PacificCoastSteelheader

yarn isn't as compressible as mcfly foam - usually a little harder to work with but it can be done... you may need to actually catch in a strand on the bottom of the fly to get them to fill out with yarn... mcfly is very springy and will fill the gaps on its own better.. use some strong thread - i use flat waxed nylon but you could use kevlar to really crank it.. if you learn to whip finish with your fingers you can guide the thread under the yarn so its unseen at the knot.... one cool tip is to use a straw... half of a McDonald's straw works good because theyre pretty wide. you need to make a little wire hook that is a little longer than your piece of straw so you can hook the strand(s) of yarn you want to tie and pull them thru the straw... this allows you to do two things - 1st is you don't waste near as much foam/yarn as you would if you were tying it in by hand, in clumps or in stacked strands... - 2nd is if you only pull thru half of the yarn you're using for the fly at first you can tie in the yarn right at the straw and the straw will help to compress the yarn for you right at the tie in point... then a little tug on the straw to reveal the other half of the yarn you want and snip it i have like three or four straws sitting in a glass of tying tools with different foam color combos in each one use 3 or 4 snug wraps at the middle of the yarn/foam... after the first two go on give the thread a "tug, tug, tug" down on the hook to tighten it up before adding one or two more on the midsection of the yarn before lifting the straw and getting 2 or 3 wraps to lock it off... i'll whip finish it by hand with the straw still attached, and then give the straw the little tug and snip the yarn/foam off at the straw, then pull it all upright and make the "half-circle" cut to the yarn... i usually don't even bother with head cement with these cause they're so easy and the way we fish em they'll be snagged up and broke off before they unravel...

for trout i've fished as small as 18.... may have fished a size 20 rainbow warrior as a dropper on the fall river (spring creek) but really i have rarely ever needed to fish something smaller than a 16 to catch trout... IMHO if you're fishing anything smaller than a 18 or 20 (or even 18's and 20's) and the tippet sizes that are required you're either crossing some ethical lines or you need to find some bigger fish to fish to... not to start a war or anything but if you're catching fish up to and over 20" on flies smaller than 18s and 6x or lighter tippet, it doesn't make you king badass - and it is most likely causing you to play the fish too long... i can't really think of a trout stream in oregon that you'd need to fish that small anyways, and i've never had a problem catching my share or skunking clients much... i guess thats the end of my rant.... don't hate me i don't really fish for trout much anymore tho - but i wouldn't fish for steelhead with anything smaller than say a 6 or maaaaaybe an 8.... no need to.... would it be more of a fight on a 5wt with 6lb? sure but that don't make it right

i will tie on Alec Jackson spey hooks (daiichi) and gamakatsu spey hooks. maybe nothing as perfect looking as a spey fly on an AJ hook, but to be honest when i'm hooked up to a chrome steelhead thats panicking and freaking out all over the place i feel the most comfortable by far when i know i've got a Gamakatsu Octopus hook stuck in his face

hey thanks for all the comments guys... i added the foam for a couple of reasons... if i have clients fish a skater i want it to be absolutely unsinkable if i fish a skater i want it to be unsinkable... i'm all for tradition but foam stays up better than any deer hair fly i also don't like dealing with fly floatant when i'm steelhead fishing, so foam skaters that never need dressing are ideal.... i also like fishing shrimpy flies... they just crack me up every time i tie em and all the bait boys out here (95% plus on the river i live on) get a kick out of em too.. here goes a shrimp fly i like fishing... pink in the winter flows and white/orange for the summer Brian Silvey's Poacher Prawn: weird... sometimes its showing that i posted the pic - sometimes i get the blue mystery square oh well, its the same pic as my avatar

this is a take on Derek Fergus' Strung-Out Skater a little foam added for floatation... tied in Mardi Gras colors as a nod to New Orleans - a city that i love

A new addition to the fly pattern database has been submitted by PacificCoastSteelheader: Strung-Out on Bourbon Street

hey all... some really outstanding fly tying going on at this site i live on the oregon coast, on a steelhead river that holds fish 365 days a year... :yahoo: i love getting people into their first steelhead - or their first on a fly i love spey casting - use a switch rod out here alot, swingin and bobber fishin i love shrimp/prawn flies i love coastal rivers with hot, fresh, chrome steelhead i love the deschutes river i love fighting, photographing and releasing native steelhead i love hatchery steelhead blood sprayed all over the driftboat/waders etc. these are a few of my favorite things... look forward to sharing with and learning from the community you guys have going here PCS