Early History
Early records and newspaper accounts support the contention that fly fishing for steelhead likely began on northern California’s Eel River in the late 1800’s. Flies used by early California steelhead anglers were often imported Eastern trout wet flies and occasionally Atlantic salmon patterns. These include the Royal Coachman, Parmacheene Bell, Red or Scarlet Ibis, Grizzly King, Professor, Kate, Jock Scott, and Alder. Most were likely used for late summer/early fall steelhead although some may have also been used later in the season for winer steelhead when water conditions were suitable for fly fishing.
An article in the October 29, 1897 Ferndale Enterprise newspaper, described a fishing trip to the lower Eel River by J.S. Benn, C.G. Young, E.S. Van Slyke, John Butler, Jno. Gallagher, and A. Shattuck. The article also mentioned the anglers were using Benn’s Royal Coachman fly, a modification of the Royal Coachman pattern – “The fishing during the warm portion of the day is done with a spoon, but after three o’clock the fly was used. Benn’s Royal Coachman proved a success and on it the men took both trout and salmon, some of the latter weighing 20 pounds. Butler and Van Slyke made the banner catch of the trip, killing 147 fish in weight from half a pound to fifteen pounds. Benn took 55 trout in one afternoon, the largest weighing 11 pounds. The work was done with a fly. Gallagher, who was the last of the party to return, reached S.F. with 60 pounds of fish, the result of one day’s catch. This lot did not average as large as some of the catches but were of uniform size, being from one-half to three pounds in weight. John Butler reports the water lower than for years and the fishing better than it has ever been”.
The J. S. Benn mentioned in the article was the same John S. Benn who became famous when accounts of his visits to the Eel River and fly tying skills were reported in local Humboldt County newspapers. His Royal Coachman fly pattern was similar to a traditional Royal Coachman but he added a red strip in the white feather wing. On June 9, 1907, San Francisco Call newspaper Sunday magazine section featured him on the cover and the accompanying article described him as the “father of fishing in California”.
Many writers credit Benn with creating the Humboldt Railbird pattern a popular Northern California steelhead fly. However, Bates in Steamer Fly Tying and Fishing (1950 and 1966) indicated A. J. McClane, then fishing editor for the Field and Stream magazine, suggested the Railbird Steelhead fly was created when Jim Hutcheson was using a Kate fly in or about 1915 while fishing the lower Eel River. Hutcheson was catching fish and when asked what fly he was using replied “railbird”, slang for a person who tends to watch “from the rail” rather than actually participating. One of the anglers sent the pattern to Martha Benn to have additional flies tied. Martha did not have all the necessary materials and improvised, naming the new creation the Humboldt Railbird.
In the early 1900’s, Clark C. Van Fleet described fishing the lower Eel River from July to December, 1928 in his book, Steelhead to a Fly. He reported hooking 192 steelhead that one season and “stuck religiously” to one pattern, the Humboldt Railbird. Fleets’ Humboldt Railbird was tied with a yellow tail similar to the original while later versions are often tied with a red tail.
Many northern California anglers fished for winter steelhead when conditions were good. A 1929 photograph depicts Walter Wood with a December 7th catch of five large winter steelhead from the lower Eel River. It is likely the fish were taken by trolling a fly.
In the early 1900’s the Russian River was also producing good steelhead catches for anglers. The San Francisco Call newspaper in January 1910 reported – “The reports to the effect that big steelhead trout had commenced ascending the Russian river that were current just before Christmas were verified by advices received during the last week from the advance guard of anglers that trekked to Duncans Mills when the news of the opening of the bar at the mouth of the stream first reached the city. ….. Louis Gotthelf has the distinction of being high hook on the river thus far. Gotthelf reached Duncans Saturday of last week and stayed over several days. The first day he negotiated 14 pounds of fighting trout in one piece and creeled a 20 pounder a few days later, besides accounting for several comparatively small ones, that would have been considered big if taken on any, other stream than the Russian river….”.
Early wet flies were popular for steelhead and trout fishing and were often tied with slips of goose or duck wing primary feathers. Unfortunately, the wings often split after casting or catching a few fish. Later, various kinds of animal hair were substituted for the fragile and difficult-to-tie feather wings. W.B. Sturgis, in his 1940 book Fly-Tying, indicated the Honorable Carter H. Harrison tied the first hair-wing fly pattern in 1901 while fishing for cutthroat trout on the Snake River in Idaho. The fly was named the A.S. Trude, after Mr. Alfred S. Trude, the Idaho rancher on whose ranch Harrison was camping and fishing. The fly was reportedly tied as a joke but was successful in taking several large trout.
One California fly tyer who also has gained lasting fame was Claire Jim Pray (1885-1952). Pray moved from Michigan to the Humboldt Bay area in the early 1930’s and tied and sold flies and tackle commercially. Pray passed away in 1952 leaving a north coast fly tying legacy. He is credited with popularizing the Gold Demon and Sliver Demon patterns brought to the West Coast from New Zealand, and creating the Optic series, a fly tied with a large brass bead with painted eyes for the head. Pray created several color variations of his basic Optic style fly. Berryman in his 2006 book Fly Fishing Pioneers & Legends of the Northwest wrote Hornbrook used a Red Optic fly to catch several large winter steelhead from the lower Eel River during the late 1940’s.
Pictures and plates of early steelhead flies suggest many were tied on short shank, heavy wire, Limerick-bend hooks with turned-down ball eyes. William B. Sturgis, in Fly Tying (1940) included a chapter on steelhead flies. He included a list of 26 steelhead flies with descriptions that were recommended for the Rogue, Klamath, and Eel rivers. Sturgis wrote Mr. C. Jim Pray was one of the outstanding professional fly tyers on the West Coast and preferred “A wide-gape hook of the short-shank variety…. preferable of extra heavy wire and either straight-forged or slightly reversed”. Examples of Prays short shank, heavy wire flies described in Sturgis’ book included Bair’s Black Joe, Bair’s Demon, and Bair’s Railbird, named for local Humboldt Bay area steelhead angler Fred S. Bair.
One popular winter steelhead pattern is the Fall Favorite. The fly is often credited to Lloyd Silvius in 1946, however, others credit the pattern to Butch Wilson of Arcata, California sometime prior to 1946. The fly is tied with a silver oval tinsel body, bright red hackle, and orange polar bear or similar hair wing. A number of variations of the Fall Favorite have been created.
Trey Combs in Steelhead Fly Fishing (1991) reported Schaadt took third place in the 1953 annual Field & Stream fishing contest with a 17-pound winter steelhead from the Gualala River using an optic variation of the Fall Favorite fly. According the Combs, Schaadt called his variation a Shad Roe. Other Schaadt patterns were the Golden Goose, Schaadts Dam Fly, and Search and Destroy, all simple comet or hackle style patterns. In addition, Trey Combs credited Schaadt with several small hackled “feeler” flies that Schaadt used during low water conditions for winter steelhead.
Comet style flies became popular for California winter steelhead in the early 1950’s. the style could be interpreted to represent small shrimp or other marine organisms. There are several different accounts of who originally created this style fly. Trey Combs in Steelhead Fly Fishing (1991) suggested the style was created by Hap McNew., who operated McNew’s Sporting Goods in Eureka in the 1950’s and 1960’s. Combs wrote that McNew tied bucktail patterns with bead chain and called them “popeye flies”.
Other writers have offered alternative versions the origin of the comet style. Jack W. Berryman, a professor in the Department of Medical History and Ethics in the School of Medicine at the University of Washington, credits Virgil Sullivan from Forestville, California with an early comet variation. In Chapter 8 of Fly-Fishing Pioneers & Legends of the Northwest (2006) Berryman indicated Sullivan created a comet style Boss fly in the late 1940’s. Sullivan was known to have fished Sonoma and Mendocino counties coastal rivers including the Russian River. The Boss fly was named by Grant King from Guerneville after his wife Betty whom he called “the Boss”.
Finally, one angler credits Dan Conway, a professional fly tyer from Seattle, Washington, with originating the style in 1934. Sean Gallagher in his book, Wild Steelhead (2013), based on information from Jim Adams, an avid steelhead angler and the first fisheries biologist to work for the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, indicated Ralph Cole, a plumber from Eureka, California invented the style using calf’s tail, oval gold tinsel, and orange and yellow hackles with bead chain eyes tied in at the head. Notwithstanding who created the first comet style fly, the pattern and its many variations have been and remain popular for California winter steelhead.
Winter steelhead flies are often tied with more colorful materials than their summer steelhead counterparts. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, many patterns often incorporated reds and yellows. Later, red and orange dominated winter steelhead patterns. In more recent years, combinations of black, blue and purple became common colors found in winter steelhead flies. Nonetheless, in spite of color variations, during the past few decades California fly tyers continue to create new and and innovative winter steelhead fly patterns.
For more information:
Check out Dennis’ new book on California Winter Steelhead – Life History and Fly Fishing that includes over 100 winter steelhead fly color photos and recipes.
A previous blog article 2 flies that will make most steelhead take notice will have more informative information.
A fun read: A Fly for a Gigantic Christmas Steelhead Blog
Dennis,
Very enjoyable read.
Terry