Sculpins for Steelhead

Terry holding up a nice Squamish fish taken on a Sculpin Imitation

Everyone knows Winter Steelhead love bubblegum pink, egg sucking leeches and lots of other colorful flies. What most people don't seem to realize is that Steelhead love the Sculpins.
Pressured Steelhead or Steelhead holding in low clear and/or cold water are sometimes hard to get on generic colorful flies in many cases, however for some reason they don't seem to be able to resist a swung olive rabbit fly resembling a Sculpin or Lamprey.
Steelhead absolutely crush Sculpins and I know many fishermen (my self included) that use them specifically for Steelhead. Using a natural presentation ensures most trout and char in the area are willing to bite your fly as well which makes for a slightly fishier day. Flies like Silveys Sculpin, the egg Stealing Sculpin or Idlys Blossem are great Sculpin patterns that work for both Trout and Steel. Even the good old Muddler Minnow is a killer for low water fish. Next time you're out swinging for steelhead, try the olive in your fly box, you might be surprised by the results.

Frank with a Tank taken on an Olive Sculpin Imitation, just look in its mouth!

Steelhead Tube Fly of the Month

The Rhea Tube fly has an entire flybox of its own in my collection. Intruder like in style, I tied this fly with with versatility and durability in mind. In blacks, blues, purples, oranges and pinks It's an awesome winter Steelhead fly. The tube is weighted as are the eyes so its very heavy, though a plastic tube would work fine to lighten it up as well. The under body is spun seal fur, though any stiffer synthetic dubbing will do. Wrap some rhea in front and finish off with a guinea fowl feather. After wrapping tinsel or guidebrod wrap for the body, repeat the steps for the front portion of the fly and add flash and eyes. Viola! done, it looks great in the water and takes minimal amount of time to make. Use a octopus style hook on a loop of mono when you rig it up. If you use crazy glue, the fly should last until you catch a tree with it. I will add step by step pictures when I have the opportunity.

Depth charges to say the least!

Tying the Skagit Minnow, great fly for Winter Steelhead

The Skagit Minnow is a simple, easy to tie and highly effective pattern for winter Steelhead all over BC. Not only does it require few materials, but it is easy to cast and because of the trailer hook, lots of movement and good hookups are the norm. I make these in a veriaty of colors and sizes but the same basic steps are used in all of these flies. You will need: Size 1 or 2 Octopus style Trailer hook, 30lb Dacron backing, Saddle hackle, 2 different Marabou colors, Chenille, Dumbbell eyes, Schlappen feathers, Krysal flash and a cheap hook to cut, or a 20mm Waddington Shank. Colors are up to you, I used florescent Orange Saddles, fire Orange and Pink Marabou, Pink Schlappen and Pink Chenille.

Start off with the Octopus Trailer, tie in 2 inward facing saddle hackles as the tail, kind of like a Deceiver fly.
Cut the tip off the Marabou feather, tie in and wrap forward until the eye of the fly. Add a few strands of Krystal flash and whip finish.

Fold the 30lb Deacron in half and thread it through the eye of the hook like a loop-to-loop connection. Make sure the 2 ends come of of the front of the eye.

Feed the Dacron through the eye of the other hook/shank and tie down on both top and bottom. Make sure the backing is tied in straight so the hook rides right side up and doesn't twist.

Make a ball of Chenille, tie off and add another Marabou feather of the same color. Tie it in against the Chenille ball and wrap forward.

Keep adding feathers until you are half way down the shank.

Add the 2nd Marabou color and some more Krystal flash. Wrap in a couple of Pink Schlappen feathers.

Tie a set of eyes on the bottom of the shank. Whip finish and glue. Krazy glue and Zap-A-Gap are what I use, keeps the fly together even after a few fish and rocks have ripped it up a bit. Piece of cake to tie, try it in olive or black for Bulltrout, Browns or whatever eats baitfish. A great fly for BC waters and an awesome fly for the Squamish river.

Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte Island Steelhead

Dave tailing winter Chrome

Haida Gwaii Winter Steelhead

Often referred to as the Galapagos of the north, Haida Gwaii offers a truly unique Steelheading experience in a lush wilderness rainforest with incredible biodiversity.

We are very excited to partner with Frontier Farwest on their new Copper Bay operation on Haida Gwaii. This is winter Steelhead fishing in it's purest form.

The Haida Gwaii season runs from December through March and we have a variety of dates available including hosted weeks with both Mike Orlowski and Whistler flyfishing guide Pat Beahen.

Pat with A sweet Yak fish

The price for this trip is $4100 + tax and includes gourmet home cooked meals, 7 nights accomodation and pick up and transfer from the Sandspit airport. Flights are about an hour and a half from Vancouver airport

Copper Bay Lodge is located on Haida Gwaii in the northwest corner of British Columbia. This rustic lodge sits in the coastal rainforest overlooking the waters of Hecate straight and offers good access to great Steelhead rivers like the Pallant, Copper, Tlell, Mamin and Yakoun.

Yakoun Steelhead are world famous for both their size and strength with many fish in the high teens and even fresh fish up over twenty pounds. This river enjoys a high percentage of multi salt fish meaning these are some of the largest winter runs anywhere.

Aggressive Cutthroat Trout as well

Vancouver Steelhead Guided Trips

Whistler Flyfishing offers Vancouver Steelhead guided trips with some of the most experienced Steelhead fly fishing guides in British Columbia. A lot of the best fishing in the winter and spring is done in and around Squamish which is just north of Vancouver. We provide guided flyfishing trips for wild Steelhead and Char for our Vancouver clients, picking them up at their Vancouver hotels or meeting them in Squamish. Whistler Flyfishing guides are on the water every day, on the search for winter Steelhead and Trout. We supply all the gear, from waders to lunch. For more info call 1 888 822 3474 or 604-932-7221.

Whistler Flyfishing Steelhead Article

Check out Whistler Flyfishing's article in the "Whistler Traveller" magazine. Pick one up at any of the local stores for free and check out our article on winter Steelhead fishing in our area.

Sweet Steelhead Fies

Although we tend to tie our own flies when we go out Steelhead fishing, there are a few commercially available patterns out now that I like to have on me as go-to flies. They look awesome, are tied durable and catch lots of fish! These are just a few of my favorites;

From the right side going counter clockwise; the Blue Charm is an great low water fly as is the Hobit spey tube. The Hoh-bo spey in blue or purple is a very effective pattern on the Bulkley and local waters, as is the heavier Pick yer Pocket. Both Silveys Squid and Silveys Prawn look great and work great on Steelhead and big Chinook too! Check out some more great patterns from Idylwilde (read their blog here!) on our online store, as these are just a few of many sweet patterns we carry

Loop Opti Switch Fly Rods Coming Soon

The staff at Whistler Flyfishing has been helping in the development of a new series of switch rods from Loop. Switch rods are the perfect fishing tool for the angler that values versatility. They are equally at home beach fishing for Coho Salmon as they are swinging flies for winter Steelhead. Much lighter than most switch rods currently available,the new Loop's were designed as single hand rods that speycast well. They are light and fairly fast with a smooth progressive action that is distinctively Loop. There are two rods In the Opti Switch series, both featuring Loops' stylish and comfortable new grip and durable cross weave technology. We expect these Opti Switch rods to be available early this spring.Give the fly shop a call at 1-888-822-3474 for more info on this and any other Loop tackle products