Why downsize

you can put as much thought into it as you want i guess , when the tribs are low and clear i don't think i would try a egg pattern on a size 6 hook , just because of the hook size showing too much

I'm a clear water, light line guy. I much prefer to see the fish, have them see me, and then figure out what is going to catch them. That's why I like high pressure areas with high fish concentrations. The fish are used to seeing anglers and flies. They see a thousand presentations a day or more. They only eat when they see something that they've eaten before and was safe. That is my style of fishing.

Steelhead in Erie can be a lot like that. Long after you've had a fresh run and emerald water (they eat anything then) you're left with fish that have seen everything, many times over. They've probably been caught a time or two on a 'common' pattern and they've seen thousands of them come through the water, most with drag problems or something else that has taught that fish not to eat it. When you think about the 'common' patterns that the fish are trained not to eat, a 'big' sucker spawn or glo ball is probably number one with some form of bugger right up there. That's what ALL of the shops sell to EVERYONE as a starting fly. So the fish see tons of them and don't bother with them.

Now give them something they haven't seen before and you're immediately 100% better off. You'll at least get a look. If you've presented it well and it isn't so far out there to turn the fish off then he'll eat it. Sucker spawn work because eggs are one of the top things that the fish will eat. It is just that they see so many of them that they get put off. That's why smaller ones work when bigger ones don't. The fish still want to eat them, but they aren't put off.

This is also how you can fish a pool perfectly with an apricot SS and not catch a fish. Swap to pink or lime and pick two up. Switch again and pick up another one or two.

Thanks,
Rick

On the other side of the thought I have caught steelhead on big sttreamers when they weren't hitting any thing. Saw a guy getting hits on minnows so I switched and had a great time. Silver/white/green and silver/white/blue have been best for me.

My best fly was a #8 blue and orange globug last year. Just sayin'

The difference between SS size and midges is the presence of a natural. Fish taking natural size 24 cream midges will refuse a size 20 because it doesn't match the hatch well enough. Certain techniques with hackle and other wing material make a more realistic looking footprint in the meniscus, so the fly that more closely resembles the real thing gets eaten. The difference in effectiveness between a size 14 and a size 8 neon yellow SS has nothing to do with matching a natural bait, at least in my opinion.

They only hit on prince nymphs tied on size 14 grey shadow partridge nymph hooks, from when they were made in England, with a tag of ruby colored 12/0 Benecci.

Straight up, for early season steelhead, I like using a #10 white zonker.....those fresh steelies just crush them...I think they remind them of the shad they ate in the lake....after mid October, I like using a pink crystal meth sucker spawn in size 12......geez, it's like they fight over it......If I had to pick two flies, those would be it.  I nice combo fly rig is a orange/pink glo bug with a black stone fly chaser....deadly.

ORIGINAL: SonofZ3

They only hit on prince nymphs tied on size 14 grey shadow partridge nymph hooks, from when they were made in England, with a tag of ruby colored 12/0 Benecci.

Dang! I was afraid of that.

Sometimes you feel like a nut. Sometimes you feel like a greazy 1/2 pound burger.

Same with the fish.

I find rainbows (steelhead) the easiest of the trouts to catch....Seems they'll hit on just about anything....As I understand it, Salmon basically stop eating when the enter the streams to spawn....but, they're territorial and aggressive.....

ORIGINAL: anadromous

Same question was posed about Midges...Why would a trout eat a 24 but refuse the 20? The answer is because they do. How about sparse hackle as opposed to dense hackle? It amazes me...confounds even, but if we new the answer would we still like to fish???

 
cool. the mystery is half the attraction.

When the water is high and off color, big egg patterns can work. A friend of mine who lived near Erie said tie some Glo Bugs as big as a silver dollar. I was on Elk Creek one time when it was high and chocolate brown. And those big egg patterns worked under those conditions. When it's low and clear naturally you're going to want to use smaller patterns.