Black and Purple Spey

Spey flies are elegant and effective lures for steelhead and salmon. Originally tied for the waters of the Spey River in Scotland, they have been adopted here in the US. They were first seen out West for Pacific Steelhead in the 1950's. Since then, they found their way to the northeast for tempting the various salmonids in the rivers and tributaries spilling into the Great Lakes. Originally, Heron hackles were used for the long flowing fibres that truly identify this style of fly, however heron is not available in the US legally. Fine replacements are Blue-eared pheasant, which is expensive, or even ringneck pheasant. Schlappen feathers are commonly used for the hackle as well, since they so have long fibres and long stems. Prepackaged spey hackles are also available by spirit river. Make sure you soak them for 20 minutes or so to keep the stems from splitting. Most spey flys have 2-3 ribs as well. 1-2 ribs and a counter rib to lock down the hackles. Lastly, the wing is usually made of 2 slips of bronze mallard flank from opposite feathers. They arent the easiest to handle and mount. A small, neat head and 2-3 coats of varnish finish the fly off nicely. Fished on the swing, they are very effective for enticing steelhead and salmon here in our Great Lakes rivers.