Pink Intruder
By Brent Piche, Canada
Previous Flies
Fly Tying Terms

This is a Pink Intruder, that name does work though. It's used for winter run steelhead, usually up in British Columbia, but would work for any winter run steelhead, and salmon too. It's usually fished on a Spey Rod, and fished with a down and across method, while letting it dangle at the end of the swing.

Materials for the Pink Intruder:

    Hook: Any 4XL or longer hook, this one is like a 6X long saltwater hook. Flat eyes or Salmon up eyes are better.

    Tail: Pink Lady Amherst, 2" Super High Quality Pink Ostrick, Fl. Pink Marabou on bottome side, bump of Polar Chenille.

    Body: Polar chenille.

    Hackle: Pink Schlappen.

    Wing: Pink Lady Amherst, 4" Super High Quality Pink Ostrich, Fl. Pink Marabou on bottom side, bum of Polar Chenille, pink mallard flank.

1. Attach 35 lb. Mono lline (I use Slickshooter, I straighten it before hand so it's easier to deal with.)

2. Make a bump of Polar Chenille to flare, and keep your materials flared when in the water.

3. Tie in your Lady Amherst. I use 2 per side, so 8 total. Should look like this.

4. Tie in your Ostrich, I use one for the top, left and right hand side. (will get to the bottom soon).

5. Flip your hook (or have the wonderful use of a rotary vise) and tie in a good quality clump of marabou. Either strip it off the side, or cut the tip out of the marabou and brush it back.

6. Enjoy dinner, beer, and Flight of the Conchords.

7. Put your dinner down, and put a good number of strands of ostrich over the top of the marabou (I use normally 5 or 6, so it has lots and LOTS of motion in the water).

8. Tie in Lead Weight on TOP of the wire, it will make it flip over, also tie in Pink Polar Chenille and tie in your Pink Schlappen.

9. Tie it forward.

10. Then Schlappen.

11. Add our friend amherst again, same as before. A good view.

12. Tie in your eyes (don't need to be included, optional).

13. Tie in your 4" ostrich (or whatever size that makes it match, or go a bit past the other ones). I use 2 per side, except the bottom (will get to it again).

14. Tie in another good clump of marabou, high quality (of course!), then another bunch of ostrich (used 8 here).

15. Tie and palmer in a pink teal flank.

16. Cut the rest of your hook off (as you may have noticed, I cut the point of the hook off at the start, just so I have more room to work with) and attach your Gamakatsu stinger.

17. Enjoy your mess.

~ Brent Piche (bigbadbrent)

For more great flies, check out: Beginning Fly Tying, Intermediate Fly Tying and Advanced Fly Tying.