Fly Fishing Insider Newsletter featuring Steelhead Clinic

PLEASE JOIN US - Saturday, January 5, 2002 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M.
Free! Annual Winter Steelhead Fly Fishing Clinic
Learn from expert guides and instructors the art of catching winter steelhead
with your fly rod.

This is the first of a five part series that will prepare you for
catching winter steelhead consistently on local rivers.

Featured will be class room instruction by:
Mark Bachmann, Brian Silvey, Patty Barnes
and Ron Lauzon, John Jones and Mark Merriwether.

Subjects covered will be: general theory, fly presentation, fly casting,
rigging for winter conditions, knot tying, fly selection and fly tying.
We will also show you how to stay warm and comfortable
while you are fishing in the winter.
Refreshments will be served all day!
The Party and Food are Free !!!

Chris Santella with a Sandy River steelhead.

A Steelhead Fly That Catches Fish…
And That Almost Anyone Can Tie
By Chris Santella
I spend far too much time each year chasing after steelhead. Yet I’ve yet to tie a steelhead fly. There are two reasons for this – fear and sloth.
A good friend of mine, Tim Purvis, is an excellent fly tier. His Spey patterns -- real mount-on-the-wall material – are daunting, to say the least. The hours

of study inherent in such an intricate undertaking – and the injuries to my ego and fingers that I’d likely sustain – have kept me away from the bench. With a finite amount of time available for piscatorial endeavors, I’d concluded that I’d rather fish than tie. Enter Tim’s neighbor, Pete (the infamous Fish Whisperer, from an earlier Fly Fishing Shop Dispatch). Unable to get to his local fly shop before closing one Tuesday

An angler plays a winter steelhead hooked on a Steelhead Bunny.

Mark Bachmann with a winter buck landed on a Big Red Bunny Bugger.

before a Wednesday fishing outing, and possessing more energy and bravery than yours truly, Pete borrowed an old vise of Tim’s and, with minimal direction, began tying. His first creations were big Bunny Leeches. They were misshapen and ugly and based upon no known pattern.
And they caught steelhead the next day!
While I admire the work of master fly-tiers, this

experience showed me that a steelhead fly need not be pretty – or even particularly well tied – to be effective. And they seemed so easy to tie, that I thought I might even be able to manage a pattern or two. I suggested to Mark Bachmann one day on the Sandy that he put together a little Bunny Leech tying kit to help the hesitant fly tier gain confidence. Mark’s provided some easy tying tips below, and some specially priced kits to help you get started. I’m going to buy one so I’m ready for the Sandy this December. If you’ve been hesitant to take the tying plunge, now might be the time! Bunny Buggers, Steelhead Bunnies, Bunny Leaches -- what ever you wish to call them have been used effectively for steelhead and other game fish for a number of years by many anglers. They have many qualities that make them popular. They cast small, but fish large. They have a lot of natural movement that produces strikes. They are durable. They are easy and inexpensive to tie. The materials employed are best on big flies. Therefore a size 2 long shank hook is best.

Six Easy Steps in tying a Steelhead Bunny
1. Pinch down the barb, place the bead on the hook, place hook in the vise (level with table).	4.Spiral thread forward, build base for tie-off, coat with cement. Rabbit strip will cover thread.
2.Attach the thread at the bend of the hook, saturate these wraps with water base cement.	5.Wind rabbit strip forward, leave gaps between wraps to let silver hook shank show through as rib.
3.Part rabbit strip and attach it in the wet cement with 6 wraps of thread.	6.Give your fly one extra turn of rabbit strip at the head, tie off & trim. Coat thread tie-of with head cement.

The Steelhead Bunny Tying Kit:
Bunny Buggers are some of the easiest, quickest flies to tie. There are enough materials and hooks in this kit to tie (25) perfect flies. This is $48.75 worth of flies at normal retail price.

(25) TMC 9394 - #2 hooks

(25) 3/16" nickel beads

(10) rabbit strips (assorted colors)

(1) black thread

(1) red thread

(1) Anglers Corner Water Base Head Cement

Value if items are purchased separately = $21.95 + $1.56 shipping = $23.51

Actual kit price = $19.95

Jad Donaldson with a Sandy River Chinook.

Walking Guided Trips are back!
We can now provide a very knowledgeable steelhead/salmon fly fishing guide that does walking trips on week ends. His name is Jad Donaldson. Jad has guided extensively in New York for steelhead and salmon. Last season was his first on the Sandy. He quickly found that techniques he learned on Great Lakes fish were equally productive on our home river. This first season resulted in many Steelhead, Chinooks and Coho on the beach.

Since Jad has a full time job at Frontier Flies, he can guide Saturdays and Sundays on a days notice. Week day trips require several days notice.
Price: $25 per hour, 4 hour minimum. Does not supply equipment or lunch.

YOU CAN PAY MORE, BUT YOU CAN'T GET BETTER !!!

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Salish Velour Under Wear by Dutch Harbor Gear.
This mid-weight Velour Fleece under wear is undoubtedly one of the great clothing buys today. The material fits a wide range of out door uses. The quality and workmanship is comparable to similar garments costing many times as much.
Wear it under waders. Wear it lounging.
Wear it into a restaurant after fishing.
It looks as good, feels as good and wears as good as the $70 brands.
Zip-T tops = $25.50 & Uni-sex pants with pockets = $21.00.

Click here for more information.

Item	Description	Price	To Top
BUNNY-1	The Bunny Bugger Tying Kit, includes shipping in USA.	$19.95