Category Archives: Steelhead

My tying started 26 years ago in Northern Idaho. My father was a fly fisherman and tyer. I remember watching him tie flies at the kitchen table before fishing trips. The majority of flies that he used were dry flies, including Adams, Humpys, Renegades, and Royal Coachmans. When I received a fly tying kit I was hooked. I had two brothers who also tied flies growing up. We would compete who could tie the best Humpy. I soon started selling flies to friends and school teachers. This helped fund the hobby.

When I went to college southeast Idaho I did not bring my fly tying materials for the first semester. That changed when I visited a local fly shop and on Saturdays while they had tying demonstrations and that sparked the interest again. One Saturday I watched Joe Ayre demonstrate woven body nymphs. I was amazed at the bodies that could be created with woven bodies. I attempted the technique, but was unable to duplicate the bodies that Joe was creating. I contacted Joe and asked if he could show me the technique and he invited me over to learn. We became very good friends and he introduced me to the Federation of Fly Fishers and the Southeast Fly Tying Show. The show would introduce me to many other tyers where I learned many new techniques.

I moved to Oregon after I received my college degree. Shortly after moving to Oregon I was contact by Al Brunell to help with the NW Fly Tying Expo. I would help co-chair the Expo for the next 3 years. Al tied steelhead flies commercially for a number of shops and fly fisherman. He introduced me to steelhead flies and was a cherished mentor. I started helping him with some of his commercial orders and learned the patterns that he had perfected.

I took what I learned from my father, Joe, Al and other tyers that I have met and wanted to stretch the boundaries with woven body flies – specifically a round weave for steelhead flies. Kumihimo was the technique that I found that could be used to create interesting patterns that are round. Using kumihimo I have tied variation of existing patterns and created some new patterns.

Currently I am tying flies commercially for a few guides, a fly shop and special orders from fisherman. I find tying flies commercially relaxing in limited quantities. I also enjoy creating new patterns and designs. New woven body flies are my favorite to experiment with, including realistic and steelhead flies. I also enjoy collecting other tyer’s flies and seeing what other tyers are coming up with.

Garren has a website called ultimatehook.com

 
The Deschutes Madness is a Dave McNeese pattern that he developed in 1978.  I created several variations using kumihimo braided bodies.  This technique uses a combination of 16 strands of floss to create the body patterns.

Recipe:

Mark is the owner of DeFrank’s Flies & Guide Service located in Uniontown, Pennsylvania. Mark guides along Steelhead Alley in Northeast Ohio and Pennsylvania. He is a very experienced fly tyer, so be sure to check out his other flies on his website. In this video Mark ties a Medusa Mini Intruder used for steelhead.

This is a classic steelhead fly created by a father and son. Here is an excerpt from the famous book by Trey Combs, Steelhead: Fly Fishing to tell the story.

“Ken and his son, George, were driving east to the Skykomish River one January morning in 1936. The sun was coming up over the snowcapped Cascades, a splendor of red, yellow, and white. “Tie me a fly with those colors in it,” Ken told his son. That evening, George used red tying thread to secure a mix of red and yellow hackle, a red wool body, and a white polar bear wing. The completed fly was named the Skykomish Sunrise. George christened the pattern with three winter steelhead from a single pool near Monroe. The day included a seventeen-pounder. The new fly became a sensation.”

Recipe:

HOOK: 7999, sizes 2-8

THREAD: Red

TAG: Flat silver tinsel

TAIL: Red and yellow hackle fibers, mixed

RIB: Oval silver tinsel

BODY: Red chenille. Angora goat dubbing may be substituted.

HACKLE: One red hackle and one yellow hackle, wound together

WING: White calftail

CHEEKS (OPTIONAL): Jungle cock

If you haven’t seen Tony tie before, he’s an excellent fly tyer. He has been on many of The Caddis Fly Shop videos. I like some of the things that he shows in this video. He ties this on a Senyo’s Intruder Shank, he shows how to rig a hook onto it, uses an interesting idea on the head with the thread, and shows a neat way to use the new Senyo Wacko Hackle. This is a steelhead fly by Tony called the Purple Slip Knot. Enjoy!

This photo of Joe Howell’s Orange Heron came from Garren Wood at the Ultimate Hook website. Joe owned the Blue Heron Fly Shop for over 30 years on the North Umpqua River. Unfortunately Joe retired and closed the Blue Heron in 2010. The North Umpqua is a tributary of the Umpqua River in the southwestern portion of Oregon. Many called the Blue Heron Fly Shop an institution and spoke very highly of Joe Howell. Things like, “Very helpful guy who was never too busy to talk.” or “Joe was friendly, helpful and genuine.”

Howell’s Orange Heron is a beautiful fly and now stands proudly to help carry on Joe Howell’s legacy and may just help many remember that institution on the North Umpqua River.

Greg Senyo from Steelhead Alley Outfitters sent me over a couple of nice photos displaying his new fly, Dr. Feelgood! Greg has been extremely busy, but promises more information about his new fly in the future. So I’m really looking forward to that.

In the first image there are several flies sitting in front of a brand spanking new special edition Great Lakes Kingpin #0 spey reel. Awesome baby!!