Sunday, December 7, 2025
Protein (buck)
Orange Carey
Orange Carey
Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Black
Tip - Yellow floss
Tail - Narrow red duck quill section
Ribbing - Oval silver tinsel
Body - Dubbed with yellow lamb's wool
Hackle - Grizzly tied on as a collar and tied back and down
Wing - Orange bucktail tied over the body
Cheeks - Short white goose quill section tied in at each side
Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson
Saturday, December 6, 2025
Orange Demon
Orange Demon
Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Black
Tail - Fluorescent orange hackle barbs
Ribbing - Oval gold tinsel
Body - Dubbed with fluorescent orange rabbit fur
Hackle - Fluorescent orange tied on as a collar and tied back and down
Wing - Dyed black deer hair tied over the body
Author's Note
This fly was taken from an original pattern of Jim Pray's that was never fully developed. This fly is also tied with a fluorescent green body, yet it is referred to as an Orange Demon variation.
Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson
Professor
Professor
Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Black
Tip - Flat gold tinsel
Tail - Amherst pheasant crest feather
Ribbing - Flat gold tinsel
Body - Dubbed with yellow lamb's wool
Hackle - Brown tied on as a collar and tied back and down
Wing - Gray squirrel tail tied over the body
Author's Note
This is a steelhead variation of an old Scottish wet-fly pattern that dates back to about 1830.
Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson
Tuesday, December 2, 2025
McClain's Fancy
McClain's Fancy
Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Brown
Tail - Coastal blacktail deer hair
Ribbing - Single strand of brown yarn
Body - Dubbed with yellow lamb's wool
Wing - Coastal blacktail deer hair tied over the body
Author's Note
Don McClain of Portland, Oregon, originated this pattern for summer-run fish. This fly should be sparsely dressed and fished with a floating line in the surface film.
Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson
Feather Merchant
Feather Merchant
Hooks - Single salmon
Thread - Black
Tail - Golden pheasant tippet barbs
Butt - Dubbed with red lamb's wool
Ribbing - Oval silver tinsel over peacock only
Body - Peacock herl
Hackle: Orange tied on as a collar and tied back and down
Wing - Red calf tail tied over the body
Cheeks - Jungle cock eyes or substitute
Author's Note
Ted Trueblood originated this fly in the early I 960s as a tribute to Wayne "Buz" Buszek and his Feather River Trading Company. The gesture proved to be more than that; many fish have since surrendered to it.
Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson

Feather Merchant
Tail - Golden pheasant tippets
Butt - Red uni stretch
Body - Peacock herl
Throat - Orange hackle fibers
Wing - Red calf tail
Steelhead Fly Tying Manual - Tom Light & Neal Humphreys (1979)
McLeods' Skykomish Sunrise
McLeods' Skykomish Sunrise
Hook - Single salmon
Thread - Red
Tip - Oval silver tinsel
Tail - Scarlet red hackle barbs
Ribbing - Oval silver tinsel
Body - Red chenille
Hackle - Scarlet red and yellow tied on as a collar mixed and tied back and down
Wing - White calf tail tied over the body
Author's Note
Ken and George McLeod of Seattle, Washington, originated this pattern in the 1940s.
Fish Flies: The Encyclopedia of the Fly Tier's Art - Terry Hellekson