I am new to winter steelhead fly fishing.

I've done my homework on fishing techniques but I don't know much about flies.

What would be a good set of 10 or so flys to get started?

SF

here's a list to get you started. i am assuming you're swinging flies, not nymphing.

Egg Sucking Leech
Sauk River Grub
Black General Practitioner (GP)
Orange GP
Marabou Spey (many colors)

If you like tying tie large GP's in orange black and purple
If you hate tying like I do tie bunny leeches in black orange purple and pink
tie on heavy hooks I like 1/0's in most conditions larger is good too
fish flies you aren't attatched to emotionally or that took you half an hour to tie..
your flies will be constantly in the rocks fish flies that you don't mind losing a dozen of in a day. what i am saying is that cheap and simple is a goos way to go..

Exactly. My winter fly box contains woolley buggers and bunny leeches in black, pink, purple, and red.

All good choices above; I'd just toss in a couple more suggestions. Wted single egg patterns and large 'black' buggy things like the Kaufmann's stones or an upper Rogue pattern (you tie them in a wad of different colours) called the "Otis Bug."

The last one (Otis Bug) is an extreamly easy tie, you can wt the heck out of it and given you can do them up in any colour/hook size it's an all-rounder.

OK, Fred-- What the heck is an Otis Bug? I've looked at FAOL, FFM, and the Spey site, but it's not listed in any of the search engines. Is this like a Boy Scout's snipe?

Can you post link to the pattern? Or a photo? Or just a description? Not knowing is bugging me...

Thanks,

Keith

I have caught most of my fish on a pink and white cone red conehead bunny leech. I try other colors but this one seems to work best for me. I tie them in fuchia, or light pink. Good Luck.

Thanks for the suggestions.

I enjoy tying flies but right now I need to build up a box rather quickly. So, I think I'll tie up your suggestions for this season and then get more involve next year.

It sounds like the basic colors are pink, black, orange and purple.

Does that cover it?

SF

KJ: they're so simple you'll die.
Shoot me your address/e mail to Fredaevans@aol.com and I'll send you a few samples.
fae

Fred,

Can I get a couple??? -Of flies?

Everyone,

Good information we all can appreciate.

Darin

Hey Fred Just send us all a picture. You seem to have wetted our Appitite for that fly.

Computer scanner 'literate' I ain't. I'll tie some up this weekend (Keith, you did get yours in the mail, correct?) and see if I can get Joan to 'scan' them and figure out how to post them to the board.

Truly the simplest of ties and very, very effective. Probably the single most 'go to' fly on the upper Rogue summer or winter.

Another fly that I've been having great success with of late (steelhead and fall kings) is the UK pattern called the "Willie Gunn."

Have these done up as tube flys (the most common way of doing them) on Waddington Shanks and one of your SW Washington fellows showed me his done up on a single hook using Marabu rather than hair for the three stacked colours.

Done on tubes and Waddingtons the fly is as close to 'self hooking' as you can get (hook is "attached" the same way on both with a bit of tubing). Typically the hook will be a short shank, ring eyed #4. The other 'hook choice' I really like for these (tubes or waddingtons) is the short shanked Loop doubles. Fish even 'sniffs' the hook and you've got him.
fae

Geez, Fred. How many times do I have to thank you? I did get them, thanked you profusely (or at least said thanks) and asked you some follow-up questions which you didn't answer, so I'm guessing my outpouring of gratitude went astray. It figures; try to be polite to a nice person, and the effort goes off into electronic la-la land.

I also e-mailed you today at your new address with a follow-up question.

Now, here's what I'll do. I'll take a digital photo of the Bug and try to post it here. My success on posting photos is right up there with my success at the lottery, so the chances are that it won't work. If it doesn't, send me an e-mail with your return address, and I'll post a picture to you directly. I can e-mail pix, I just haven't been able to post at the WFF site.

Old Man, you'll like these flies. They are easy to tie, inexpensive, and lend themselves well to experimentation.

Wish me luck,

Keith

It looks as I'm as upload-challenged as ever. I've got the picture done and will e-mail it if you send me your address.

Keith

http://www.rogueflyfishers.org/GoodFlies.htm

If I've done this right this will give you an idea of what an "Otis Bug" looks like. Simpe as all heck and darned effective.

Good guess only here, but these look like they're done up in "new Age Chenille, size 2, Midnight Rainbow #89."

Pick your colour combo, but the New Age products have/are the products of choice down here in the upper Rogue area.

As noted above, darned simple to tie, and darned effective in results.
fae

MUCHO APPOGIZES TO THE KEITHMIESTER!

Doing what I do for a living, brain dead after 7pm ... and a couple of large Single Malts ....



Keith, didn't get the e mail, but 'new' fiber network had it's ... how shall we say? ... problems the past several days.

E mail address is:

fredaevans@ashlandoregon.org

fae

what in the hell is a otis bug? winter steelhead by the way are a ***** to catch but not impossilbe on the fly. don,t get discoureged. thay are more aggresive in late summer when the water is warmer. dont give up. what in the hell is a otis bug!

IB, look up this thread a couple of posts and you'll see a web connect with pictures of a couple of 'Otis Bugs.'

Actually, you can be quite sucessfull winter fly fishing, but the fish are not as actively feeding as summer runs. That's not as much an issue as water temperature. Below 45'ish degrees the fish start to get fairly 'dour' so running your fly as deep AND slowly as possible is 'the key.'

As the upper Rogue flow right now is quite low I'm using XLT lines, 15-18 foot leaders and dry lining the runs. If the water is faster/deeper I'll put on a RIO or Airflo extra fast sinking leader.
These are also run off the end of a dry line.

The 'set up' for these is to run a 3-4 foot shot of 20-25 # Maxima main line as a 'butt section' off the end of the dry line. Loop and connect the sinking leader and run a 2-3 foot section of 8-10# maxima main line as 'tippet' material.

Sounds like it would be a twit to cast but with a 8 or 9wt Spey rod it launchs like a rocket. The dry line allows you to stack mend and hold/control the sinking portion of the 'leader' extreamly well. Far easier than with a sinking tip.
fae

fred, you be the man. you are that best flyfisher that god made. everything you posted is 100%. glad to know oi have competion. anyway i thinkthis young buck deserves more rerspect than that. and he can call me at 3606521749 ask for pat. you were a puke too fred, did you forget!!!!!!!!!!

Fred,stupid question time.What size hook are you tying these up on. I see that you mentioned size 2 is that refering to the hook size or the size of the chenille. And since I don't know much about legs, could you fill me in on that also. Weighted or not.