By Jeff "Bear" Andrews


After 24 years of commercial fly tying, it is exciting to hear about all of the great steelhead that have been hooked on flies I have tied. At the same time, as the popularity of our sport grows and the pressure on our rivers and fish also grows, it is a challenge to come up with new patterns that fish can not resist.

In my travels to fly tying shows all over the world, I often learn about new materials and new tying methods that result in flies that are fish-takers. A subtle change in a fly pattern is often all that you need to cause a fly to be attractive to steelhead; occasionally you'll need something that is "off the wall."

By modifying patterns that are already proven fish-takers but are being seen too much by the fish I'm after, I can often cause them to take a second look.

Depending on when they're in the river, steelhead are looking either to eat or to get intimate. The following pattern is a "meal," using techniques learned from another tier. Fishing for steelhead with a Hexagenia nymph pattern is not new. Several years aga, Ray Schmidt of Schmidt Outfitters in Wellston, Mich., used a little Hex pattern that had a fluorescent butt. I concocted my own Hex pattern, called the Headbanger, with a "hot butt" and it has had great success. Vary the color of the yarn depending on the river that you are fishing. For example, hot orange is great on the Big Manistee River in Michigan and pink is better on the St. Joe. Tie in different color combinations and sizes.

To the top of the next column

There more steelead fly patterns by Jeff "Bear" Andrews in the February 2001 issue of Midwest Fly Fishing. Andrews lives in Grand Lodge, Mich.