2 flies that will make most steelhead take notice

Bees and Wasps for Steelhead

2 Bees and Wasps fly patterns that will make most steelhead take notice are:

1. Bees, and
2. Wasps.

My July 8^th, 2020 blog mentioned two fly patterns designed to imitate a specific natural insect. One, the McGinty, a bee imitation originally tied as warmwater wet fly. The second, the Steelhead Bee, a wasp imitation, tied for specifically for summer steelhead. Both bees and wasps steelhead patterns make great wet flies for half-pounder and summer steelhead.

the McGinty fly

The origin of the McGinty is somewhat unclear. G. E. Emanuel writing for Flyanglersonline.com indicated the McGinty fly was first tied by Charles McGinty from Chicago in 1883. Unfortunately, I have not been able to substantiate this early reference. An early reference to the McGinty appeared in the Forest and Stream magazine, July 1902 – December 1902 issue. Under the heading Good List of Michigan Flies – “Get plenty of McGinty, for trout are freaky, and this is a freaky fly“.

Later, John Shewey included the McGinty in his book Classical Steelhead Flies (2015). He provided several early references to the pattern from Oregon newspapers from 1921 and the 1930’s. He suggested by the 1930’s it was a “steelhead standard.”

In 1935, Preston J. Jennings in his book A Book of Trout Flies (1935, 1970) suggested – “apparently Bumble Bees occasionally get on the water”. Jennings wrote that a large Western Bee or McGinty – “should be fished as a wet-fly, as the natural insect, not being accustomed to the water, kicks around and quickly submerges.” Pattern descriptions were not included by Jennings.

Fly tying books often included the McGinty beginning in the 1940’s. W.B. Sturgis in Fly Tying (1940) included the McGinty and Western Bee, in chapters on Wet Flies and Steelhead Flies. Sturgis’ McGinty description was similar to present-day recipes for the fly. His Western Bee description omitted the red tail and called for dark greyish brown mottled turkey for the wing. In the steelhead fly chapter his recipe for the McGinty called for a “white-tipped brown turkey; or brown bucktail overlaid with white bucktail.” 

One year later, G.L. Herter included a Steelhead McGinty pattern in his book Professional Fly Tying and Tackle Making(1941). Similarly, to most descriptions, Herter’s recipe called for “alternate bands of yellow and black ……  and a white tipped grey squirrel wing; or black bear overlaid with polar bear hair, also mallard metallic blue with white tipped secondary wing quills.” 

Trey Combs in The Steelhead Trout (1971) included a black and white plate of popular California steelhead patterns tied by Lloyd Silvius that included the McGinty. The fly was tied with a chenille body and grey squirrel tail wing. In his second book, Steelhead Fly Fishing and Flies (1967) Combs included another black and white plate of flies tied by Al Knudson that also included the McGinty suggesting they were for the Rogue River, circa 1930. Combs included a Bucktail McGinty in color Plate I and in the descriptions suggested the pattern was popular on the Klamath River. However, the McGinty was not mentioned by Combs in his third book, Steelhead Fly Fishing (1991). 

Furthermore, as described in fly tying books, the McGinty was tied with a body of alternating black and yellow bands. White tipped mallard feathers functioned originally for the wing. There does not appear to be a standard for the alternating color bands and I have seen examples with a black or yellow band at the rear. Moreover, the pattern is tied both as a wet and dry fly.

The McGinty is tied to resemble a bumblebee or yellow jacket hornet. Terrestrial insects are often consumed as food although bees and hornets may be low on the list. The body of most Bumblebees are characterized with distinct alternating bands of black and yellow.

the Steelhead bee

Wasps and hornets also demonstrate similar bands although they are not quite as distinct. Wasps tend to be smaller than hornets while hornets tend to be slower fliers and can be almost two inches in length. Fly Tyers have created few actual bee, wasp or hornet patterns. In the section on the Clearwater River, Combs describes a fly called Ward’s Wasp in his book, Steelhead Fly Fishing (1991). Although it was not a precise imitation, it featured a yellow chenille butt, black chenille body ribbed with silver tinsel, a yellow hackle and dark brown or black fur wing.

Steven Bird created a specific yellow jacket imitation for trout on the Upper Columbia River. Bird wrote about his first experiences with hornets and fishing a yellowjacket imitation in Upper Columbia Flyfisher (2010). He wrote – “Since that time I’ve caught some good trout on the Yellowjacket, including a 9-pound rainbow that was my best-ever on a dry fly.” In Part Six: The Upper Columbia Flybox, Bird included a Yellowjacket fly pattern tied with yellow foam sheeting and an elk or deer hair wing.

In recent years, several anglers have fished the McGinty as a half-pounder and adult summer steelhead fly on the Klamath and Rogue rivers. Although created over 125 years ago, it continues to be a buggy and effective pattern. Equally important, most anglers tie and fish the fly in a size No. 6 or 8. Descriptions of the fly suggest using chenille for the fly’s body. However, the pattern I like to tie uses alternating strands of dyed ostrich that are twisted on the tying thread. This gives the pattern a more natural and life-like look.

Rodrick Haig-Brown, noted Canadian angling conservationist and writer, created the Steelhead Bee. The fly was first described in his book Fisherman’s Summer (1964). Additionally, Haig-Brown wrote he typically fished the fly upstream and dead drifted.

Haig-Brown noted – “The majority of steelheads I catch of three pounds and up either have nothing at all in their stomachs or signs of very casual activity- a bee or two, a yellow jacket, a deer fly, occasionally a large sedge, sometimes a winged dragonfly.”

He suggested – “Bee, yellow jacket and deer fly are all somewhat similar in color and all seem to be taken with surprising frequency.” He went onto write – “So I prefer a fly with dark-brown and yellow body, tied with light-brown hair wings and tail and a brown hackle.” Originally Haig-Brown did not name the fly but described it as a variation of the McKenzie River Brown and Yellow Bug. Subsequently, in Fisherman’s Fall (1964), he named the fly the Steelhead Bee.

In the newsletter of the Fly Fishers of British Columbia September 2002 issue, the late Van Gorman Egan wrote a great article describing the origin of Haig-Brown’s Steelhead Bee. The article even includes a color photograph by Art Lingren of an original Steelhead Bee tied by Haig-Brown. You can find this article at: https://www.bcfff.bc.ca/publications/flylines/flylines_2002_q3.pdf

Many books on steelhead fly tying include the Steelhead Bee. Combs includes this fly in all three of his books. In Steelhead Fly Fishing and Flies ((1976) he provided a little history on Haig-Brown and in Steelhead Fly Fishing (1991) added information on fishing the fly. Combs in the later book included a variation of Steelhead Bee tied by fishing guide Bob Hull using moose hair, ginger sparkle yarn and orange seal’s fur.

John Shewey included Haig-Brown’s Steelhead Bee in his book Classical Steelhead Flies (2015). Moreover, he did not provide specific history about the pattern. But Shewey wrote about an amusing prank that involved an original fly tied by Haig-Brown, Dave McNeese, Al Buhr and Shewey himself. 

Similarly, alternating bands of brown and yellow dubbing highlight the Steelhead Bee . However, the body materials were not specified. Many writers suggest using floss or yarn. Personally, I like to use seal’s fur or Synthetic Living Fiber (SLF) for the body. Equally both help give the fly a shiny life-like look. Hen hackle is a good choice for the hackle and with forward facing wings the fly will float low in the water surface film. Either bucktail or Eastern red squirrel are good material for the tail and wings.

Combs third book, Steelhead Fly Fishing (1991) included a pattern called the Low Water Bee by Washington angler Dick Van Demark. This fly is similar to Haig-Browns Steelhead Bee but uses Hungarian partridge body feathers for the wings and a brown Chinese pheasant rump feather hackle.

I like to fish the McGinty and Steelhead Bee on a two-handed rod, floating shooting head and long leader. Cast across and slightly downstream allowing the fly to swing across the run. I keep line mends to a minimum although I have observed that a mend that causes the fly to jump slightly, followed with short dead drift will often produce a take from an aggressive half-pounder. Recipes for both patterns are as follows:

Steelhead McGinty

Tag: Flat gold tinsel

Tail: Red Hackle fibers with speckled mallard over

Body: Alternating bands of yellow and black chenille or marabou

Hackle: Brown hen

Wing: White tipped squirrel

Head: Black

Steelhead Bee

Tail: Eastern red squirrel (or bucktail)

Body: Dark brown seal’s fur or similar dubbing with yellow dubbing band between

Hackle: Brown hen

Wing: Eastern red squirrel (or bucktail) parted and facing forward

Head: Black

The Rogue River Reliables fly box includes both the Steelhead McGinty and the Steelhead Bee files. Both are available to purchase on the River Fly Box Collections page.
Likewise another interesting blog to read is: eight awesome proven flies for the rogue and klamath