Big Steelhead Flies for PNW?

[KOA-1]

I was looking at flies in the Cabelas FF catalog last night. Will hit the new store opening tonight but some of the flies are huge! Jumbo Critter, String leach, Pick Yer Pocket, Stinger Prawn, etc. New to tying these stinger type patterns. It gave me some good ideas for my tying but are you tying 5" patterns?

[DShock]

I was looking at flies in the Cabelas FF catalog last night. Will hit the new store opening tonight but some of the flies are huge! Jumbo Critter, String leach, Pick Yer Pocket, Stinger Prawn, etc. New to tying these stinger type patterns. It gave me some good ideas for my tying but are you tying 5" patterns?

KOA-1,
A Spey Rod should be able to cast those Jumbo Flies. Google "British Columbia Steelhead Flies."
Doug

[Ron Eagle Elk]

KOA,

In a word, nope. I do have some MOAL that are pretty long, but most of my steelhead patterns are on size 5 and 7 Alec Jackson Spey hooks. I do have some monsters tied on Alec Jackson spey hooks in a size 1.5, but those are for sea run Dolly Varden in the quinault system. By the way, a purple pick-your-pocket was a great fly for me last year.

Just got back from the new Cabela's in Lacey. If your going for fly fishing stuff, be prepared to be disappointed. Very small section with a limited slection. If your looking for gear fishing stuff you have a tone of choices.

REE

[KOA-1]

Not worried about casting but effectiveness of the large patterns.

I stick to flyfishing only, unless I forget the rod. I fish with gearheads who coax me to the dark side but I am very stubborn.

I'll hit the new Cabelas after work. Need to see Tom in his new store.

I hear the Salmon is putting out steel.

[flybinder]

KOA-1
I've been frustrated by the Pacific Northwest Steelhead for about 30 years now. (Or, is that; "I've been FISHING, for Steelhead that long, now?). Whatever, they both, mean the same thing.

Anyhooooo, I don't throw the "BIG flies" at the steelies. Most of the rivers I fish, here on the Oregon coast just aren't large enough to require a Spey rod and fly set up and I can't see myself really enjoying throwing a fly the size of a small dog, with my 6 wt.!!

That DOESN'T MEAN, however, that they won't/don't work and catch fish! It's just my personal preference is all.

I like the smaller, much more traditional steelhead flies, like "Green Butt Skunk", "Skykomish Sunrise", "Paintbrush" and a couple of my own, "thunked up patterns". I seem to manage somehow, in spite of this, to put a few fish into the net each season, anyway.

Just my input!

[Jayatwork]

I am a trout bum by nature and only dabble in steel. When I do, I tend to use egg patterns under an indicator or swing more traditional type flies. There are many who swear by the big leeches though and they are probably more successful than me. I have tied up some big MOAL leeches to try when the mood strikes me.

[DG]

I have done well with black or gray string leeches, 6" long or so. Not much fun to cast, however, but they do catch fish at times. Are they necessary? Probably not.

DG

[Donald Nicolson]

If you are not keen on using the big flies, you could try some of the patterns used for sea run browns (Sea-trout) here in the UK.

http://www.dtnicolson.dial.pipex.com/page23.html

There are 5 pages, most of them are Sea-trout flies.
They don't have to be tied on double hooks if they are not legal.

[Flyrodde]

Not only for Steelhead. I have used 3" and longer streamers in small streams and caught 8" browns on them. Suddenly a 6" fly for a 30" fish doesn't seem so bad.

Big flys won't always produce, but the strikes you get on them are QUALITY. No guessing, the fish usually hits so hard it hooks itself. My reasoning: The fish needs to kill the larger prey quickly to reduce risk of injury. Most predators will act the same way. Sometimes it is fun just to mix it up.

[orespey]

I like large flies for steelhead but NEVER use large hooks...you will lose more fish on a long shank hook because of the leverage it must endure during a battle. A Large fish rolling will come free of a long shank hook as very little pressure is required to leverage that hook free. Think of adding a cheater bar to a socket wrench to loosen a tight bolt. It doesn't take much effort to loosen that tight bolt with the cheater bar, yet without the cheater bar, you couldn't budge that bolt. The long hook shank acts just like a cheater bar against the hook point.

Stinger patterns MOAL, Intruders, and tube flies that use a short hook are the way to get a large fly with a short fulcrum point and more fish landed.

http://flyfishnw.com/content/view/97/60/