Lefty Ray's Coldwater Trout Flies

"Guadalupana"

I developed this streamer back in the 80's to use for hunting for big trout. We adhere to the theory of big fly, big fish. Streamers work very well and can bring jolting strikes. A popular tactic is to do the “San Antonio Swing”, where you cast a streamer across the river and let it swing downstream. The key to making this work is to weigh this fly down using split shot on the leader above the fly so that it ticks along the bottom. Depending on the water depth and water speed, several big split shot may be required to get the fly down in the water column. As the fly swings down river with the current, the fly will rise inviting a strike. While this may not be easy to cast, it is very effective.

Fly Tying recipe

1. Slide a 3/16 brass bead head on a size 4 (79580) hook and tie in some olive marabou at the hook bend. Continue to tie in the marabou up to the bead head to build up bulk on the hook shank.

2. Tie in a length of thin copper wire at the hook bend and pull out of the way. Tie in 4 strands of peacock herl at the hook bend and twist together. Wrap the twisted strands around the hook shank up to the bead head to form the body.

3. Counter-overwrap the copper wire over the peacock herl.

4. Tie in the olive hackle just behind the bead head to form the collar.