This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Van Sant Steelhead Fly.
The fly pattern is found in John Shewey’s Classic Steelhead Flies, page 178.
Shewey attributes this steelhead fly to Josh Van Sant, Jr. (1861-1950) of Eureka, CA.
The fly is reminiscent of popular trout wet flies of the early to mid-1900s, namely those found in Ray Bergman’s Trout. In fact, the fly is similar to the Scarlet Ibis below, but tied with peacock for the body.
Materials
Hook:
Steelhead iron
Tail:
Red hackle fibers
Body:
Peacock herl
Hackle:
Red schlappen
Wing:
Red goose primary section
Tied on a size 6 Mustad 36980.
Enjoy…go fish!
(John Kreft is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com.)
