FLY-FISHING IN WISCONSIN
jerry kiesow
It’s Steelhead Time
It has been a long, cold winter, but the sun is warmer and the days are longer now, so the steelheads, Lake Michigan living Rainbow trout, are about ready to run out of the lake and into the streams that flow into it, to spawn (some have been in the rivers since winter began) - when the currents and temperatures of the waters are correct.
Most of us will be fishing eggs, real eggs or globs of real eggs, sometimes called skein, drifting them to the fish under bobbers. Later, as the season progresses we may switch to fake eggs made from yarn, and then, as the water continues to warm and the current gets flowing good, and when we can see the fish making redds and spawning, we switch to other flies, made from an assortment of materials in an assortment of patterns – be they nymphs or streamers (probably some of each).
Later, as the season progresses, we switch to streamers like this fancy Mickey Finn.
One of my go-to streamers is, what I call, a fancy Mickey Finn, just because it is similar in colors and looks like a gaudy Mickey Finn in and out of the water. It is made like this: The hook is a heavy, long shank salmon hook either a #6 or #4. The thread is black or red, your choice. The tail is red, I usually use a died goose wing feather, but you can use any red - hackle works. It has a gold tag behind and underneath the tail and, later, it has a red rib of red wire over a gold tinsel chenille body. The wing is red, I use deer hair, you can use anything you want, and the wing is over-wound, usually one wind, no more than two, with yellow hackle. Whip-finish and head-cement. You are done. You can add weight with wire under the body, or a cone/beadhead and/or make it attractive with an egg instead of a regular head, and that can be done simply by using red thread as the head.
Fish it as any normal streamer, casting across, letting the fly drift, mending and holding the fly at the end of the drift for a few seconds so it swings back and forth and quivers a bit. Then retrieve it like a minnow – in jerks - upstream. Don’t be surprised if the strike comes while the fly is pulsating at the end of the drift.
Tie it! Then go out and catch something – hopefully a steelhead.
Spawning steelhead, Rainbow trout from Lake Michigan, are our targets.
Another fly I use, when the suckers come in to spawn and eat the steelhead eggs, is the sucker egg fly. It is different than the artificial steelhead fly, in that the steelhead egg fly is simulated as a round ball of various colors, the sucker egg is somewhat “humpy” looking. Some say that when the suckers come in the steelhead leave. That is not true. Steelhead will eat the sucker eggs. That is why it is a good fly to use.
The body is tied up the shaft of the hook in progressively larger loops. Here is the recipe: Hook is a curved, short, #12. The thread in this case is red, it can be any color, and the egg should be tied in a variety of colors, both the thread and the body. The tail is made with a few strands of pearlesence Krystal flash. The body is tied in a loop. With the yarn tied on the side and back of the loop. It is tied all the way up the hook. Then make the head. That’s it.
Fish it without weight, just drift it along just like a real egg and see what happens.
See you in the river.
Keep a good thought!
jerry
Editor’s note: Jerry enjoys all aspects of the outdoors and shares them in many ways through his photos, words, and workshops. He has written two books, “Tales of The Peshtigo Putzer,” and “Photos, Poems, and a Little Bit of Prose.” Both make great additions to your outdoor library, and/or great gifts. They are available for purchase at Orange Hat Publishing, Amazon, and his website: www.jerrykiesowoc.com. Be sure to check his site out often to follow his updates and endeavors – which he does not always tell you about.