Posted: Mon 03/01/10 3:25 pm Post subject: Steelhead Flies- EAST vs WEST
Living out West I have been out steelheading as much as I can this year considering I guide and outfit in the summer. I grew up in the midwest and have also lived on the East coast. I enjoy fishing for steelhead and steelbow rainheads no matter what coast or great lakes they come from. Last week I visited a friend in Washington and fished two different rivers. Before going I asked my buddy what I should tie for him because he doesn't tie and he gave me a list of half a dozen flies that are all great lakes patterns. When we met up he showed me his box at least half of his flies were Great Lakes bugs and he even had sucker spawn patterns. I fished the Salmon in Idaho a couple days this season and saw a lot of guys nymphing with Great Lake patterns as well. A buddy of mine spent a week on the Grand Ronde and only caught a couple fish, but the fish he did catch were on a Fromis, which is also a Great Lakes pattern.
I can't get over is the fact that the flies normally used in the Great Lakes have made there way over to the West coast and are used as "go to" flies for Pacific steelhead. Now I know that pacific steelhead and the lake run rainbows are a different fish, but does anyone else see the irony in this whole thing?
Ironically enough I fish BIG, west coast palmered marabou stuff here in the Grreat Lakes and do really well with them. Never tried any GL patterns out west but I have seen several fly boxes of various guides out in WA and they were filled to the brim with LARGE roe patterns and sucker spawn-type stuff. Interesting indeed.
I think this is great! We now have East coast guys using West coast patterns and West coast guys using East coast patterns. Outstanding!! It's nice to know that we can somehow borrow flies and patterns from each other and have great success fishing them in either coast. And it is somewhat ironic I guess....In terms of the Great Lakes getting steelhead/rainbows from the West Coast in the 1800's and again in the 1950's and then using East coast fly patterns to catch fish on the West coast in 2010! Kind of a full circle kinda thing. The other amazing thing about the Great lakes getting steelhead from the west coast, is that they have not only survived out here in the East's harsh cold climate, but that they have thrived in it! In fact many of the Great Lake's streams and rivers can now boast about the many steelhead that naturally reproduce. And although we may never have a completely "wild" steelhead fishery, we do have some wild fish.....so if it weren't for the "West Coast" steelhead, we would be talking about some other fish!!!!
Yeah it's pretty cool to borrow flies from across the country.
I fish for steelhead a lot and use all types of flies some of west coast origin and some of GL origin. Alaska is interesting in the fact we have Steelhead or Large lake run rainbows in mammoth rivers that are more in line with what people think of when pacific steelhead are the target, the very wide watersheds where many swing flies with spey rods and the like. But we also have, especially in kodiak and southeast many small rivers with steelhead that resemble GL rivers. Alaskas most well known river is the situk and i have met many a midwesterner tell me it's a lot like some of the great lakes rivers, barely big enought to float with lots of pools and tons of log jams only difference is that all the fish are wild and much bigger than gl fish. Most of those guys use the same patterns on the situk that they use there.
I am very eager at trying new flies from different places even for a different species. Last year a guy came up and showed me some fly he designed for bass in alabama and it was my best fly for silver salmon that year!
I used the same colors on West as I do in the East when I am nymphing. I am Still in love with the Pink Yarn fly with a little flash. The difference I find is that I use a bit bigger fly on the west coast. Especially in bigger rivers like the Hoh. I have used bigger yarnies on the east and they have worked but I think the smaller flies work a little bit better. Of course that could be a mental thing and it probably is because I also think if you get it in front of their face they will eat it no matter what. I never fished spey flies back east but would like to try some day. Steelhead Rule!
I take a little different view of this. I have fished west coast "summer steelhead, west coast winter steelhead and east coast steelhead (not sure if you would call them summer or winter since that has a different meaning beyond the season but that is another discussion).
Based on my experience I don't know why any fly is called "great lakes" or "west coast." How do you define this? What a lot if guys out east consider to be "great lakes" or "east coast" patterns are simply variations on egg, roe or nymph patterns. How these came to be considered "east coast" or "great lakes" is more a function of people using them more frequently in those regions than being "invented" or "created" in those areas or being more effective. In fact many of the patterns are just bigger versions of trout flies (sometimes the same size tied on stronger hooks). What people consider "west coast" steelhead flies are just wet flies and most are patterned after original atlantic salmon patterns that were designed in Europe and on the east coast in the first place prior to anyone fishing for steelhead on the west coast. Interesting how those have now become known as "west coast" flies. Sure the modern patterns aren't exactly the same and have been modified but they aren't really much different.
It also is really nothing new that egg patterns or nymph patterns are being used on west coast steelhead. On small coastal streams especially for winter run fish, egg patterns have always been the go to patterns and on many west coast rivers, stoneflies and caddis patterns have always been the core patterns. If you read about the history of steelhead flyfishing and flies in books like Trey combs Steelhead Fly Fishing and Flies "the bible" as my friends used to call it, there are many accounts of nymphs and egg types of flies being used for decades on the west coast.
I have fished the exact same patterns everywhere that I have fished for steelhead; west coast, east coast, BC, all the same patterns and always caught fish. I think a lot of times people don't associate nymphs with the west coast because it is not as popular especially on the big rivers, but not because it isn't effective. People don't associate the east coast with wet flies as much because not as many people use them. I think this is more a factor of the rivers being smaller and the fact that the number of anglers is much higher so fishing in a traditional wet fly manner is very difficult.
Not that I disagree with anyone here, I just think sometimes things like flies get overcomplicated especially for steelhead.
Posted: Fri 03/19/10 2:09 am Post subject: Steelhead Flies—east or west?
Alright folks. You can consider me the AUTHORITY on steelhead fishing, at least on the west coast. I've tried all kinds of flies. I've fished steelhead all over California and Oregon, from BC to Patagonia....the Deschutes, the Rogue, the Trinity, the Smith, the Salmon, the Umpqua, the Russian, Sacramento, Dean, the rivers at Torres del Paine. The list goes on.
And I've never caught a goddamned Steelhead!!! I'm the Authority on getting skunked!!!
But I'll be passing through Cleveland the last week of March. If anyone's game to show me around a little & go fish'n, I'll be eternally grateful and gladly do the same for you if you ever want to come to LA & come surfing or surf- fly casting. I'm better at those than I am at steelhead.
..... What people consider "west coast" steelhead flies are just wet flies and most are patterned after original atlantic salmon patterns that were designed in Europe and on the east coast in the first place prior to anyone fishing for steelhead on the west coast. Interesting how those have now become known as "west coast" flies.
......
Ironically,as an east coast Atlantic Salmon angler(yeah that's right...the REAL east coast...not the GLs ),I've been seeing big "west coast" marabou patterns and the like gaining popularity,especially amongst the spey crowd.
Posted: Wed 08/25/10 12:41 pm Post subject: Re: Steelhead Flies—east or west?
Drobertsdcr wrote:
Alright folks. You can consider me the AUTHORITY on steelhead fishing, at least on the west coast. I've tried all kinds of flies. I've fished steelhead all over California and Oregon, from BC to Patagonia....the Deschutes, the Rogue, the Trinity, the Smith, the Salmon, the Umpqua, the Russian, Sacramento, Dean, the rivers at Torres del Paine. The list goes on.
And I've never caught a goddamned Steelhead!!! I'm the Authority on getting skunked!!!
But I'll be passing through Cleveland the last week of March. If anyone's game to show me around a little & go fish'n, I'll be eternally grateful and gladly do the same for you if you ever want to come to LA & come surfing or surf- fly casting. I'm better at those than I am at steelhead.
Thx!
Daniel
drobertsenator@gmail.com
If this is true... then you just made me feel tons better. I have fished for steelhead 3 times. Only on the Salmon out east here. I have hooked into over 30+ steelhead, and I have lost every single one at the net from broken leaders, thrown hooks etc. I have yet to bring one to the net, and get that one stupid magazine photo that everyone wants...
On a side note to fly patterns... My go to pattern (I'm not authority by any means) is in part to a man, don't remember his name, that I met one night at a Motel in Pulaski, NY. My friends and I were in the basement of a motel, tying flies on the little TV dinner tables, when a man probably in his late 30's early 40s came down and plopped on the couch. He proceeded to whip out 10 flies quickly and precisely... Meanwhile my friends and I were screwing up some beer drenched montana nymphs.
The guy looks up from his table, stares at me, and my friends and asks... you boys ever try crystal meth?
After sharing a few concerned and puzzled looks.. we say... no.
He then says, " I couldn't keep the brown trout off the stuff all day. BIG BROWNS.. 15 - 20 of them all day... you boys need to try crystal meth.." He then walks over, and to our surprise and relief, drops an egg pattern fly in front of us... shows us a quick loop to loop tutorial. Next day we hit the fly shop, pick up the material, and tie up 4 predawn. First 10 casts EACH, we were tight into fish...
To this day... go to fly. If anything... it was a hell of a funny experience in the basement of a cold motel.
I fish the Great lakes for lake run steelhead and I like using streamers much more that nymphing or using eggs. Alot of the patterns I have used are variations of zonkers or sculpin. The streamer patterns I use are mostly marabou, rabbit fur, or arctic fox but I'm always looking for that new material that will work. I have some steelhead ties that I use with directions on my blog.
I can relate to the AUTHORITY on steelhead fishing. The smell of skunk has been very thick here on Steelhead Alley in N. E. Ohio. Very dry fall again and everything locked up now with ice. Lookin forward to some nice green water to fish after a few ice blow outs, maybe Feb/March.
I prefer swinging a big ugly bugger or streamers off a sink tip. Have had more than my share of break offs over the last few years too. Strictly using 8lb flouro tippets now. Most of my success over here has been indicator fishing tandem rigs; egg patterns (yarn, sucker spawn, crystal meth) trailing a nymph (stone, prince, beadheads).
In these coldwater conditions, seems like these guys don't really have a preferance what they eat. You just need to get it down to them, I mean right in their face, with a good natural drift. Easier said than done my friends.
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),I've been seeing big "west coast" marabou patterns and the like gaining popularity,especially amongst the spey crowd.