i was wondering if anyone knew of a good fly pattern for a new steelie flyfisherman.


thanks, reynees

Reynee

Popsicles are hard to beat in most conditions..
I like sizes 1/0 and 2/0

colors
black and blue
black and purple
red and orange
pink and white

that is in my opinion a good way to start
from there branch out to what looks good to you or what you see someone catch a fish on. Whatever builds your conficence in a certain fly.. winter steelheading is all about hope and hope comes from confidence..
Also understand that winter steelheading is about discipline. Go often, fish hard, fish smart and enjoy yourself while you are out fish or not...

For me winter fishing is also a social event. In the summer i am focused on fishing but in the winter i take great pleasure in meeting people so say hi to fellow fishers and make friends

I vote for the marabou patterns too!

I also like the old stand-bys.. Green Butt Skunk, Skykomish Sunrise, Alaska Mary Ann, ets...

Water conditions will dictate the size of pattern I chose.. High and muddy water... bid irons..3/0, 4/0 or 5/0.

Bit of a different view: I stick with dark patterns almost year round. I will vary the size of the fly based upon water conditions.

Interesting thing is some patterns are quite effective on some rivers, but not that effective in others. Pick a river and try to find out what works/doesn't work for that particular stream.
fae

What are we trying to imitate or match when winter stealhead flying? minnows, leaches, crawdads and big crawly nymphs?

Not really imitating much on some patterns. Just looking for interest or just to tick them off. Some are good imitations (GP's, intruders, leeches) but some just are attention getters (guess intruders could fall into that one too lol)

Raynees,

Tough to knock the reliable old marabou streamer fly, summer or winter. Usually, but not always, I favor bright colors for winter fishing and darker ones in the summer, but a change up is often good. In the summer, I also like the Spade and Skunk - any fly's good, as long as it's black.

Good luck!

Sincerely,

Salmo g.

Don't forget to rule out purple and pink, the most inportant steely colors of them all.

You standard hairwing flies work great; Purple Pearls, Freight Trains, Speys, Skunks, Polor Shrimps, Brad's Brats, just to name a few...

Popsicles, Show Girls, and bunny leeches in the above mentioned colors are good ones to start with. Have to get them down though to winter fish, so make sure you are getting there with your sink tip set up. They are not going to move far in cold winter temps.

Never underestimate the power of the colors white and black.

BG