hunt as they say. "never give up".

PM Out
 
G
#48 ·
Actually was using 4# trilene xt leader on a noodle rod and a Martin 72 reel. This was about my 16th hook up of the day. Both skill and luck were on my side. Think of the big pool at I.G. way before it changed.
 
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