Ard Stetts Patterns;
It looks like I had better prime the pump a little. Here is a sweet little number to show to the fish. This fly is the sister of the Alaskan Lady. The flies in this section are my own patterns. This is what I cast.
The Redhead;
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Tying Recipe;
Hook: A.J. Steelhead iron size #3
Tag: Flat Gold tinsel
Body: Dubbed with blended opossum, claret & black
Rib: Heavy French braid gold, ribbed over all; tag and body
Hackle: Goose shoulder feather bleach burned and dyed rusty red (Rite Dye)
Wing: An under-wing of polar bear or similar white hair, veiled with brown mallard flank
Head: Finished with bright red / orange lacquer paint
Alaskan Lady
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Tying;
Hook: AJ Steelhead Iron size three
Tag: Flat silver tinsel
Tail: Gold pheasant crest dyed crimson
Body: Bone white silk or rayon floss
Rib: Silver oval French twist tinsel
Hackle: Bleached goose shoulder feather
Wing: Polar Bear
Cheeks: Jungle cock
Head: Black thread
The Spey Ghost;
Another fly that has a very slim silhouette when on the swing. Having had good luck with a standard Gray Ghost on the spring run fish I morphed one to make it a little more interesting in the vise. The tie has proven as effective as the feather wing original thus far.
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Tying;
Hook: Your choice, I use either Partridge or Jackson in a #2
Thread: Black 08
Tag: Flat silver tinsel
Body: Orange floss ribbed with first a palmer dk. blue dunn hackle and over-wound with oval silver tinsel or wire
Belly: White buck tail or polar bear if you have it. I place a golden pheasant crest under the hair for aesthetic value only
Wing: Two matched slips of dyed gray goose shoulder feather topped with golden pheasant if you like
Hackle: Burnt goose dyed as blue dunn tied long as the hook to provide a nice sweeping profile when wet
Cheeks: Jungle cock eyes secured in a downward fashion, your preference
Head: Black
Crimson Knight; an attractor pattern for fresh run steelhead/trout.
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Tying;
Hook: Single salmon
Thread: Black
Tag: Flat gold tinsel
Tip Crimson silk or floss extending forward a bit long
Body: rear half a blend of dark crimson and black opossum or similar, front half is black opossum dubbed thicker and picked out
Ribbing: A palmered scarlet red hackle over-wound with gold oval tinsel or wire
Hackle: Jet black goose shoulder, or your choice of spey hackle in black
Wing: As a topping over the hackle place a matched pair of jungle cock cape feathers
The Amber Knight; a variation of the crimson pattern also a good attractor for swinging the swift lies.
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Tying;
Hook: Single salmon
Thread: Black
Tag: Silver French twist tinsel (fine)
Tip: Amber silk or floss wound long
Body: Rear is amber dubbing fur, front is a blend of black with strands from Estaz chenille mixed in
Ribbing: A golden saddle hackle palmered and over-wound with oval silver tinsel or wire
Hackle: Jet black goose shoulder or your choice of spey hackle
Wing: As a topping over the hackle place a matched pair of jungle cock cape feathers
Tomahawk; you no doubt know about the many egg ties that are out there and will notice that I don't include any. I'm a hard head about what I tie to the end of my leader. The next two patterns are designed for medium depth waters where you need to skim the bottom but eschew using split shot. The wire bodies will get the flydown nicely.
Tomahawk;
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Tying;
Hook: AJ steelhead iron #3 or #4 single salmon
Thread: Black
Tag: Gold tinsel
Tip: Black floss or silk
Butt: Peacock herl
Body: Wound tightly with medium copper wire at the front of which build a shoulder of peacock herl
Wing: Matched pair of golden pheasant tail slips
Collar: Hackle is burnt mallard dyed brown
The Knife;
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Hook: AJ steelhead iron #3
Tag: Claret floss, lacquered to provide strength
Butt: Black ostrich
Body: Medium silver wire
Hackle: Burnt goose shoulder dyed red
Wing: Black goose shoulder sections
A pair of Highlander variations
Some flies just belong in your box or wallet and whether you fish Atlantic's, Pacific's or those big lakes inbetween you ought to have a few Green Highlanders just for the heck of it. There's nothing like tying on a classic and lett'en er swing.
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Tying;
Hook: Single salmon #2 - 6
Tag: Oval silver tinsel
Tip: Golden floss
Tail: Golden pheasant crest
Butt: Black ostrich
Body: Rear half golden floss, front is dubbed olive fur and palmered with an olive hackle
Ribbing: Oval silver tinsel over all tying in the palmered olive hackle
Under wing: A pair of Golden pheasent tippets
Collar: Very sparse but long chartreuse green spey hackle
Wing / Topping: A sparse mix of drab olive and yellow buck tail hair
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Tying;
Hook: Single salmon #2 - 6
Tag: Flat narrow silver tinsel
Tail: Golden pheasant chrest
Body: Rear is golden yellow floss, front is dubbed with bright green wool and palmered with a lemon yellow hackle
Ribbing: Oval silver tinsel over the palmered hackle on front only
Under wing: A pair of golden pheasant tippets
Wing: Sparse yellow buck tail topped with sparse Monga Ring tail dyed bright green
The Stranger;
Here the steelhead trout feeds on salmon fry while in the rivers and brown black combos are always in style. This fly is suggestive of numerous prey forms the big trout feed on.
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Tying;
Hook: Single salmon, 1.5 is a nice size
Thread: black
Tag: Flat Gold tinsel
Tail: Dyed GP crest, claret red
Body: Rear two thirds chocolate brown floss, front is dubbed light brown wool & palmered with a claret hackle
Rib: Narrow oval gold tinsel is wound over all tying down the palmered hackle
Wing: A pair of jet black goose shoulder sections
Hackle: Rich brown spey hackle, your choice
Beowulf;
Another of my wire body low water patterns. I hate to cast a split shot and the copper takes the fly down perfectly when fished on a floating line.
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Tying;
Hook: Single salmon #2 - 6
Tag: Flat gold tinsel
Tip: Black floss
Tail: Gold GP crest
Butt: Black ostrich
Body: Rear two thirds wound copper wire, Front is heavy peacock herl palmered with a Lt. blue dunn hackle
Wing: Golden Pheasant tail sections
Hackle: Lt. blue dunn spey hackle; Note this hackle is a bit short for the hook but will surfice.
The Bush Doctor;
Definitely an attractor pattern, this is the Alaskan relative of the Atlantic salmon fly, Silver Doctor. Not a bad fly for Pacific Silver Salmon either.
Tying;
Hook: Single salmon #3
Thread: Black
Tag: Flat silver tinsel
Tip: Doctor blue floss
Butt: Dyed ostrich, red
Body: Wide flat silver tinsel ribbed with oval silver tinsel
Hackle: Silver Doctor blue spey hackle
Wing: Silver Fox body hair
Head: Switch to 05 red silk and finish with multiple coats of lacquerer to achieve a beautiful garnet like finish
The Cooper Creek;
I have tied and fished both the Rail Bird and the Improved Governor for steelhead and trout for years. Last season I morphed those patterns to form the Cooper Creek. The fly took several rainbow and some plump Dolly Varden just upstream of the area where its namesake 'Cooper Creek' flows into the Kenai River. I look forward to further testing this season.
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Tying;
Hook: Steelhead Iron #3
Thread: Black
Tag: Gold French braid tinsel
Tip: Actually the rear half of the hook shank, claret floss ribbed with oval gold French tinsel
Tail: Amherst pheasant crest at the mid point where the long tip meets the front body material
Body: Front section built with 4 peacock herls, these are palmered with a Lt. brown spey hackle and ribbed with heavy gold French tinsel
Wing: 5 or 6 peacock herls
Collar:A long deep red saddle hackle
Shoulders: A pair of jungle cock eyes are mounted with a distinct upward angle giving the little fly a perky appearance
The Coburn Special; Here's another Atlantic pattern that found it's way North West. I use a little different approach than the East Coast version but the similarities are obvious. This is another dual purpose fly that I have caught both trout and Pacific Silver Salmon on the tie.
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Tying;
Hook: Single salmon #2 - 6
Thread: Black
TAg: Fine oval silver tinsel or wire
Body: Chartreuse floss with a waist joint of black ostrich herl
Wing: I have used Black Bear hair
Hackle: Spey hackle your choice in chartreuse
KISS Gray Spey; Keeping it simple sometimes is the best approach. I like to be able to show a fish a bunch of colors, however if they are not impressed with the flashy stuff some basic earth tones help to round out the offerings.
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Tying:
Hook: Single salmon #2 - 6
Tail: A little puff of gray marabou
Body: Gray wool with a waist joint of gray spey hackle at the mid point of the body
Rib: In front of the waist I wrap black tinsel just to satisfy my urge to complicate things, skip it if you like
Wing: Two black hackle tips
Hackle: Gray spey hackle
Your done, and they work well on rainy days.
Rail Bird;
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Tying;
Hook: Short shank having a wide bend, this is a size 4 but I tie down to an 8 on these for low water
Tail: A long Amherst pheasant crest or hackle tip in claret red
Body: Red silk ribbed with a palmered claret hackle
WIng: Grey Fox body hair or similar
Collar: Lemmon yellow saddle hackle tied back
Cheeks: The ever popular Jungle Cock
Little Olive Spey: I've been tying these awhile and have always created many original patterns. Here's a circa 1985 fly in unused condition from one of my boxes. I tied these for Great Lakes steelhead summer fishing on the Salmon River of New York.
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Tying;
Hook: single salmon #8
Tag: Flat gold tinsel
Butt: Generous wind of two peacock herls
Body: Olive green floss palmered with olive spey hackle and ribbed with fine gold wire to secure the hackle
Wing: mMatched golden badger hackle tips
Head: Olive silk
Another KISS Patern, Brown Spey;
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Tying;
Hook Single salmon #2 - 6
Thread: Black
Tag: Flat copper tinsel
Tip: Olive floss
Body: Olive Leach Yarn palmered with a dyed (brown) mallard flank feather
Rib: Embossed copper tinsel over all and securing the palmered duck feather
Hackle: Collar it with a long fibered mallard flank feather dyed brown. Hint, burn yours better than I did this one and you will get better action in the water