It’s tough for me to get really excited about steelhead flies this fall–Idaho’s steelhead run as been dismal, so much so, that I haven’t bothered to make the trip to Salmon to swing flies. The last thing the few fish that made it home need is another angler harassing them.
But steelhead and salmon flies are so much fun to tie. They’re big, and for tiers with fat fingers like mine, this is the best possible scenario. And, generally speaking, they’re really beautiful. The Black Bear Green Butt that Tim Flagler ties is no exception. I was pleased to hear Tim advise fellow tiers to consider different materials when taking on this relatrively simple pattern. Tim went traditional, using black bear hair for the wing, but others might not have ready access to this material.
Either way, the final product is a stunning steelhead/salmon fly that has been around for generations.
Let’s hope our steelhead runs recover so we can say that about them, too.
— Chris Hunt