Two Simple 
Winter Steelhead Patterns

Steelhead fishing on Lake Ontario tributaries in the winter requires deep and slow fly presentation. If the fly is not down in what is referred to as the “strike zone”, which is ticking along the bottom, chances of hooking up are greatly reduced.  This type of deep presentation causes the loss of many flies to snags on the river bottom.  Because of this fact, simple fly patterns, which do not require much time behind the vice, are logical choices. 

Steelhead diet, especially in the Salmon River, consists in large part of two components: Fish eggs and stonefly nymphs. Though there may not be an abundance of eggs in the water in the heart of winter, egg patterns are still effective.  Perhaps steelhead consume eggs from instincts developed from feeding heavily on salmon eggs.  Another theory is that they will try to remove other eggs from the gene pool, by crushing them, leaving their own to dominate.  Whatever the reason, egg patterns remain effective through the winter season. Small stoneflies are also available to steelhead throughout the winter.  Stoneflies may even hatch on a sunny day and crawl out of the water onto the surrounding snow banks.   Two simple but effective patterns are an egg tied with Eztaz and a Peacock Nymph.  A box filled with these patterns in various sizes will prepare you for a winter steelhead fishing adventure and take little time behind the vise.

Trim the Eztaz way down creating a very small egg, for winter fishing.

Peacock Nymph
Hook:	Mustad 9671 size 10-14
Thread:	Black 6/0
Tail:	Black hackle fibers
Body:	Peacock herl
Wing case:	Hackle fibers
Legs:	Hackle fibers from wing case pulled down and tied back.