[_WW_]

I was going to post this in one of the threads but I didn't want to seem like I was picking on any one individual in particular. The truth is, this is not a criticism but just an observation that I've made in the last couple of weeks.

I like to look through this sub forum for inspiration and...I just like looking at cool flies. It seems to me that I have noticed a geographical oddity. Great Lakes guys and Northeastern salmon fishers seem to use a lot of yellow when tying. I live here near the Skagit River in WA and I don't seem to recall seeing much in the way of yellow being used here locally...and I've peeked into a lot of fly boxes over the last thirty years. I probably have three or four hundred flies to pick through to take to the river and there might be only one or two with yellow in the whole batch.

So...what about you other west coasters? Do you use yellow in a lot of your stuff?

 

[sinktip]

Not as a primary color no. Back in the day I would fish a marabou spider with yellow and orange on the Sauk/Skagit.

I do have yellow in many of my patterns though. Either a crest tail and or topping or some yellow in a married wing are in many of my flies. And I’ve been fishing the Rough Grouse pattern the last couple of seasons with a yellow swan tail.

 

[Riverman]

While I don’t use much yellow in my Steelhead patterns, it’s a staple in my Searun Cutthroat patterns. I’m wondering if the yellow flies you mentioned are for Atlantic Salmon or for Steelhead??

Take care,

Tony

 

[_WW_]

While I don’t use much yellow in my Steelhead patterns, it’s a staple in my Searun Cutthroat patterns. I’m wondering the yellow flies you mentioned are for Atlantic Salmon or for Steelhead??

Take care,

Tony

I would think the Great Lakes guys are tying them for steelhead and the east coast guys for atlantics.

I too incorporate yellow for searun cutts. That's what most of my yellow material is for!

 

[GR8LAKES FLYER]

I know I'm not a PNW guy ... I'm one of those GL's guys :roll:
I rarely tie a primary yellow fly, only when I want something really bright for those "high noon" times, or a winter's day when the sun is reflecting off the snow capped banks of the river. The Sir Charles comes to mind as does the Professor and Helmsdale for those times.

There is a fellow on my home river that matches his offerings to "food" found in the natural drift. Through deep runs and pocket water, he likes a yellow fly with a bit of brown pheasant. This he believes is a good representation of Hexagina nymphs and golden stone fly nymphs that frequent these areas. He feels the steelhead like to feed on them while their passing through or resting. Bodies are yellow, hackles and tails are brown pheasant, wings are either gray or brown turkey with a collar of grouse or teal.

For the most part, my floss tags are yellow on wet flies and the colour yellow would be on half bodies like the Akryod, Gordon, Logie, Wasp and Jock Scott.


Mike

 

[Tubular Spey]

I think that yellow may be the most popular colour for Atlantic salmon fishing in Europe. Everyone seems to be fishing the Banana fly over there.

I have had pretty good success with all yellow flies in sunny conditions for both bull trout and browns.

 

[SW Alexander]

In the PNW, many of Syd Glasso and Wes Drains flies incorporated yellow. Along with the Umpqua Special, Cummings Special, Brad's Brat, Skykomish Sunrise, many Alec Jackson's Spades, countless Skagit Marabou's etc.

I use yellow in many of my flies, some posted over the last few days. I wouldn't say it's a reginal color.

Shannon

 

[salmo_g]

I don't use yellow in any steelhead flies that I tie. But then you know I keep my steelhead bait pretty simple. I mean, how many colors does it take to catch a fish that will rise to a cigarette butt or filter?

 

[Catcherman]

I don't use yellow in any steelhead flies that I tie. But then you know I keep my steelhead bait pretty simple. I mean, how many colors does it take to catch a fish that will rise to a cigarette butt or filter?

Just two: Yellow and white.

 

[fish0n4evr]

Odd. Personally, the only other time were yellow steelhead flies have come-up was when an old-timer told me not to use yellow because steelhead "don't like yellow. " Although ... that was only after he looked at the fly I was using at the time. Just happened that the fly was a Kalama Special... yellow, white, and red. We were on the Wynoochee R.

The Kalama Special and Sol Duc are among the first flies that I learned to dress.

 

[Yooper-Fly]

Good question. I never used yellow before I started looking at Atlantic salmon flies. I guess a true yellow as a primary color isn’t something I’ve ever tied, not sure why but just doesn’t seem to strike my fancy.

I like yellow or yellowish hues, whether that be towards the orange spectrum like sunburst or ginger, or towards the dirty spectrum like banana or olive. I like it as a contrasting color as a brighter bottom or first wing?

The olive hued yellow like banana or golden olive seems to be dynamite in very clear water for steelhead. But I generally am always working that banana or yellow towards olive & black or towards burnt orange & black.

Although, just for fun I tied a wooly bugger up to match one of my favorite flowers in my garden

 

[blackbug]

General Money, Haig-Brown used yellow in their patterns and Ralph Wahl and Judge Olson used yellow in the S Rivers. I think that yellow was an easily available color in days past than the much more exotic colors that have been available in the past 50 years.
Bryan

 

[SW Alexander]

I tied this for the thread. Yellow is a great color in the PNW. Yellow floss butt, bleached black bear dyed yellow.

Shannon

 

[GR8LAKES FLYER]

Shannon, a perfect example of my thoughts.
Half body in Yellow while the other half in a darker contrast.
Vic (fishOn4evr) lead me to a variation of the Cummings Special. He turned it into a Spey fly version and I was hooked.
That pattern frequents my wallets now in saddle and quill wing variations. Vic showed us a Mallard wing set which was delicious :smokin:


Mike

 

[Honyuk96]

You guys are all missing out on what’s important. Toss any color you like, just make sure it’s CHARTREUSE !!

 

[SW Alexander]

You guys are all missing out on what’s important. Toss any color you like, just make sure it’s CHARTREUSE !!

So florescent yellow x blue. :grin2:

 

[DrBob]

Funny this thread arises. Here in CT we have a small AS Broodstock program in two rivers. Glad to have it because everything else I like is hours away...

In the fall while the water is warm, I love patterns such as the mickey finn. As the water temp drops, I seem to transitun to olive the black and when the water is in the mid 30s I gravitate towards purple. I have no ide why, it;s just what I do.

Considering Steelhead, yellow is not even for consideration. I go olive, black, and purple, sometimes pink. I never did very well on rainbows with yellow (unlike browns) hence I assume that's where my rationale came from...

 

[_WW_]

You guys are all missing out on what’s important. Toss any color you like, just make sure it’s CHARTREUSE !!

So....which one are you talking about?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartreuse_(color)

 

[Yooper-Fly]

Funny this thread arises. Here in CT we have a small AS Broodstock program in two rivers. Glad to have it because everything else I like is hours away...

In the fall while the water is warm, I love patterns such as the mickey finn. As the water temp drops, I seem to transitun to olive the black and when the water is in the mid 30s I gravitate towards purple. I have no ide why, it;s just what I do.

Considering Steelhead, yellow is not even for consideration. I go olive, black, and purple, sometimes pink. I never did very well on rainbows with yellow (unlike browns) hence I assume that's where my rationale came from...

Dude, I totally forgot about trout! My favorite pattern is swinging the ‘Perpetrator’ in golden stone in the summer!! Lots of yellow, with hints of copper and just a 1/2 tsp of purple!! It’s stupid effective! The only time I’ll out produce nymphers and centerpinners is with that yellow bug in the summer!! Rainbows and Brookies just go nuts! Like a pull every 10 casts one day! Even was catching fish in places I’ve never touched one. Got back to the truck, dropped the fly, cried, and it took me a year to figure out what it was! I wasn’t tying at the time so I was SOL.

So glad this thread came up!!!!! Going to tie a couple today

 

[Honyuk96]

So....which one are you talking about?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chartreuse_(color)

Chartreuse green :grin2: $$$$