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Steelhead Fly of the week – Steelhead Bee

3K views 2 replies 3 participants last post by  flytyer 
#1 ·
A dry fly in winter you may ask? Just dreaming of warmer times.

This pattern comes from the late Roderick Haig-Brown of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Haig-Brown wrote many popular books on fly-fishing the northwest. And his books are still in high demand today.

This fly, one of the first dry flies designed specifically for steelhead, is usually tied with a fairly soft hackle so it sits in the surface film. It is probably Haig-Browns most popular patterns, and he did invent more than a few, and is still a popular fly.

Hook: Up eye salmon dry fly hook
Tail: Red Squirrel tail
Body: Alternating bands of brown, yellow and brown dubbing.
Wing: Red Squirrel tail, upright, divided, and slanted foreword
Hackle: Soft brown cock hackle
Head: Black

Charlie.
 

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#2 ·
Damn it,,, I am off to the vise again because of you!!!! charlie my lad,,,, not much more to say other than this is a very, very nicely tied fly!!:smokin: Proportions are spot on.
I am at the vise most of the day anyways,, but when i check out your ties it makes me want to get back at it again.
Hope to run into you astream someday and perhaps sneek a peak in that box of yours.
Dwayne
 
#3 ·
Charlie,

This is another one of those very effective flies from the past. A fly that fishes damp, low in the surface film (or even slightly subsurface depending on whether it is under tension from upstream or not) rather than skating. This style of fly seems to have gone out of style, although I still see the occasional one in use during summer, especially on long, glassy tailouts that are known to hold fish.

When a very good friend of mine owned a fly shop in Port Angeles, WA (he decided to retire early at age 60 five years ago and closed up shop), he used to buy 40 dozen of these from me each year. All of them tied on #6 Daiichi 2421 hooks. Although he sold 4 times as many Lemire's Grease Liners in black or orange (also on #6 Daiichi 2421 hooks), he told me it wouldn't be right not to stock some Steelhead Bees because they were the first dries tied specifically for summer steelhead and we owed Haig-Brown a debt of gratitude for designing it.
 
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