JoshVandermeer

Hey Josh..........have you done well with the white eggs??? Never gave them much of a thought.....I do use cream and pale yellow suckerspawn........and white / red, white / orange suckerspawn...........but never a white egg.....guess there would be certain times when a salmon egg would be white???

actually I used to tie them way back when I first started tying when I didn't know which colours to tie, and its end up that white works really well, specially with the green dot. Also good for salmon too.

Very nicely organized...I'll have to get pics of mine and embarrass myself

hehe yeah, im a bit of an organizational freak

and yes i do like fishing eggs, they're really easy to tie and the work good!

Heres a thread to post pictures of your fly boxes.

Ill start:

Nice fly! Is that a zonker strip for the wing?

yep

This is my first minnow type fly that I've tied, so I could use some good constructive criticism on how to make this pattern better, as it looks kinda crappy right now.

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by JoshVandermeer:

Steely Minnow

I forgot to add the type of hooks used, and It wont let me edit it, so the hooks used are scud hooks in size 8 - 14. I dont know if one of the moderators can add it in, but if not thats ok.

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by JoshVandermeer:

Joshmans Stone

Josh,

You seem like a proficient tyer.....why not come up with your own little "pattern"?

 

I did some research on the streams I fish for steel, investigated the stoneflies, then tied a few generic patterns that have the right parts and they worked just fine.

 

Plus if you have your own set of "patterns" that no one can buy anywhere, you have a little bit of edge on other anglers. You will also be showing the steel something different, which can go a long way when steelheading.

 

The one I tie has biots for the tail, a simple dubbed body wrapped with wire for the abdomen. Swiss straw for the wingcases with a clump or two of rabbit fur for the gills/legs. Antennae made of biots tied on before the bead is put on the shank, then the bead is slid up for the head. Rust is one of my favorite colors along with black and brown.

 

Good luck!!

Frank

yeah i do something similar to that but not with a bead, im gonna give that a try tho. Sometimes I'll put hackle for legs if I'm doing larger sized ones.

Josh,

In my neck of the woods, we have very good luck with Prince Nymphs in sizes #6-#10 for steelhead. I like to tie a Prince nymph with a slightly oversized red bead head and bright red wire ribbing. The Kaufman's Stonefly is another great pattern.

Ive got a bunch of size 10 bead headed princes tied up for the spring, only I've got gold beads. Do you ever use prince nymphs without beads? I've been debating whether or not I should tie some like that.

I sorta do my own take on the kauffman stone, mostly cause the goose quill part is a pain in the butt.

I'll tie it on a size 8 - 12 scud hook, biots for a tail, dubbing for body with that stretchy black ribbing stuff, then ill cut 3 pieces sorta like the shape they do on kauffmans stone and tie those in, then ill put two more biots.

I'm having trouble finding a good bead headed stone fly pattern for steelhead, and I was wondering what patterns you guys like to use.

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by JoshVandermeer:

Red Rum

Here's a great lakes spey fly that I concocted last night, I call it red rum. Sorry if this has been taken up already.

another pic:

Nest time I tie this one I think I'll make the bunny strip a little longer.

I'm 17. Been Bass fishing since i was 4, which is my favourite type of fishing (sorry guys), but I have been fly fishing for salmon and steel head for a year and a half (best decision I have ever made) and I cant get enough of it, close close second to to bass fishing. I've also been tying for a year. I live 5 minutes from the creek so I usually hit it about 3-4 times a week when they are running. All my friends thing I'm obsessed. It is very true that there are not very many young fly fishermen. I only know couple around my age that fly fish, but they don't do it that much either, they mainly float fish.

heres another variation that I tied up with cactus chenille (estaz) and krystal flash for wing casing.

Thanks for your input guys... I'll have to try them a little more often. I bought this box with 10 different ice dubbing colours and I'm gonna try a whole bunch of different colours. Maybe I can get some fall steel when they start running.

Has anybody ever tried using a stone fly nymph tied with ice dubbing like the one I have tied here?

If not, do you guys think it would work for catching salmon and/or steel head in Ontario great lakes tributaries? Ive tried it on some early season salmon but didn't get anything.