Elk Creek Bugger

 The Elk Creek Bugger is a version of the white woolly buggers that have become popular on Elk Creek.The Elk Creek Bugger is a mix between the Flash Fly and the white Woolly Bugger.  White was the original but chartreuse, black, olive, and blue are also effective colors while swinging for steelhead.

Hook: MFC no. 7099 size 8
Thread: 3/0 color to match fly
Weight: gold beadhead
Tail: marabou
Body: Estaz or cactus chenille
Wing: 6 strands of pearl flashabou
Collar 1#: 2 wraps of olive schlappen
Collar 2#: olive guinea fowl feather
Colors: white, olive, black, chartreuse, blue

STEP 1: Take a MFC no. 7099 size 8, flatten the barb, and slip on a large gold beadhead.  Attach your thread behind the beadhead, build a thread dam to prevent the bead from slipping backwards, and 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. (Photo 2A)



Photo 2A

 

At the tie in point, tie in a length of Estaz or cactus chenille. Advance your thread to behind the beadhead.

Photo 2B

STEP 3: Wrap the Estaz or cactus chenille up to the thread behind the beadhead.  Secure and trim off the excess.

STEP 4: Take 4-6 strands of pearl flashabou and tie in on the top of the fly.

STEP 5: Take a Schlappen feather, strip off the fuzzy fibers on the bottom, and tie in by the tip (Photo 5A).

Photo 5A

Wind two wraps of hackle onto the fly.  Be sure to be sparse with this step.  Trim off the excess hackle. (Photo 5B)


Photo 5B

STEP 6: Take a large Guinea Fowl feather that's dyed to match the color of the flies body (available from Spirit River).  Use a natural colored feather (black and white) for a white bodied bugger.  Prepare the feather by stripping off the fuzzy material at the base of the stem and pulling the fibers back.  Tie the feather in by the tip. (Photo 6A)

Photo 6A

Wrap the guinea fowl feather around the shank twice, then secure and trim off.  Whip finish and add a drop of head cement. 



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 



Egg Sucking Leech

 


The Egg Sucking Leech is a woolly bugger type pattern that is a old standby for fall run steelhead and salmon.  The Egg Sucking Leech is supposed to imitate a leech eating an egg. The  purple/orange combination works particularly well in dirty water. Purple is the last color to be filtered out of water so it is the easiest for the fish to see when visibility is poor (the fish see the outline of the fly). 

Hook: MFC no. 9007 size 6-10
Thread: black 3/0
Weight: leadwire (optional)
Tail: marabou
Body: chenille
Hackle: schlappen
Egg: orange chenille
Colors: black, purple

STEP 1: With your streamer hook of choice in the vise attach your thread mid shank and wrap back to the tie in point.  You may want to add a few wraps of leadwire for weight.

STEP 2: Take a plum of marabou, and remove the stiff tip of the feather.  Measure the marabou against the hook shank, the tail should be the same length as the hook shank.  Tie in the marabou feather at the tie in point.

STEP 3: With your tail tied in, take a length of chenille and a schlappen feather.  Tie the schlappen feather in at the tie in point by the tip.  Strip approx. 1/4 of a inch of the fuzzy part of the chenille off to expose the thread core inside.  Tie in the chenille.  Advance your thread to 1/3in behind the hook eye, leaving enough room for the egg.

STEP 4: Wrap the chenille up to the thread with even wraps.  Tie off with several wraps.

STEP 5:  Wind the schlappen hackle over the chenille to the thread.  The hackle should be evenly spaced up to the thread, then you should make 3 wraps on top of each other.  Tie off and trim of the excess hackle stem.

STEP 6: Now its time to make the egg.  Take a length of orange chenille and prepare it the same way you did for the body.  Tie in the chenille directly in front of were the black body ends.  Advance your thread to behind the hook eye.

STEP 7:  Make a ball of chenille to form the egg. 



The Finished Fly

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 

Flash Fly

The Flash Fly is a woolly bugger type fly invented by a Pennsylvania steelhead fisherman.  Not to be confused with the Jim Teeny pattern, this fly is good when the water is slightly off color and when the fish can't see a white woolly bugger that well.  Tie some up and try them the next time you go fishing. 

Hook: MFC no. 7008
Thread: white 3/0
Weight: gold beadhead
Tail: white marabou
Body: silver hackle flash

STEP 1:  Flatten the barb on your streamer hook of choice and slide on a gold beadhead (the small hole should be going in the direction of the hook eye). Put the hook in the vise and attach your white thread mid-shank and wrap back to the tie-in-point.

STEP 2: Select a large white marabou feather and remove the center stem.  Tie the marabou feather in so that it extends the same length as the hook shank from the tie in point.  Secure the marabou with many thread wraps and make sure the entire shank is covered. Trim off the excess.

STEP 3: Tie in a length of pearl hackle flash so that the "flash" points backwards.  Advance your thread to behind the beadhead.

STEP 4: Wrap the pearl hackle flash up to your thread.  This fly is most effective when tied sparse so don't overdo it with the flash.  Tie off and whip finish.



The finished fly.

A large inland Brown that ate the Flash Fly.

Tyler Straigh

Custom Tied Steelhead Flies

steelheadflies@me.com

CKOF Website Design

 countrykidsonthefly@gmail.com

Frammus

The Frammus is an egg pattern from the Salmon River.  Its tied differently than most egg patterns but works great for steelhead.  This is also one of my favorite egg patterns for stream trout.  The best color combinations are chartreuse/red and orange.

Hook: MFC no. 7045 size 12-16
Thread: Red, Orange, or Chartreuse 6/0
Body: orange or chartreuse vernille or micro chenille
Wing: Red Glo-Bug Yarn

STEP 1: With your scud hook in the vise, attach your 6/0 thread and wrap back to the tie in point.

STEP 2: Tie in a length of vernille. Make several wraps over the vernille or micro chenille and wrap your thread up to 1/8th in behind the hook eye.

STEP 3: Wrap the vernille or micro chenille up to the thread and tie off with several thread wraps. Trim off the excess.

STEP 4: Take a piece of Glo-Bug yarn and separate it into a strand approx. twice the diameter of the vernille you use.  Tie it in to form a wing that extends to the hook barb.

STEP 5: Fold the strand of Glo-Bug yarn over the wing secure down with several thread wraps.

STEP 6: Cut the top piece of Glo-Bug yarn that was folded back so that it is half the size of the first wing.  Make a couple of half-hitches and cut your thread.

The finished fly.

Tyler Straight
Custom Tied Steelhead Flies
countrykidsonthefly@gmail.com
autumnsirenflies.blogspot.com