I don’t know anything about steelhead except that they swim and you tie flies for them on up-eye hooks. But wouldn’t this make a good troutfly, tied on a more conventional hook. And if so, I would tie it on a hook that would be good for soft hackles, but what would that be?
I’d think a scaled-down version would definitely work on trout. For hooks, I’d use something like a Dai Riki 280 (curve-shank) or a more traditional Mustad 94840.
For a regular trout fly I would use Tiemco 200r or equiv. For swinging soft hackles or even nymphs I read notes by a guide that stuck with me that he liked straight eye hooks because they gave a more natural action. That may well be rubbish but I like to use straight eye hooks and like the looks of them.
I have never seen you post a rubbish fly in all of your SBS posts. But this fly looks like it rates inclusion in your all-star list. Thanks for posting it. I might try the smaller version with a rib of three pieces of Krystal Flash, twisted together, and ribbing the peacock before a counter-wrapped rib. with the extra sparkle, I could add it to my top droppers for when I use a cast of three wet flies. Thanks again for your time and effort to post this SBS as well as your other efforts.