SteelheadBee
Steelhead
If any of you have read Lee Spencer's book A Temporary Refuge, you probably can recall in his observations that steelhead will rise to all sorts of floating detritus: leaves, twigs, pieces of styrofoam, seeds, plastic, etc. (brief background: the North Umpqua's Lee Spencer was the river watch to make sure congregating steelhead seeking cool water refuge from the summer heat were not poached or harassed by humans).
It's been in the back of my mind for a few years now - I'd like to raise a steelhead on a "fly" that I tied riverside consisting of bankside vegetation. I've yet to bring myself to this sort of sacrilege, since I revere the idea of classic steelheading. However, I am one step closer to that slippery slope.
Last week, I had planned a weekday to take my daughter on our annual dryfly trouting. It's really an excuse for me to checkup on her mental/emotional/spiritual health with a good dose of fun thrown in. Unfortunately for me, she got hired to a new summer job and couldn't go. I was bummed. Honestly, I had to force myself to go fishing (not that I don't like trout but it can get stale for me if I don't look at it with a new perspective).
Situation: Partial clouds, mostly sunny midweek day after a rainy cool Memorial Day weekend at the desert river during a famed hatch requiring warm weather.
As a fly fisherman, observation is not only required on the water for success but also in regards to predicting what surrounding humans will have done and will likely do.
I figured that the trout didn't show all weekend and were harassed by the holiday hordes. Fastforward to midweek, I would have my pick of good water with dryfly trout everywhere. Throwing my tying kit in the pack with some optimism, maybe I will get to tie my vegetation fly and raise a trout. And in that, I found my desire to head to the rio.
Sure enough, I found choice water and nice trout rising to dries. I wasn't even using a trout pattern:
After catching some nice ones on the Steelhead Bee, I switched over to my own pattern designed for steelhead called the Pig Caddis (pig because it has an underwing of boar hair):
By far, this pattern rose more big trout than I could count. I relied on this pattern in the bright of day and when the fish stopped rising to naturals. But it is more difficult to spot when the light fades in the evening (but just cast it and look for the splash). Below is a video of a bigly fish finally connecting with the Pig Caddis after the third smash at it (I took the video with my left hand while I was casting with my right...so not the greatest recording):
I stopped after my fill of large trout and had lunch and a pint of beer. I didn't need to maximize the opportunity and ruin a good thing. But wait...as the beer kicked in...the thoughts creeped in to tie up a vegetation fly.
Walking back down to the bank, I harvested bits and pieces of grass. I knew I had to use a light smallish hook to keep it from sinking. Floatant would help. And being a one and done fly, it had to be cast right under a branch of a "bug tree" with competing trout holding beneath. I couldn't give them a chance to inspect the fly. Predatory and competitive instincts are what would make this successful.
Above is the pattern in process, I added some dried grass for the thorax and overwing (I wish had taken a picture of it completed).
Part of me didn't think it would actually work, but a lot of my fishing and flytying hinges on that doubt: it's what challenges me.
So with the sun nearing the rimrock, I find a shady side of a tree reaching over the river. Sneaking up knowing that I can't afford to cast far in case my fly can't handle those forces, I find a decent casting zone. I slather some floatant on the Grass Fly and also on the leader. Let's hope for a few trout under that tree anticipating a bug drop. Sure enough, two casts in...a trout explodes on my grass fly!
Sometimes a planned surprise still shocks. I had a laugh at the ridiculousness. Below is the Grass Fly after releasing:
Plenty of really nice fish this day. I hadn't had that much fun troutfishing in a long time.
It's been in the back of my mind for a few years now - I'd like to raise a steelhead on a "fly" that I tied riverside consisting of bankside vegetation. I've yet to bring myself to this sort of sacrilege, since I revere the idea of classic steelheading. However, I am one step closer to that slippery slope.
Last week, I had planned a weekday to take my daughter on our annual dryfly trouting. It's really an excuse for me to checkup on her mental/emotional/spiritual health with a good dose of fun thrown in. Unfortunately for me, she got hired to a new summer job and couldn't go. I was bummed. Honestly, I had to force myself to go fishing (not that I don't like trout but it can get stale for me if I don't look at it with a new perspective).
Situation: Partial clouds, mostly sunny midweek day after a rainy cool Memorial Day weekend at the desert river during a famed hatch requiring warm weather.
As a fly fisherman, observation is not only required on the water for success but also in regards to predicting what surrounding humans will have done and will likely do.
I figured that the trout didn't show all weekend and were harassed by the holiday hordes. Fastforward to midweek, I would have my pick of good water with dryfly trout everywhere. Throwing my tying kit in the pack with some optimism, maybe I will get to tie my vegetation fly and raise a trout. And in that, I found my desire to head to the rio.
Sure enough, I found choice water and nice trout rising to dries. I wasn't even using a trout pattern:
After catching some nice ones on the Steelhead Bee, I switched over to my own pattern designed for steelhead called the Pig Caddis (pig because it has an underwing of boar hair):
By far, this pattern rose more big trout than I could count. I relied on this pattern in the bright of day and when the fish stopped rising to naturals. But it is more difficult to spot when the light fades in the evening (but just cast it and look for the splash). Below is a video of a bigly fish finally connecting with the Pig Caddis after the third smash at it (I took the video with my left hand while I was casting with my right...so not the greatest recording):
I stopped after my fill of large trout and had lunch and a pint of beer. I didn't need to maximize the opportunity and ruin a good thing. But wait...as the beer kicked in...the thoughts creeped in to tie up a vegetation fly.
Walking back down to the bank, I harvested bits and pieces of grass. I knew I had to use a light smallish hook to keep it from sinking. Floatant would help. And being a one and done fly, it had to be cast right under a branch of a "bug tree" with competing trout holding beneath. I couldn't give them a chance to inspect the fly. Predatory and competitive instincts are what would make this successful.
Above is the pattern in process, I added some dried grass for the thorax and overwing (I wish had taken a picture of it completed).
Part of me didn't think it would actually work, but a lot of my fishing and flytying hinges on that doubt: it's what challenges me.
So with the sun nearing the rimrock, I find a shady side of a tree reaching over the river. Sneaking up knowing that I can't afford to cast far in case my fly can't handle those forces, I find a decent casting zone. I slather some floatant on the Grass Fly and also on the leader. Let's hope for a few trout under that tree anticipating a bug drop. Sure enough, two casts in...a trout explodes on my grass fly!
Sometimes a planned surprise still shocks. I had a laugh at the ridiculousness. Below is the Grass Fly after releasing:
Plenty of really nice fish this day. I hadn't had that much fun troutfishing in a long time.
. Cheers
