Late fall and early winter is a unique season to find yourself standing knee deep in a frigid North Puget Sound river. The leaf -bare alders and cottonwoods that line the banks are filled with bald eagles scanning the gravel bars for newly washed up salmon carcasses. A low mist hangs over the river and a light dusting of fresh snow clings to the uppermost foothills. A powerful stench of rotting salmon accosts your nostrils and reminds you that this time of year is the end of the cycle for a lot of things, including chum, coho and a few long forgotten pink salmon. Despite all of this, the river is teeming with life. Fresh coho and a few straggling chum arrive from the salt to make their way upstream. Bull trout, rainbow and cutthroat are on the hunt for loose drifting salmon eggs and any available hearty meal to fatten up for the long winter ahead. We're dealing with a lot of different species on a lot of different programs and it's a good time to think about fishing a fly with some cross appeal.
Look no further than the Barbell Egg Sucking Leech. This little number is my fly of choice this time of year when all sorts of different salmonid species occupy the river. It'll catch just about everything that swims when tied and fished in a variety of colors. I like black, purple, olive, or white predominantly, but bright colors like pink or chartreuse work well too at times, especially for coho and chum. Swing it, strip it, even drift it naturally under an indicator and watch it work its magic. If you don't tie, the Barbell Egg Sucking Leech is commercially available from Solitude Flies and we carry them in the shop in a variety of sizes and colors. Tie one on and celebrate the joy of not knowing what your next catch will be.
Barbell Egg Sucking Leech Recipe:
Hook: #6 Gamakatsu S11-4L2H
Thread: Black 6/0 Uni Thread
Eyes: Small Plated Lead Eyes
Head: Fl. Shrimp Pink Fine Chenille
Tail: Black Marabou
Flash: Black Krystal Flash
Body: Midnight Fire Speckled Chenille
Hackle: Black Saddle