How To Choose Winter Steelhead Flies, Echo3 Spey Rods, Spey Shooting Head Line Standards

There are lots of different sizes, weights, colors and configurations of flies. There nearly as many sink rates of sinking tip lines to deliver them with. There is one constant to keep in mind about Steelhead, the fish can't eat what they can't see! And steelhead can be very cautious, many times even timid. They live there lives between two extremes concerning other animals they share their water with...overpower them and eat them, or run and hide from them. Knowing this has allowed my theories on winter Steelhead fly selection to evolve differently from many other anglers. 

Fortunately I have had lots of time on the water to experiment with fly design and color. Lets start with the toughest of fishable conditions...low water. During the winter months, low water is usually cold and clear. Low, clear, cold water is caused by a lack of rain or the fact that the upper stretches of the river system are freezing. Sudden drops in temperature are different than sustained periods of cold water. Drops in water temperature can really slow steelhead down until their bodies get used to the change. After an extended period of cold water the fish tend to perk back up, but usually aren't as active as when temperatures are more favorable. Cold water dormancy starts at around 40 in our local waters. Water is heaviest at around 36-degrees, which really slows steelhead down. With water temperature and clarity this in mind, lets talk fly selection. Just like you can see all things that happen in your field of view, so can a Steelhead. These fish see in clear water like you see on a clear day. Therefore it does not take a large fly to get the fish to notice that something is there. Often super bright flies do not seem to produce as well as more natural or natural tones, like olive, tan, brown, even white. Normally the rules would say that the colder the water the larger the fly, but in super low water the fish will take smaller patterns and believe me that flies in the 2 to 2.5 inch range work best in these types of conditions.

Now lets say the water is on the drop. The river is lower than the mean average flow and is clear but still not unlimited in the water clarity, maybe 6 to 9 feet of visibility. This is where large flies have produced the best for me. The fish seem to be holding in deeper water as the river drops but are still a bit active. This movement of the fish to deeper water is in anticipation of the river dropping even futher. With the water temp hovering right around 40, the need for a larger offering is a great way to entice these chrome machines to bite. I have landed fish as small as 22" on flies that were 12" long. Flies this large are extremely hard to cast, but can save your day if you ar willing to put in the effort. Normally huge flies are used after a run has been fished with more conventional sized offerings.  These big flies are usually darker colors like purple, black, or blue. Maybe a bit of flashy highlights and even a bright butt of orange or pink. Whatever you prefer. A good winter Steelhead fly box should be very diverse in fly sizes and colors. 

 Being a Steelhead guide for the last 9 years and a Steelhead angler for the last 16 years, has allowed me to collect a lot of notes on the fish concerning their habits in a wide variety of water/weather conditions. My notes are constantly evolving. The article above is a condensed version of my notes. Good luck!!!! TJ