Bomber

HOOK: 7999, sizes 2-6 THREAD: Black TAIL: Squirel tail WING: Squirel tail HACKLE: Brown, palmered BODY: Spun and clipped deer hair

Uses

Waking flies such as this one are intended to ride on the surface and create enough fuss so that a summer steelhead will be goaded into a strike. When used in tandem with a traditional wet fly, steelhead may be attracted first by the waking fly, but are more likely to strike the wet fly, which is more invasive of their turf.

Variations

Sometimes tied with white calftail for the wing and tail.

How to Fish

Dry fly tactics like this only work in summer when the water is not cool--above 56 degrees--because that is when the fish's metabolism is higher. To fish a waking fly in tandem with a wet fly, let it slide on the leader between two blood knots about seven feet above the wet fly.