A couple weeks back we put together a step by step on how to tie the Colburn Special, a traditional hairwing pattern for salmon and steelhead. Traditional salmon flies are no less productive than they were 100 years ago, and more and more anglers these days are finding the joy in not only tying, but…
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Steelhead
Tying Traditional Hairwings – The Colburn Special
A few of you have asked us to put together some step by step tying posts for some more ‘classic’ fly patterns for salmon and steelhead. So, today we present you with a classic hair wing style pattern called the Colburn Special. Enjoy! The Colburn Special – Tying Instructions Originally designed for Atlantic salmon (by…
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Fight Dirty – Down and Dirty
Just a reminder that when fighting big fish, we really like the down and dirty approach – pulling hard, with the rod tip low and to the side, thus bending the rod deep into the butt section. Click on almost any part of the previous sentence for a visual of what we mean. We find…
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Kara Knight’s Steelhead Rig
Kara Knight is our lodge manager at BC West. That means she gets to stomp around the Dean during her down time – we know, not a bad gig! Here’s Kara’s rig of choice when swinging flies for big, bad, Dean River steelhead. Kara Knight’s Steelhead Rig Fishing on the Dean takes you into an…
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Help NFS Protect Native Fish From Strip Mining
The good folks at The Native Fish Society (NFS) have issued a call for action, and they need your help! According to the NFS, several watersheds home to wild, native salmon and steelhead in southwest Oregon are being threatened by proposed nickel strip mines. The headwaters of concern include three National Wild and Scenic Rivers, some of…
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The Miles Davis Leech – Tying Instructions
Our buddy Stuart Foxall is back again with yet another great step by step fly tying post. Today’s pattern? The Miles Davis Leech, a super effective fly for steelhead, salmon, or even big trout. Thanks Stu! The Miles Davis Leech – Tying Instructions The Miles Davis black leech pattern is an amazingly simple but effective…
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They’re Here!
During the first couple weeks of our season at BC West, many of our guests join us for the chance to hook into some of the hottest chinook salmon on the planet. That’s not to say however that there aren’t steelhead trickling in as well.. Sort of like this early season beauty courtesy of BC West guide, Shane…
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Release Shot
While rifling through our archives of fishing photos from BC West, we came across this killer release shot from photographic stud, Louis Cahill. In case you don’t happen to know who Louis is, he’s one fishy photographer who happens to host a bunch of trips at our lodges.. He also runs one heck of a…
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Hickman’s Fish Taco – Tying Instructions
Yesterday, we kicked off our 2015 season at BC West. Therefore, we thought it would be appropriate to present you with a step by step of one of the more commonly used steelhead patterns at our lodge over the last few years, Hickman’s Fish Taco. The Fish Taco was developed by Alaska West alum and steelhead guide, Jeff Hickman,…
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Stu’s Egg Intruder – Tying Instructions
Our buddy Stuart Foxall is back with another great step by step! Whether you’re fishing for steelhead, trout, dolly varden, or the like, this is one killer fly whenever spawning salmon are present. Stu’s Egg Intruder – Tying Instructions I came up with the idea of the egg intruder 5 or 6 years ago when swinging…
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