Category Archives: Steelhead
Spey Casting Diagnostics Checklist
By Jeff Hickman SPEY CASTING IS A PROCESS REQUIRING SEVERAL STEPS TO BE FULLY COMPLETED IN A SEQUENCE. To effectively and consistently make good spey casts you need to focus on these steps, especially when learning. But even veteran and advanced two-handed casters also need to focus...
Keeping Your Head Straight Catches Steelhead
I just got back from hosting two groups of anglers on this year’s Deschutes River Steelhead Camp. This trip is always a highlight of my year. Because it’s just so much fun and because there is nothing I love more than swinging flies for steelhead. Camping...
You May Be Killing Steelhead And Not Even Know It
STEELHEADERS ARE GENERALLY PRETTY SERIOUS ABOUT CATCH-AND-RELEASE, BUT IT'S LIKELY THAT MANY ARE MORTALLY WOUNDING FISH WITHOUT EVER KNOWING IT. There are few species of fish as vulnerable as wild steelhead. These fish are beset on all sides by threats both natural and man-made. With their...
Rigging Tube Flies: Video
By Louis Cahill I love tube flies and I fish them almost exclusively when I’m after steelhead. Tube flies are a powerful tool. They are the most versatile flies you can tie and the most economical. The secret is that there’s no hook. The fly...
Steelhead Flies, Half As Much
By Louis Cahill WHEN THE RAIN WON’T STOP, THE LIGHT IS FAILING AND THE RIVER SWELLING, STEEL HEADERS DRINK WHISKY AND STARE DARKLY INTO THEIR FLY BOXES. Maybe that’s a bit dramatic, but we all do it. I spent an evening like this with a group of...