Swingin' Flies in the Pacific Northwest: Fly of the Week #1

Oct 5, 2007

Fly of the Week #1

I'm going to start a weekly post called "Fly of the Week". Simply put, a photo of a fly I tied and maybe something about it.

I just recently started tying flies. I played around with a few here and there over the years, but never took it seriously. There are a couple of reasons why I wanted to buy the proper equipment and start. First, I was tired of losing my flies after a snag and going through the trouble of buying online or paying three plus dollars at the shop. Second reason was that as I fished longer here in California, I started seeing what was working and wanted to mix and match some of those flies with my own ideas. And I guess thirdly, it is pretty cool to fish the flies that you make.

I'm still learning, but I'm getting better with each one. Hopefully you'll see an improvement as time goes on.

"Dry Hackled Soft Hackle (Bead Head)" - Size 14

It is weighted with a bead head to get it deeper and tied on a size 14 hook. If you look carefully, you can see dry fly hackle tied right behind the bead, and soft hackle partridge feathers (died brown) in front. Creme thread for the body and black for the head.

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About Me

My interest in fly fishing began as a teenager in my home state of Missouri. After years of fishing rivers in and around the Ozarks, I moved to California in the early 90's. Life continued on, I happily drove hours around to various streams hunting trout. Then it happened. One rainy fall morning, I landed my first steelhead.

Game over. Buh bye trout. Hello steelhead!

Fast forward to 2011. My obsession with steelhead was out of control. I convinced my wife and family, that we needed to leave California and head to the Pacific Northwest.

Now, I'm able to happily fish for steelhead almost year around in both Washington and Oregon. My now home-water is a quick 10 minutes away. Within two hours, I can reach the Deschutes, Klickitat, Wilson, Sandy, Clackamas, Hood, Lewis, Cowlitz, Kalama, and dozens of others. Many of those are within a half hour. Paradise.

Although I started out with single handed rods all those years ago, I switched almost exclusively to 2-handed rods around 2005. I find them to be more efficient and less tiring over those long days. Initially reluctant to give them a try, I've rarely looked back.

This blog is my little spot on the internet to keep record of my trips, fly tying, and thoughts on fishing. Originally conceived as a personal journal to help myself remember where I went and what flies were productive- for whatever reason, I decided to make it public. Hopefully you will get something from it.