Steelhead Stonefly… Martinez's Psycho Stonefly by Steve Martinez

While Steve's new woven series of flies began with Steve going crazy with winter boredom from tying the same old standards.  These new flies have been catching steelhead.  The Martinez's Psycho Stonefly adds a bright twist to the standard stoneflies.  I really like the definition and segmented look between the light and dark yarn for the body.

Best For… steelhead and trout

***Materials listed in tying order

Hook… TMC 3761, size 6
Eyes… medium red plastic
Tail… black goose biot
Body… woven light tan and dark brown antron yarn
Wing… black goose biot
Head… orange uv dubbing

Visit the Michigan Flies page for all of our patterns.

Gary Krebs Popper from Third Coast Fly on Vimeo.

Fly Fishing Popper by Gary Krebs

Gary is one of our good friends from Indiana, an accomplished fly fishermen and tier as well as a great guy.  Gary created his popper for snook, it has an excellent weed guard that is perfect for bouncing off cypress.

Gary is a regular at tying shows end events throughout his area and his popper is gaining popularity for bass, pike and other species.

For ease of tying Gary has created and now markets a popper tying kit that you will see him using in the video.  It is available at FlyMasters.

Best For… bass, pike and snook

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

Steelhead Streamer… Steve's Foxxy Brown

Steve has been working on a streamer that mimics a small brown trout.  The Foxxy Brown looks great in the water, tracks well and most importantly, steelhead want to eat it.  This fly is also a very easy tie.

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

***Materials listed in tying order

Hook… spey style hook, size 4 to 6
Tail… red fox tail, inner fur
Body… ice chenille, root beer
1st Ribbing… red tinsel
2nd Ribbing… gold tinsel SEE NOTE
Under Wing… red and gold tinsel used for ribbing
Over Wing… red fox tail, hairs with black and gray tips
Head… build up a nice head with thread

Notes – 1) Steve ties the second tinsel on the opposite side of the hook from the first, this makes it easier to have them fall next to each other and not overlap.

2) Steve sometimes omits the tail and hasn't decided which version he prefers.

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

Steelhead Tube Streamer… Fred's Ugly Bug (Tube Version)

This trout and steelhead streamer is one of Fred Davidson's favorite, Fred is a local Pere Marquette fly fishing guru.  Fred ties his on a long shank streamer hook like the TMC 300.  Indigo guide Steve Martinez converted Fred's fly to a tube version using an aluminum rivet.

The aluminum rivet has a bit of weight and a flat head that really makes the materials pulse.  Steve watched Aaron McDaniel use rivets at a Northern Kentucky Fly Fishers meeting and has used the idea since.

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

***Materials listed in tying order

Tube… aluminum rivet (pin removed) glued over plastic tube (ends mushroomed) *SEE NOTE
Tail… marabou
Body… estaz
Legs… rubber legs
Under Wing… tinsel
Over Wing… small zonker strip
Inner Collar… crystal polar chenille
Outer Collar… cross cut rabbit

Note – Glue and insert a plastic tube that will fit inside the rivet, a Q-Tip shaft often works perfect.  Trim to length and mushroom near a flame.

References:  Third Coast Fly, Pere Marquette Fishing Report -Dec 21st

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

Steelhead Tube Fly… Basic Bucktail Tube

This is Kevin's bread-and-butter steelhead streamer for fall and winter.  It is extremely basic and easy to tie but absolutely effective.  The lower section of many of the west Michigan streams like the Pere Marquette, Muskegon and Manistee are basically snags with water running through them.  Kevin doesn't even flinch when he breaks-off and quickly ties on another.

Other considerations are that this fly will cast with the ease of a small fly but has a big profile.  It also allows Kevin to use his favorite steelhead hook, the Gamakatsu octopus 02408 in size 4.  Being able to vary the weight with added cones and making minor color changes with bead choices allows a lot of versatility.

Kevin originally tied this Clouser type fly on traditional streamer hooks but switched to a tube style because the long flash wraps and tangles on the hook shank and bend.

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

***Materials listed in tying order

Tube… whatever plastic tube you like
Body… Estaz (yarn or a dubbed body will work also)
Wing… bucktail
Over Wing… Flashabou Mirage (other tinsels will work)

Note – Kevin makes a point to wrap tight and heavy and then glue at both ends of the tube.  This keeps materials from sliding off and also reduces tube splitting.

References:

1) Kevin posted a series on our Third Coast Fly site on how he streamer fishes for fall and winter steelhead.
- Streamer fishing for Michigan steelhead- gearing up
- Streamer fishing for Michigan steelhead- fly patterns
- Streamer fishing for Michigan steelhead- reading water

2) You might also like the video Michigan's Fall Steel.

3) Matt's version.
 

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

Steelhead Fly Recipe… Spring's Wiggler by Ron(?) Spring

This is a west Michigan classic but it remains a perfect steelhead fly because it is an easy tie and fish still love to eat it.  As far as a little internet reaserch produced the fly was the creation of Ron Spring who operated a sports shop in Muskegon.

I like my Spring's Wigglers bushier and with a thinner body than most that I see for sale in local shops.  I tie them in a variety of colors and in sizes 4-6. 

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

***Materials listed in tying order

Hook… TMC 200R, size 4-6
Tail/Back… fox squirrel tail
Body… sparkle yarn
Hackle… most any hackle will work

Note – After you lash down the back make several wraps under the lashed squirrel tail near the hook eye.  This will stand the hair up to look more like a head.

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

Robot Mouse from Third Coast Fly on Vimeo.

Trout Fly Recipe… Robot Mouse by Matt Dunn

I’ve been doing a lot of mousing after dark this summer, probably my favorite thing to do in the summer. There are some great mouse patterns out there and the thing is, most anything that floats and creates a good wake on the surface will bring fish up. The problem is hooking them. Though I’ve seen that done plenty of times on basic patterns as well.  There are a few patterns that have extended hooks but overall I thought that they could be better in other regards.  I really like a spun deer hair body, i.e. Ken Morrish’s Morrish Mouse, because it pushes a lot of water and floats very well.

So why not combine the two patterns? The pattern doesn’t really look anything like a mouse, it’s really an amalgamation of a few properties that seem to be important. The stinger hook and the spun deer hair body are both important, but I also think the hard mono connection between the front and rear hook is critical because it allows the rear hook to swing freely and really kick around in the water.

Best For… trout          Could Also Be Used For…  bass and pike

A link to the original post on Third Coast Fly…

Visit our Michigan Flies page for all of our patterns and recipes.

Carp Fly Recipe… Morlock's Beast Bait by Kevin Morlock

This is pattern and in the yellow in particular is becoming a staple on Kevin's carp trips.  Though he has been tying and using variations of this pattern for years he has been reluctant to give it a name because it looks like dozens of bunny strip flies that are already out there.

Though this year Kevin has decided to give it a name because people keep asking what it is called and why the recipe isn't on the site.  And also because this fly has now accounted for two of the four largest carp caught by the Indigo crew… both in yellow.

This is a quick and easy pattern to tie and should be tied in several colors.  Tie them large, you can always cut them smaller on the water.

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

***Materials listed in tying order

Hook… Mustad R90
Eyes… large red lead eyes
Tail/Body… yellow olive bunny strip (see note 1)
Collar.. light blue crystal flash
Hackle… Brown Schlappen
Head… brown rag yarn (see note 2)

Note 1 – Tie your eyes on and then glue them and let them dry.  Before you put the fly back in the vise, pierce the bunny strip with the hook about 1 inch down from the head end.

Note 2 – The only place I know to get this yarn is FlyMasters, though on this pattern you could substitute anything.

Third Coast Fly – The Beasts of Beaver Island

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

Carp Fly Recipe… Martinez’s Depth Charge by Steve Martinez

When the carp are deep you have to get deep quickly to be effective.  This fly is heavy and casts like a kitchen sink but it is effective.  It has became Steve’s bread-and-butter fly for cloudy days when the carp are staying in deeper water.  You can vary the color and size but this is the standard.

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

***Materials listed in tying order

Hook… TMC 200R
Eyes… large yellow lead eyes
Body Weight… 12 or so wraps of lead wire
Tail… brown marabou
Body… olive brown U.V. Polar Chenille
Collar.. yellow mallard
Head… peacock colored Cactus Dubbing