I was so impressed with Fred's collection of trout flies I asked him to show me some of his steelhead flies. I asked because I knew Fred had such a stellar reputation as a Steelhead fisherman the Smithers B.C newspaper had written articles about him--about the 'Yank' who caught more fish than any of the locals. I thought Fred would have boxes of different flies to show me.
Brown-Bomber
brown-bomber.jpg


But Fred said "Steelhead fishing is always the same thing. It's all about knowing where the fish are and how to present the fly and how to fish," he said. "It's not about choosing the right fly. I used to tie lots of different flies. But the only ones I ever use are the String Leech and the Bomber," he concluded.

I didn't ask him why his String Leeches were all blue. But I doubt it's because of any abstract theories about fish behavior. I assume it's because blue works best for Fred. The local Bozeman Daily Chronicle recently ran a story about Fred, where they talked about how amazing it was that various British Columbia newspapers had been writing about Fred's legendary fishing prowess. When newspapers write articles about newspapers that write about how many fish you catch--for going on 24 years now--you know something is going on. Even if you don't know exactly what it is.

I too like blue. I've been tying blue Bluedoo nymphs for a 3-4 seasons now. I've never yet seen a blue nymph. But blue do work well for me.