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I've never hooked a steelhead on a fly with dumbell eyes and rarely fish/tie them. They cast worse, look far less sexy to my discerning eyes, snag way more... but, I felt inspired thinking of a few runs that might fish well with either some profile or some suck-egg action, and I bet there's...

I try and make it a point to talk to other angler(s) if I'm walking into a spot. I've asked if I can fish behind someone a bunch of times and don't think I've ever been told no. Or ask them if they're gonna continue to walk up or downriver. Striking up conversation is the easiest way for people...

Sunny, cold, clear water... thinking about stuff like this. Small flies with contrast and lots of translucency. These two are about 2.5" Between the flu and inclement weather, I haven't even cast a fly in 2024. Hoping to change that soon...

Some summer steelhead favorites. And some well chewed soldiers.. Really missing those fish....

Not to be overlooked: Sticklebacks. An abundant foodsource in most waterbodies in Western Washington State, especially for the notoriously piscivorous Coastal Cutthroat. They're small, usually not much bigger than 2 inches and most commonly 20-50mm. Rolled muddlers, small matuka, zonker or...

One of the largest whities I've caught took a smallish sculpin streamer. It didn't compare to some of the hogs y'all are posting though! I'm white with envy. To any new people looking to explore this wonderful fish! Whitefish have an uncanny desire to death roll and violently flip back and...

Those look really nice. I really like the olive one with the black head. Do you fish droppers off of the balanced shank? I played with that idea a few years ago but never got around to test it much.

My stonefly pattern tied for skwala, the "suspender stone" named as the antennae are created by pulling two of the double legs forward from the rear tie in point, sorta like suspenders. I haven't tested it for skwala yet but the golden variation has been great to me. It feels nice to finally...

I'd be remiss if I didn't give a shoutout to this fly. Not the pattern, but this one fly. I call it the two-step because of it's simplicity. It's just a collar of blended craft fur, a little fox and some UV flash. Then, gold flash over the back and a head of olive and white laser dub. Adding...

Congrats Wes, what a beautiful tie!

This one has been a low water favorite since 2018. Fast shallow water is its happy place (also happens to be habitat preferred by sculpins) and often gets overlooked in favor of the more defined river structure.

20lb mono or intruder wire

I'm calling it the Big Brown Lunker. Definitely an upgrade from it's original name at the very least. Materials: Streamer hooks of choice depending on size, this one uses a 1/0 gama worm hook up front and a size 4 B10S I believe. Rear hook Tail: Two large tailing feathers from one of those...

Predator Tubes. This year I've become a massive proponent of the upturned hook eye for both *properly* hooking and landing fish. After my abysmal showing in both departments last year, practically all of my steelhead flies are being tied to accommodate this. Tying these with a tube allows me to...

This guy was great to me in MT this year

Looks great for any attempt, let alone a first. It's one of the most fun styles of fly to fish and does a great job of generating aggressive strikes.

Cold hands, colorful trout

I'm a firm believer that barbless hooks penetrate the mouth better and get more hook in the fish. And if fishing subsurface, I like jig hooks and flies that ride hook point up. Getting more hooks in the top or corner of the mouth really helps landing percentage.

A quintessential fall species in the Pacific Northwest

Salty herring flies with a chartreuse highlight. Tied with a foul-free tail, tungsten bead up front for maximum dart and dive on a rapid strip.