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brainchild of Ed Ward, and was originally
designed for king salmon. This shank-style fly was a solution for creating
huge plug-like silhouettes that could simply not be achieved on conventional
fly hooks. While fishing these flies for kings, it was impossible not to
notice how well Alaska’s huge rainbows took these large life-like patterns.
And, it didn't take long for the light bulb to go on, “If these big
rainbows can’t resist them, just think of how well they might work for their anadromous cousins (steelhead).”
It was not for another couple months after a grueling summer
of guiding that we first got to swim these new patterns in water inhabited
by steelhead. That September, Ed Ward, Jerry French and myself crammed into
a truck and headed for BC with my drift boat in tow. Despite being faced
with very low water conditions that trip, we were set on throwing our new
big creations. So, we went against any conventional knowledge of the time,
and fished our monstrous concoctions. Needless to say, the Intruder
worked well! The standout pattern of the trip had to be an
olive Intruder-style fly that Ed had created. At the time, we all thought it
looked a lot like a sculpin. In actuality, I think it was Jerry’s animated
description of the fly, way back in one of the guide shacks that summer that
fits it best. With fly in hand, pretending to swim it through the air he
said the fish must think it looks like some kind of intruder. Anyway, it
all took off from there.
The next winter, I remember the first day I fished with Ed on the Skagit and
he asked me if I was still fishing big flies. I proudly showed him my
newest creation to only have it dwarfed by what I can best describe as a
small bird tied to his rod. From that point on, the Intruder seemed to only
get bigger and bigger. Every fly I tied just seemed to be that much bigger
than the last one until one day I couldn’t cast them any more. I remember
a session on the Dundess Run of the Kispiox River, when I
conceded that “OK, the fish will eat flies bigger than I can cast.” I found
some kind of peace with that. It was then that I could go back to the basis
of what made the Intruder so effective; a pattern that provides a
large silhouette with limited materials so it would sink and swim
effectively as well as cast EASILY.
The Intruder has been an ongoing evolution since day one. The introduction
of different materials into the fly’s concept has defined its distinct
evolutionary stages. Some of the first Intruders were simply tied with
marabou and were basically large knock-offs of
Cook’s Alaskabou
Series flies.
I then remember Ed finding an old feather duster at the lodge with these
long wispy hackles. We now know these feathers simply as schlappen but at
the time it made our imaginations run. The first big major change to the
Intruder was the introduction of turkey feathers into its design. By
stripping the fibers on the bird’s flank and tail feathers, we were able to
create these exceptionally long hackles. By incorporating these long
hackles into the fly, we were able to achieve a huge leggy silhouette that
could not be achieved with other conventional materials of the time. There
was even a time when I thought our Intruders would always be tied with
turkey feathers. I was so sure of it, I volunteered many a day at a local
bird-butchering yard so I could collect feathers. I had all the turkey
feathers a tier could dream of and was sending feathers to all my friends
and stashing away boxes and boxes of them. About the time I thought I had
gathered enough feathers to last all of us a lifetime, Ed started tying with
Ostrich. As you can imagine, that opened a whole new can of worms. Finding
good ostrich feathers for hackling is a whole other story.
Definitely one of the most interesting things about the whole Intruder saga
has been the different take each of us has had on the concept. There is
something different and special about each of our styles. I can still to
this day look at one of Ed’s Intruders and know that it is his. I am sure
he would tell you the same of mine. He would tell you that it is easy to
spot one of mine - it is black with a green butt. Hey, if aint broke, don’t
fix it! All jokes aside, as a guide who works nearly everyday, a lot of my
innovative time is over. I need to have a selection of flies on the river
with me that are proven and that I have confidence in. My clients aren’t
paying me good money to go out and experiment. So, I have basically
narrowed my Intruders down to two different styles in an assortment of
colors. One of those stand-by styles is my Signature Series Intruder. It
is an ostrich hackle/ saddle shellback pattern that maintains a large
silhouette with a bulky hair color behind the front hackles. I know I am
biased, but to me, it is the fishiest fly I have ever seen swim. After all
these years, I still find myself holding it in the water saying, “Man, I’d
eat that.”
Overtime, the Signature Intruder has become my mainstay for nearly every fishing
situation. Even under normal summer water conditions, I find I can fish
this large silhouette in neutral colors and catch fish that are bored of
watching the same ol’ Green Butt Skunk swim overhead. Whether I am trying
to pull a fish in cold water or just knowing I am throwing something
different when fishing an Intruder, I just simply always fish it with
confidence.
When fishing the fly, I have my clients cast slightly upstream and jack a
big mend in their line. This takes all of the initial tension off the fly
and allows it to sink closer to fish level. Just as the line is about to
come tight, I have them kick another small mend in, straightening out the
little slack line remaining. I then just have them follow the line around
with their rod tip. It is important to get this second mend in before the
line comes tight and the fly starts to swing. Otherwise, the mend just
pulls on the tightened line and lifts the fly closer to the surface. I am a
big believer in not over-mending the line. Once the fly is fishing, let it
fish!
Written by: Scott Howell |
The Fly Fishing Shop, Welches, OR
