Skykomish Sunrise

intermediatesteelheadwet flyswing flystreamerriverpacific northwestsummerwinterfall

Description

The Skykomish Sunrise is a Pacific Northwest steelhead swing fly built around a bright orange front body and a pale hair wing. This version uses the common hairwing dressing: red hackle-fiber tail, silver rear body, orange chenille front body, orange throat, and white calf-tail wing. Fish it on swung presentations in rivers for summer and winter steelhead, especially when a visible attractor with classic proportions is useful.

Materials

Tying Instructions

1.
Secure the hook in the vise and start black thread behind the eye.
2.
Wrap a smooth thread base to the bend and return the thread to the tail tie-in point.
3.
Tie in a small bunch of red hackle fibers for a tail about one hook gape long.
4.
Tie in oval silver tinsel at the bend for the rib.
5.
Tie in flat silver tinsel and wrap it forward over the rear half of the shank; secure and trim.
6.
Tie in fluorescent orange chenille at the midpoint of the shank.
7.
Wrap the chenille forward to about two eye lengths behind the eye; secure and trim.
8.
Spiral the oval silver tinsel forward over the rear tinsel and orange chenille in open turns; tie off and trim.
9.
Strip one side of an orange hen hackle and tie it in by the tip at the front of the body.
10.
Wrap two turns of hackle, stroke the fibers downward, and secure them as a throat.
11.
Stack a sparse bunch of white calf tail and tie it in on top of the shank, extending just past the bend.
12.
Build a neat black thread head, whip finish, and apply head cement.