My top Five Steelhead and Salmon Flies
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I know every fly fisherman has their list of favorite flies and will not go out fishing with out a good supply of each one. Which fly you use and how you fish it is often a matter of deep debate when fishing with your partner. None the less I have put a list of my top five steelhead flies just to let every one know what I have with my Steelhead gear when I am after spring steelhead.
Roe Bugs / Egg Patterns
This has to be on the list of my favorite as it has produced steady results for me over the years. It is one of the first patterns I try and usually one that I keep going back to. When I first started using these they came in two colors red and orange today you can find them in any color imaginable. Red, pink, and chartreuse seem to be the ones used the most but having other colors is an excellent idea some days those pesky steelhead just need to see something different. These work especially well in clear water conditions.
Egg Sucking Leech
This is one of those flies that once you see them in action you will not want to be without will on the river. They come in a Varity of colors and again having several different colors can make all the difference. I like to use pale color variations in clear water and the darker colors in murky water. Some of my buddies still call these a woolly bugger and it is a lot alike it just has what appears to be a fish egg on the head of it.
Green Butt Skunk
If you have been fly fishing for anytime at all I’m sure you have heard about the Green Butt Skunk. I met a fisherman on the Clearwater River last year and he says he did not use any other fly. His remark to me was I have used this fly for years and it has never let me down it works I know it works so it is the one I use. Well that is some mighty powerful confidence in a fly if you will not use any other type I just never did have that much faith in using just one I always think that maybe I should try some other pattern when fishing is slow. I do however use this pattern quite often myself and for me it produces well in clear water conditions.
BH Prince - BH Pheasant Tail
This is a nymph pattern fly and I like this patter as the brass bead used for the head will get it down where the steelhead are and it seems to drift closer to the bottom you know where the steelhead like to keep their heads. It is a smaller fly and it too seems to work better in clear water but then don’t they all.
Popsicle
Maribou hackled design, and a little flash is a proven taker of steelhead and salmon. A bread and butter 
fly in Alaska. This pattern can be found in numerous colors and will work well in murky water I prefer the darker colors when fishing in murky water and use a larger size usually a 4 or 6 and if the water is real murky I like to add some type of an attractant also.
Well those are the five I use the most are they the best I think so but I will guaranty if you talk with another fly fisherman they will have their own list and will tell you that you just should not go fishing without them. Anyway I hope this gave you some idea as what to add to your Steelhead gear and try on that sometimes allusive Steelhead the next time you’re on the river.
By: RR Smith
Steelhead Gear.Com
Tags: Steelhead Fishing, steelhead fishing flies, steelhead flies