Timeless classic with a twist. Collared with Blue Eared Pheasant. Tied on a Daiichi #6

Killer Spring Pattern on the Skeena

I wanted to take reverse marabou techniques t a little further and started trying different, stiffer materials to make the profile even larger. I tried everything from lady amherst to turkey but finally landed on stiff rubber legs.

Ready for Battle. Sometimes near the end of the season, supply will run low which calls for a binge tying session.

The rubber legs are giggly, durable, and create an interesting veil round the rest of the fly. I also tie these with weight and stack them for a larger profile for Chinooks or high water when you want an even larger profile.

Not much to look at in the bin but once in the water they have a great swim and profile thats fooled many steelhead and chinook since I’ve started using them.

An assortment of flies I was selling that year

One of my favorite spring steelhead fly combos for the Skeena.

The combo really pops in all water clarity

Great colour combo for all water clarity, easy casting and durable fly.

A consistent producer

High floating and great visibility. Meant to be riffle hitched and skated or fished on a dead drift.

Hitched or swung wet . . . . Many steelhead have been finished on this little sparse muddler.

Steelhead Flies from winter 2018 most were headed for the Skeena system last spring.

A great change up when they’ve seen enough black and blue.

This is a great colour scheme for Skeena country in winter/spring.

Purple is another popular colour for steelhead. I often just use the Blue/Black but some folks swear by the Purple/Black.

Taking a page from the Atlantic Salmon book. These are great finishers for steelhead fished with a riffle hitch.

Sparse and small, a great followup fly for a fish thats given up its location but is hard to get back.

This Fly was made on the Babine river, for the Babine river. Named after the Daughter of Billy Labonte (creator or fly) Billy and his wife Carrie Collingwood own Babine Norlakes Steelhead Camp. There is much talk of this fly around camp especially in the late season, but Billy doesn’t tie enough to meet the demand, thats where I come in. Its very similar to the original with little twists of my own. Billy wants the Addison to be as thin as a pin when dressed and wet, not too much flash, sparse and easy to cast.

This Fly was made on the Babine river for the Babine river. Named after the Son of Billy Labonte (creator or fly) Billy and his wife Carrie Collingwood own Babine Norlakes Steelhead Camp. There is much talk of this fly around camp especially in the late season, but Billy doesn’t tie enough to meet the demand, thats where I come in. Its very similar to the original with little twists of my own. Billy wants the loganator to be as thin as a pin when dressed and wet, not too much flash, sparse and easy to cast.

Looks big, casts small, tons of movement

Its hard to find information on the origins of this fly pattern. One thing is for certain, its been a longtime favourite on many of the skeena tributaries. What steelhead doesn’t seem to like Black and Blue??

Great all condition attractor, easy casting, lots of hustle in the water.

A great follow up fly when they are “being that way” used as is or hitched and skated.

Great for low clear water.

Skeena prawns pink on pink and pink on white.

A timeless steelhead classic. Which I tend to use a lot in the late season. No mystery here, just a swimmy, slippery, greasy, bunny strip with a collar following around a bright orange egg. I tie the egg on top of the fly which gives it an interesting swim.

A timeless steelhead classic. Which I tend to use a lot in the late season. No mystery here, just a swimmy, slippery, greasy, bunny strip with a collar following around a bright orange egg. I tie the egg on top of the fly which gives it an interesting swim.

A timeless steelhead classic. Which I tend to use a lot in the late season. No mystery here, just a swimmy, slippery, greasy, bunny strip with a collar following around a bright orange egg. I tie the egg on top of the fly which gives it an interesting swim.

Swimmy, undulating, and easy to cast. This fly is made from two of the best moving natural materials available to tiers Rabbit, and Marabou. Its has great movement even in the calmest of currents. A great bug for swinging right in tight to the bank during high off coloured water, or late season when the steelhead need just extra bit of “In your face” enticement.

Swimmy, undulating, and easy to cast. This fly is made from two of the best moving natural materials available to tiers Rabbit, and Marabou. Its has great movement even in the calmest of currents. A great bug for swinging right in tight to the bank during high off coloured water, or late season when the steelhead need just extra bit of “In your face” enticement.

Action shot of a stacked chinook tube.

Sparkle Daggers are great for steelhead or King Salmon. I will sometimes add a marabou tipped Stinger hook when swinging for Chinooks.

One of my best flies for grumpy steelhead the last couple of seasons. It also has been extremely successful on Kings when stacked with another tube.

The combo of pink and orange really pops.

I tied a big batch of these no named traditional in 2018. I sold them all and was reminded of how sexy they were when I found one in a guest’s box this year. It was Akroyd inspired and has finished a lot of fish since its conception. i think ill be whipping more up for 2020

This thing has been all the rage on the east coast for Atlantics the last few years. Its a fly with a story that’s for sure. I anticipate a blog post on it sometime soon. I fished it quite a bit this past season with good results on steelhead. I’ll have lots for sale in 2020.

Norwegian moustache was a custom order Steelhead fly with a very cool history. Check back in the blog posts for the story

Need bugs? Get ahold of me.

These went off to California. The green butt skunk is a longtime classic for steelhead.

The Bullwinkle is a skate that was introduced to me by Mark Macaneely. its unsinkable presence and slick v wake make it a hit for early season summer steelhead. It’s a no brainer because the hitch had been integrated into its design. These are always available in different colours and 2 sizes. My best selling dry fly skater.

I designed the Eau Naturelle early in my steelhead career and its a great follow up fly or good go too when the fish get a little stale or have seen a lot of bugs. These were tied on saltwater hooks for a guest who took them to Florida and used them on tarpon.

My variation of the timeless classic.

Yet to find the ideal scenario for photography.

Yes, they work, but NO I will not tie these for you. Late season fish will sometimes eat giant Bombers. This one is a double tube variant.

Bullwinkles in their final stages. All flies have crazy glue and cement used at different times and often multiple coats for durability and a glossy finished look.