Steelhead are not hard to catch, they are simply hard to find. Once you locate a fish that is ready to eat, all you really have to do is present your fly. While fly selection is not unimportant, it is not primary in steelheading. Why then do we see so much variety and effort put into steelheading flies?

The best reason is confidence. You must be confident that the fly you pick, and then spend hours fishing, will produce when you find a fish. It must behave in a certain way. It must have a certain weight. And if the pattern is proven by another capable angler, well, then, that certainly can't hurt your odds!

As with any type of fly fishing, you pick up flies from buddies. Steelheading flies hold a particular allure in this arena because hand-tied flies tend to reflect the angler that tied them. They can be utilitarian or showy, or perhaps the tier shows a preference for particular materials or technique. Taking a stroll through the flies in your box calls to mind particular trips on specific stretches and the fish that defined the moment.Spey anglers, especially those in the Puget, know what each fish means.

What follows is a short post, as I'm running out of time before my winter break ends. Really it's just a few photos over the years from steelhead flies that I like. Some are from friends forged on the water or over the shop counter, others I tied from shop influence. Some of them have gotten eats, some of them just hang in the box until their time comes.