Fly Tying for PNW Trout

I moved to Oregon in October from the Carolinas. I have friends and acquaintances who live in this large area and have been visiting local fly shops for local recommendations and flies . All I keep hearing about is to “get low fast” (throw something heavy), flashy or neon colors, and larger (like size 10) hooks. To be clear, I wasn’t asking about tiny nymphs that are fished in the winter and more for coastal cutthroat and the sea-run coastal cutthroat that I am not used to fishing for. So, this is simple enough. The fly shops, in Portland and the Willamette Valley, tell me the trout season is closed for the most part. However, of course, I am slowly meandering to the rivers with “open all year” trout seasons.

*my goal with these flies is to catch these coastal cutthroat trout*

From fishing the blue lines up and down the East coast for brook trout and other wild fish, I became accustom to tying up and using my own flies for the fish I would target. The brookies which I mainly targeted in these remote areas are not picky. They are opportunistic and hungry. For the most part, as long as the fish are active and you have not scared them, then the fish are willing to take a fly. Regardless of the size of the fly or the fish. I usually only fish one or two patterns on each outing. One being a weight less fly and one being a weighted bead head.

*my most recently tied flies with some friend’s flies mixed in*

In the beginning of my tying, I tied dark flies because of my thinking that “bugs are black”. I also tied with certain hackle and colors because of what I saw on the internet, but mainly settled on darker bugs and 3-4 ingredient flies. Because of this, if anyone were to ask me what my go-to and confidence fly is, then it would be my extremely generic size 14 black bodied sakasa kebari with a soft, brown speckled hackle. I typically oversize my hackle to the hook size, but it doesn’t really matter. In my opinion, the quicker the tie, the better it will be to catch a fish with. I like to be minimal in my fly tying as is my tenkara practice and I can tie these 3 ingredient flies in under 2 minutes each.

I am learning it really is a strange feeling to take my energy to tie a pattern over and over again if it doesn’t “feel” like it will catch fish. What a waste. And I am not one to throw my time around. Even experimenting with materials while I tie can be a daunting task. However, there have been a few materials I have found in local fly shops that have caught my eye and am hoping will catch a few fishes’ eyes.

Here are a few weightless kebari patterns that will be in my fly box come Spring time here in the PNW…

I tied up these soft hackle sakasa kebari on a size 12 Daiichi style 1251 hook and I added a see-through orange bead near the eye. There is my flash! The orange bead. These I will add to my fly box as they are extremely close to the usuals I have used on the East coast, they are quick to tie, and they add just enough flare to not be annoying to my eye.

Ingredients-
Hook: Daiichi 1251 #12
Thread: Black
Bead: “Tyer Beads” D’s Flyes of Denver, CO
Hackle: Hungarian Partridge wing

I tied up these stiff hackle jun kebari on a size 12 Daiichi 1251 hook. They feature Metz badger cape for the hackle and peacock herl that has a purple hue for the body. I ribbed the body with a flat wire that I found in the Two Rivers Fly Shop in Albany, OR. The tail is from a Gallo de Leon feather I got from a Spanish Gallo dealer on Etsy.

Ingredients-
Hook: Daiichi 1251 #12
Thread: Black
Hackle: Metz Badger Cape (Possibly of teh Coch y Bonddu variety)
Body: Purple Peacock Herl
Ribbing: Sybai “Pale Orange” Medium Flat Wire

the kebari on the soft, speckled hackle from the saddle of the hen

Next up, a soft hackle jun kebari on a size 12 Daiichi 1251 hook. The body is made up of thin copper wire wrapped from bend to eye and rubbing it with the same thing copper wire used on the previous fly. The hackle really sets this fly apart from anything other fly. It is from my best friend’s American Gamefowl, this one being specifically a hen, he raises in Maine. I enjoy tying most with hen as I enjoy soft hackle and this specific speckled pattern is unlike any other I have seen in person or on the internet.

Ingredients:
Hook: Daiichi 1251 #12
Thread: Black
Hackle: Frattone Heritage Farms (on Instagram or Youtube)
Body: Thin Copper Wire
Ribbing: Sybai “Pale Orange” Medium Flat Wire

From these three kebari, there is a theme with the hook. I absolutely ADORE the shape, style, and color of these Daiichi style 1251 hooks. They keep fish on and you could say they are my “confidence” hook when tying. The bend and profile of the hook is so elegant and the eye of the hook is slightly up, in my head, it allows for a good active presentations as I fish with my tenkara rod. I like being able to manipulate my flies and dance the fly for the fish…

Out of these “flashy’ kebari, not sure which will stay in the fly box by the end of the year. If any at all! Or, maybe they will all stay and I will just be full of flies to fish with while I fish throughout the PNW! Only time will tell.