Hexagaina Nymph

 The Hexagaina nymph is present in huge numbers along the shore of Lake Erie and tributaries (if you have ever experienced the spectacular "Michigan Caddis" hatch in June this is the nymph). Steelhead prey heavily on these nymphs both in the lake and in the streams during their spawning run.  I find Hexagaina nymphs to be most effective early in the run (late-September to early-October) although steelhead will take it in winter and spring.  Since Hexagainas are burrowing nymphs, they are most effective when fished over the muddy/silty bottoms found near the mouths of creeks.  This is also a highly effective fly for spring Smallmouth Bass.

Hooks: Daiichi 1260 or MFC 7231 size 8-10
Weight: black beadchain eyes
Thread: tan 6/0
Tail: orange Glo-Bug yarn
Body: gray ostrich herl
Rib: medium copper wire
Back: pearl flashabou
Hackle: tan hen back
Wingcase: turkey
Thorax: gray ostrich herl

STEP 1: Take a MFC no. 7231 size 8-10 in your vise. Attach the 6/0 tan thread behind the eye, tie in a pair of black beadchain eyes useing a figure 8 knot, and wrap back to the tie in point.

STEP 2: Take a strand of orange Glo Bug yarn and tie it in for the tail.  Secure down and trim off the excess.  The tail should extend approx. 3/4 in past the tie in point.

STEP 3: Clip three long tan or gray ostrich herls and tie them in by their tips at the tie in point.  Tie in 3-4 strands of flashabou onto the top of the shank, and a length of copper wire.  Advance your thread 2/3rd the way up the shank.  Palmer the ostrich herl up to the thread in even tight spaces.  Tie down the herls but do not trim them off.

STEP 4: Pull the flashabou over the body and rib with the copper wire.  Trim off the excess of both materials, leaving the ostrich herl remnants intact.



Top View

STEP 5: Tie in a tan henback feather and a clump of turkey fibers (15-25) on top of the shank.  Advance your thread to behind the beadchain eyes.

STEP 6:  Form the abdomen by palmering the ostrich herl in tight even wraps.  Palmer the hen back over the herl to give the fly legs.  Tie off both materials behind the beadchain eyes.

STEP 7:  Move your thread to in front of the eyes.  Pull the turkey fibers over the abdomen to form a wingcase.  Tie off and trim the excess.  Whip finish and add a drop of head cement.




Blood Dot

The Blood Dot is arguably the most popular egg pattern for Great Lakes steelhead.  Invented by PA steelhead fisherman Jeff Blood, the Blood Dot is a highly realistic imitation of a single steelhead egg.  The fly is not named because its characteristic dot is supposed to imitate blood, but because it "Blood's" dot.  This is the original Blood Dot pattern just as Jeff ties them.  This fly has become so popular that almost every fly pattern tied out of Glo-Bug yarn with a dot is called a blood dot.  Most are not blood dots, however  they are tied out of heavily compacted yarn tied in a round ball.  The tightly packed yarn is not a good imitation of the translucent steelhead egg.

Hook: MFC no. 7045 size 10-18
Thread: UTC 6/0, color to match dot or body color.
Body: Glo-Bug Yarn, tied in sucker spawn style. Usually a egg color.
Dot: Glo-Bug Yarn, usually a bright color

STEP 1: With a Montana Fly Company no. 7045 size 10, 12, 14, or 16 in your vise, attach the thread behind the eye with a jam knot and wrap back to just in front of the barb.  Don't go back too far or you will distort the proportions of the entire fly.



STEP 2:  Separate a strand of Glo-Bug yarn into strands the diameter of the hook gap.  For a size 12 hook, you usually get 4-5 strands from the main piece.  Sparseness is the key to this pattern.  Less material means more translucency and more fish.  Tie the strand of Glo-Bug yarn in at the tie in point, and make enough thread wraps so the hook shank is all the color of the thread. 



STEP 3: Advance your thread 3 wraps and form the first egg loop by bringing the yarn forward and tieing down with a pinch wrap.  This loop should be small, about half the size of the hook gap.

STEP 4: Advance your thread another 3 wraps, your thread should be 2/3 the way up the shank from the tie in point now.  Form a second loop that is slightly larger than the first.  Make sure to make this loop messy, push it back over the first loop.

STEP 5: Take another piece of glo bug yarn (a bright color such as orange or chartreuse) and split it into strips that are 1/2 the size of the ones you used earlier.  Less is more with this fly, you need to experiment  to see how much material you need.  Take the yolk/dot material and tie it in in front of the second loop.  Pull both ends up and make a couple of more wraps in front of the yarn.

STEP 6:  Make the last loop directly in front of the dot.  This loop should be the same size to slightly smaller in size than the second loop.  Push the loop back over the dot.  Cut off the excess material tag.

STEP 7: Pull both the ends of the dot material up at the same time and cut the material off at a angle. Whip finish and cut off the thread.



The Finished Fly

I prefer to tie Blood Dots in sizes 12-16 for low water steelhead.  I do sometimes use a size 10 orange/red Blood Dot for dirty water, I prefer to use Estaz Spawn, Crystal Spawn, or Otter's Egg 3x6mm Cluster's steelhead in off-color water.  Steelhead egg are usually a tannish color with a orange or pink tint (I call this egg color).  The embryo inside the egg is usually orange.  The most effective colors for steelhead are egg/orange, egg/pink, egg/chartreuse, egg/cerise, and egg/blue.  For water that's a bit off-color (or a green tint) I like to use a blood dot with a pink, orange, chartreuse, or blue body with a red dot. Another option for tieing is to use Glo-Bug Bling yarn which has pieces of flash embedded in it. 

Egg/Orange

Egg/Pink

Egg/Chartreuse

Egg/Cerise

Jeff Blood ties the Blood Dot

Ice Dub Bugger




The Ice Dub Bugger is a simple woolly bugger pattern for steelhead.  Slightly different to fool our educated steelhead, fish this fly just as you would a regular woolly bugger. Dead drift or swing.

Hook: MFC no. 7099 size 8-10
Thread: 3/0
Weight: beadhead (optional)
Tail: marabou
Body: Ice Dub
Hackle: schlappen
Colors: black, olive, white, purple

STEP 1: Take a MFC no. 7099 size 8 and place it in your vise.  Take your thread and use a jam knot to attach your thread to the hook shank.  Wrap back to the tie in point.




STEP 2: Select a large marabou plum and remove the stiff center stem. Measure the feather against the hook shank, the marabou should extend past the tie in point the same length as the shank. Tie in the marabou using a pinch wrap and bind down the stem. Trim off the excess.



STEP 3: Select a large schlappen feather, remove the fluffly fibeers from the base of the hackle, and tie the feather in at the tie in point.

STEP 4: With your thread hanging down at the tie in point, dub a 2-3in. long section of Ice Dub onto your thread. 

STEP 5: Dub a evenly tapered body with the Ice Dub up to behind the hook eye. (Photo 5A)




Photo 5A

Take a piece of the velcro and use the rough side to roughen up the Ice Dub body. (Photo 5B)

Photo 5B

STEP 6: Palmer the schlappen feather up the hook eye.  Right before you tie off, wind 3 wraps of hackle directly on top of each other to form a collar.  Whip finish and cut the thread.



The Finished Fly

Easy Finn Raccoon Leach

Easy Finn Raccoon Leech is a real easy, fast and simple egg sucking leech fly for steelhead, trout, and smallmouth.  This fly is tied with Finn Raccoon hair which has great movement in the water. The key to the effectiveness is sparseness, don't use a lot of material.  The egg on this fly is a 8mm Otter's Milking Egg but you can use a Trout Bead if you wish. Orange is the most effective color but you can experiment with pink or chartreuse. You can tie this fly can be tied in an endless number of color combinations.  Tie some up for your next steelhead trip

Hook: MFC no. 7008 size 8-10
Thread: black or olive 6/0
Tail: Ice Dub
Wing: Finn-Raccoon Hair
Egg: size 8 hook - Otter's Soft Milking Egg 8mm or Trout Bead
         size 10 hook - Otter's Soft Milking Egg 6mm or Trout Bead
Color Combinations: (Ice Dub/Finn Raccoon) Chartreuse/Black, Pink/Black, All Black, blue/olive, olive/black.

STEP 1: Take a Montana Fly Company no. 7008 size 8 streamer hook and place it in your vise.  Take your 6/0 black thread, attach mid-shank and wrap back to the tie in point.  While tieing this fly, try not to get any of the black thread where the egg will go, it will show through the translucent Otter Egg.

STEP 2: Select a clump of Ice Dub and tie in a sparse clump mid shank. Tie the clump in so there is an equal amount of material on either side of the wraps.  

STEP 3:  Wet your fingers and comb the Ice Dub back to the rear of the hook.  Make a couple of wraps over the spot where the dub was tied in to keep the Ice Dub in position.  Advance your thread half way between the dub and the hook eye.

STEP 4:  Tie in a sparse clump of black or olive Finn Raccoon hair. Push the hair around the shank with your fingers so all 360 degrees of the fly are covered.  DO NOT trim the butts, they will be used to form a collar.

STEP 5:  Push the butts of the Finn Raccoon back and secure with several thread wraps to form a collar. Be sure to leave enough room for the egg.  Whip Finish and cut the thread.

STEP 6: Place a drop of Loctite Super Glue Gel on the hook shank.

STEP 7: Push your Otter Egg of choice over the drop of super glue.  Hold the egg in place for several seconds until the glue dries.

The Finished Fly

 

Pink Lady Sucker Spawn

 Requested Fly Tutorial 



The Pink Lady Sucker Spawn is just like any other sucker spawn tied with glo bug yarn but this color combination of pink lady and chartreuse has proven extremely effective for steelhead.  This pattern imitates a small cluster of eggs drifting in the current.  This fly does not however imitate sucker eggs (suckers spawn in May) but most likely steelhead or trout eggs.  Because of this flies subdued colors, I like this fly for low water steelhead.  This fly is most effective fished dead drifted in a tandem rig behind a heavier beadhead nymph.

Hook: MFC no. 7045 size12-16
Thread: chartreuse 6/0
Tail: 4 strands of pearl krystal flash
Body: 2 strands of pink lady Glo-Bug Yarn

Pink Lady Glo Bug Yarn is a good color to imitate eggs.  It is a light pink with a chartreuse tint.  Try to use the strands with the more pink color.  You should tie this fly with two strands of yarn when compared to a penny about the diameter of Lincoln's head.  Tie both strands in at once and give each a slight twist (1/2 turn) before forming the loop.  Remember sparse is better.

STEP 1: With your scud hook in your vise, take attach your thread and wrap back to the tie in point.

STEP 2: Take 4 strands of pearl krystal flash and tie them in for the tail.  Trim them so they extend past the tie in point the same length as the hook shank.

STEP 3: Take the two strands of yarn you prepared earlier and tie them in a the tie in point.  Trim off any excess and tie down the butt end with many thread wraps so all you see is chartreuse.

STEP 4: Advance your thread about a 1/8th in.  Take the yarn strands in one hand and bring them forward to the hook eye giving each strand a slight twist.  Form a small loop with the yarn and secure with your thread.

STEP 5: Advance your thread again so it is about 2/3rd the way up the shank.  Take the glo bug yarn again and form a second loop.  Tie down. 

STEP 6: Form a third loop in the yarn to make the last egg.  Secure with thread, build a head and whip finish.  This is a simple fly that should take less than 2 minutes.



The finished fly.



A wet sucker spawn.

Tyler Straight

Custom Tied Steelhead Flies

steelheadflies@me.com

CKOF Website Design

countrykidsonthefly@gmail.com 



Steelhead Slammer

The Steelhead Slammer is a simple fly pattern for high water steelhead.  With the cold front coming in we should see some high water next week.  Tie some up!

Hook: MFC no. 7045 size 10
Thread: red 6/0
Tail: vernille or micro chenille
Body: Estaz regular
Colors: (tail/estaz) chartreuse/orange, pink/chartreuse, brown/chartreuse

STEP 1: Place you scud hook in the vise so the hook eye is pointing down slightly.  Attach your thread id shank and wrap back to half way between the tie in point and the hook barb.

STEP 2: Tie in a piece of vernille or micro chenille with a one inch tag extending forward.

STEP 3: Secure the chenille tag by making even wraps up to behind the hook eye.  Trim off any excess chenille.

STEP 4: Tie in a length of Estaz.

STEP 5: Make 2-3 wraps of Estaz.  Make a small head, whip finish, and cut the thread.  Trim the chenille tail so it is about 2 in long.

STEP 6: This is a optional step.  You can take a lighter and melt the end of the chenille.  This doesn't effect the fish catching ability of the fly, just makes it look nicer to the fisherman.

The finished fly.

 There you have it another simple fly for steelhead.  As always this fly is avaiable custom tied from me at Autumn Siren Flies.

Tyler Straight

Custom Tied Steelhead Flies

steelheadflies@me.com

CKOF Website Design

countrykidsonthefly@gmail.com