Fly fishing for steelhead is challenging and exhilarating in equal measures. There’s nothing quite like the feeling when you hook one of these beasts with your fly. So check out our top picks for the best steelhead flies below!
Although steelheads aren’t fussy when it comes to eating, they don’t like to chase their food, especially during the spawning season. That means you’ll need to brush up on your presentation and dead-drifting skills. A few carefully chosen fly patterns will also boost your chance of making a catch!
From wet flies and intruders to old classics that have stood the test of time, we’ve covered all of them here for you. Stock your tackle box up with some of these productive flies before you hit the water for some steelhead fishing!
How to Fish for Steelhead?
If you want to fly fish for steelhead, you need to know a bit about how these fish behave. This knowledge will help you pick out the best flies and catch more fish!
Egg And Invertebrate Fly Patterns
Steelhead almost always spawn in the spring, and when they’re running, their mind is on one thing: Getting to their final spawning destination. The result is that they don’t focus on eating and won’t chase after aquatic insects or baitfish. However, they will eat a floating egg that the current carries to them.
The closer to spawning season, the more urgent the fish will be, and the harder it will be to tempt with your flies. In fact, these hardy fish can go months without eating if necessary.
At times like these, having a few eggs or invertebrate flies in your tackle box is essential. We’ve listed some of the top egg and invertebrate fly patterns below!
Dead Drifting Technique
You’ll see a lot of success by dead drifting these flies through the water and waving them right below the steelhead’s nose. While they won’t be on the lookout for prey to chase, they won’t ignore a tasty bite right in front of them.
Cover the Water
Another essential technique is to cover the water with your fly rods, so that you can get your fly right to the fish. The colder the water, the less the fish will move. When the water conditions are below 34 Degrees F, you will need to get your fly inches away from the fish, or it just won’t strike.
Intruder Fly Patterns
Other productive fly patterns are intruder flies. This term refers to any small fish that might swim into the steelhead’s spawning territory. To prevent this potential predator from eating their eggs, they will quickly swallow it down in an instinctive reaction. You’ll find our top intruder fly recommendations below.
Attractor Flies
Flashy, bright, and colorful flies also work well with steelhead on certain days. Go for these types of flies if you are dealing with murky water conditions where the visibility is low. On clearer days, more natural-looking flies tend to work well.
Now you know some of the theory of what works and why, let’s get onto our recommendations of the top steelhead fishing flies!
Steelhead Flies
Even if you’re a confident steelhead angler, you might find some inspiration in some of these new patterns we’ve been using. Or perhaps you’re heading out for your first steelhead fishing trip! Whatever your skill level, it can be tricky to narrow it down to a few flies.
But no need to look any further! We’ve got a selection of the top steelhead flies for you. Just fill up your fly box with these great patterns, and you’ll be all set for some steelhead epic fishing!
Lady Ga Ga Intruder
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Now you know why intruder flies work so well, and the Lady Ga Ga is one of the most flamboyant. This intruder fly imitates a smaller rainbow trout and is guaranteed to provoke an aggressive reaction!
Steelhead fish will gobble down any rainbow trout lurking around during spawning season, so they don’t inseminate the eggs. And with bright blue and white colors, there’s no missing the Lady Ga Ga intruder fly.
First tied by experienced steelhead guide, Travis Johnson, it’s particularly effective in clean, clear waters. But there’s also a purple and pink version with copper flash that’s a killer fly in murky conditions. Make sure you pack a handful of these flies in sizes 1 and 2.
You can also see our full guide here on BC trout fishing.
Egg Sucking Leech
The Egg Sucking Leech is the ultimate winter fly fishing steelhead pattern: What greedy fish could resist this combination of a leech and an egg in one bite? This fly looks just like a leech eating an egg, and will be sure to tempt the steelhead to make a strike.
Whether or not leeches actually eat eggs doesn’t matter. Steelhead aren’t known for their reasoning powers! But this fly combines two of their favorite foods. The Egg Sucking Leech is often tied in black or purple with a contrasting pink or orange egg section.
This fly is also very versatile. It’s up to you whether you dead drift it, set up a double nymph rig, or swing it out onto the water. One thing’s certain: this pattern is sure to catch you those winter steelhead.
Pink Nuke Egg
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You can’t go steelhead fishing without taking some Pink Nuke Eggs with you. This is one of the top salmon and steelhead flies – if you dead drift it past a lurking steelhead, you’ll soon feel the strike.
Although steelhead don’t move much during the spawning season, this is one meal they won’t ignore, especially when the current brings it right to them.
This fuzzy-looking fly is an excellent imitation of a fish egg, thanks to that thin yarn used which creates that convincing veil around the nucleus.
One of the more advanced egg patterns, it works well in all water conditions. Fishing in high, dirty water? Just go bigger! If the water is nice and clear, you can aim for a realistic size and color. It’s simple but productive – that’s what we love about the Pink Nuke Egg!
Death Roe
This fly pattern might be a controversial suggestion, so if it’s not your thing, feel free to skip it entirely! The Death Roe is a bead and hook steelhead pattern which mimics a salmon egg. Many fly anglers don’t consider this to be proper fly fishing, as there’s no fly tying involved. But there are some real advantages to using the Death Roe bead pattern.
It’s about as close as you can get to a real salmon egg, but less harmful for the fish if they swallow the Death Roe. While a traditional egg fly will lodge far down their throat, the Death Roe will only get as far as the corner of the fish’s mouth. Egg patterns work wonders for steelhead and salmon, but the Death Roe will kill less fish in the long run.
Squamish Poacher
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