Steelheader’s Fly Box
TUBE FLIES
Tube flies are becoming popular with Great Lakes steelheaders primarily due to their ability to use small, short-shank hooks that can increase hooked-to-landed ratios compared with large, long-shank hooks. Flies tied on tubes also are lighter than those tied on conventional hooks, so bulky flies become easier to cast. Also, tubes last longer because they generally slide up the leader after hooking a fish, preventing the fish’s teeth from tearing the fly, and you can easily replace the hook if it becomes dull without discarding the entire fly.
New York steelhead guide Greg Liu has been swinging tubes on the big water of Lake Ontario’s Salmon River for years. On this river, the fish are heavily pressured with small flies, so he likes to fish large flies with lots of movement (especially when the water temperatures are in the 40s) to get the attention of the more aggressive fish that he calls “players.” Liu ties his 41/2-inch version of the Temple Dog Leech on light plastic or aluminum tubes instead of heavy brass or copper tubes because he believes that the light tube combined with fast-sinking-tip lines allow the fly to move in the current more than flies tied on heavy tubes. Liu and his clients get most of their takes on this pattern when it is fished within 18 inches of the surface.
Scandinavian-style salmon flies also have applications as baitfish patterns for steelhead. However, the problem with tying these flies on standard-diameter metal tubes (which are ideal for swinging in faster water and getting down to bottom-holding steelhead in cold tributary flows) is that the wings are typically complicated layers of wing, flash, and hackle materials that can result in bulky heads due to the large diameters of these tubes.
Atlantic salmon fly fisher Jurij Shumakov of Sweden solved this problem by designing new metal tubes that are 1/2 inch long and come in various models including the Long Range, Long Range Heavy, Skittle, and Summer Arrow. The fly is tied on the exposed forward portion of a thin-diameter, hard-plastic tube liner inserted into the metal tube. The liner’s thin diameter helps reduce bulk.
Shumakov’s Long Range brass tube is ideal for reaching deep steelhead lies, the Long Range Heavy for getting down deeper to winter holding steelhead, the Skittle for holding flies in heavy current flows, and the Summer Arrow for low-water situations. The tubes’ weight-forward design eliminates hook “hang-down” (which causes the wing of the fly to tilt down due to the weight of the hook), allowing the tube to swim properly on the downstream swing. Also, the upward-slanting taper of the front part of the tube keeps the wing pointed up and helps to prevent the wing from entangling with the hook.
Several of my own patterns use Shumakov’s tubes—one I call the Lake Erie Emerald Shiner. I also tie marabou Speys, traditional steelhead wets, leeches, and various streamer patterns on these tubes. John Arnold of Falls Outfitters (www.fallsoutfitters.com, 406-727-2087) carries Shumakov’s tubes as well as the plastic tube liner, the silicon and vinyl junction tubing, and tying instructions. Shumakov’s detailed instructions for tying his tube flies can be found at the Swedish fly-fishing site http://www.rackelhanen.com/eng/index.html. Tube-fly vise adapters and other accessories are available from HMH (hmhvises.com).
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