Indigo Guide Service

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Steelhead Fly Recipe… SS Buggers (Steelhead/Salmon Buggers) by Everyone

This is another super easy to tie, highly effective steelhead and salmon pattern used by many folks in the area.  Swing it as a wet or use it as a streamer with or without a sink-tip.  Tail, body, tinsel and hackle color combinations are endless, I go with bright in low light or dirty water and natural in clear conditions.  I tie most with tinsel because it only takes two snips with my scissors to un-tinsel them.

Best For… steelhead and salmon          Could Also Be Used For…  trout, carp and bass

***Materials listed in tying order

Hook… Mustad R74, size 4
Eyes… x-large silver bead chain
Tail… marabou
Tinsel… whatever you like
Body… yarn
Hackle… schlappen

Visit our West Michigan Fly Index page for a quick look at our collection.

Carp Fly Pattern… Anderson’s Hammerhead by Ian Anderson

On a June evening at the Fisherman’s House on Beaver Island last summer, our friend Ian Anderson decided to create a funny new carp fly.  There is little doubt that Ian’s creativity was peaking after several beers.  Well, Ian threw together 4 bead chain eye’s, rubber legs, glow-in-the-dark Mylar and some bunny strip… finally creating this 5 inch crazy monster of a fly.

Wouldn’t you know that we absolutely destroyed the carp on that fly the next couple days.  This is now my go-to fly for hot, aggressive fish.  This is also an excellent fly for smallmouth bass.

The double bead chain eyes create a lot of noise and enough weight to get depth quickly.  The bonus is that if you want to create a lighter fly, you can quickly cut-off the outside eyes while on the water.

Ian is one of our friends form FlyMasters of Indianapolis.

Best For… carp and smallmouth bass          Could Also Be Used For…  salmon

***Materials listed in tying order

Hook… Mustad R74, size 4
Thread… 3/0 or A Mono or FlyMasters +, color to match body
Eyes… x-large gold bead chain and 8 – 10 wraps of .030 lead wire
Tail… 4 – 6 pumpkin/black flake sili legs,  6 strands glow in the dark Mylar Motion fl. orange, 6 strands glow in the dark Mylar Motion fl. yellow
Under Body… dark brown sparkle yarn
Over Body… crawfish orange magnum zonker or black barred orange over tan magnum tiger strip (Hare Line)

Notes:
1) This fly uses regular rabbit zonker strips, not crosscut strips.  You palmer the zonker with a small margin of the skin over lapping the previous wrap while stroking back the fur on each wrap.  By using a regular zonker strip the hair stands out and pulses more than a cross cut strip would.
2) Color variations would be black, olive or dark brown.  Tiger Zonker (strips) or barred zonkers work better because of the contrasting colors.
3) You can tie this on a size 6 using large bead chain and magnum zonker and a size 8 using large or medium bead chain and a regular zonker strip; not magnum.  Lead size would also be reduced for each smaller size hook.