RAMBLINGS OF A FLY TYER
For me, most of the dry fly fishing has slowed down on the Rogue, here locally. Not that there aren’t a few hatches still coming off, but with beautiful bright days, the fish close to the surface become cautious of the flying predators and spooked by the ‘rubber hatch’. That said, the steelhead are in the river. It’s true they are not stacked up in front of the creeks like in the fall. You may have to hunt a little for them, OK, a lot, but for me, that’s part of the fun. I prefer water types where I can swing a traditional wet fly. Most of the time you will find me swinging an Undertaker, Red Ant, Silver Hilton or a Rogue on an 8 ½’ to 9’ bamboo rod and 10’ to 14’ leader from a boat.
This month’s fly is the Rogue
Hook: Your favorite steelhead hook
Thread: Black Tag: Flat or oval small tinsel
Tail: Red hackle fibers
Body: Peacock tail herl
Rib: Silver oval tinsel
Hackle: Grizzly beard or full hackle
Wing: White polar bear, calf tail or artic fox
Cheeks: Jungle cock
Head: Black Thread
The style I like this time of year is the low water style. Not because it’s low water, but because I can tie a size 6 fly on a size 1 or 1/0 iron or hook to get it down without weight and let it swim. If you like another style, that’s fly tying.