I'll be heading out to the American next week for a swing (pun intended) at Steelhead. I'll be taking along all those rather large and colorful steelhead flies that I've been tying up recently, but also be doing a little testing with smaller soft hackles too.
The colors are off in this photo, but what you should be seeingis white marabou with an Olive soft hackle up front. Some extra flash
tied in, along with some green rubber legs. A wire rib gives it a little
weight to pull it below the surface.
I know that plenty of steelhead can be caught on smaller soft hackles and nymphs as well as the larger "steelhead" flies. After tying a box full of the larger guys, I've come to really like the movement you get out of the soft feathers. While at the Stan last week, I took advantage of the ultra clear water by really looking at how the flies looked underwater. The marabou gave it so much life, they billowed in the current.
A rather thick chunk of olive marabou hides a silver ribbing. The hackleconsists of a red guinea and a blue/green guinea in front of that. A bead gives it some weight.
Earlier in the week, I decided to mix up my love for soft hackles with my new affair with big marabou steelhead flies. The result are small size 10-14 flies that have a soft hackle up front with marabou underneath. I've done some really unscientific testing in a glass of water in my kitchen and indeed they have nice movement. Just like their big brothers. hat will the fish think? We'll hopefully find out next week.
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