According to historical newspaper articles, using a fly to catch winter steelhead in Northern California first began in the late 1800s on the Russian and Eel Rivers. Although winter storms sometimes made the rivers unfishable, there were often periods of clearing weather and improved water quality. As fly fishing North Coast rivers became more popular, writers began to report on the good fishing. For example, Clark C. Van Fleet in Steelhead to a Fly (1954) described catching both half-pounders and adult steelhead from the Eel River. He first reported fishing the river in the early 1920s and wrote of catching steelhead on flies as early as June 26 near the Van Duzen River, possibly spring-run summer steelhead. He also wrote about fishing the river through the month of December and catching winter steelhead. Further evidence of winter steelhead fly fishing is found in an article in the Ferndale Express in December 1921: “Good sport has been enjoyed at Weymouth’s and other pools up Eel river since the river cleared last week. Quite a few steelheads and salmon have been taken by the anglers. Most of the fish have been taken on the troll or bait, though occasionally one is taken on the fly.”
From Comets to Intruders
Initially, the flies being used for California steelhead were created to catch other kinds of fish and to fish other kinds of rivers. In the early 1900s, flies were most often imported Atlantic salmon or Eastern trout flies. An advertisement in the Humboldt Times in 1918 by W. S. Clark and Sons, a hardware store at 410 F Street, offered “Fixin’s for Fisherman”: fishing flies sold for 5 to 20 cents each. Popular flies at that time included the Jock Scott, Dusty Miller, Kate, Royal Coachman, Parmachene Bell, Benn’s Coachman, and Red Ibis.
Eventually, however, California fly tyers created and popularized specific flies for North Coast rivers, flies such as the Humboldt Railbird, the Optic series, Fall Favorite, and Thor. One popular early winter steelhead pattern representative of this era was the Comet. The fly featured a long tail, chenille or tinsel body, and a hackle collar. The pattern did not include a wing, and it usually was tied with bead chain eyes. The original Comet pattern entered the California fly fishing scene sometime during the 1930s or 1940s. Some writers have credited the pattern to Dan Conway of Seattle, Washington, who supposedly originated the pattern in 1934. Others has suggested a young Eel River angler created the style. Trey Combs, in Steelhead Flies and Fly Fishing (1974), wrote that Hap McNew first offered Comet flies for sale in about 1940, calling them “Popeye Flies.” Hap was the son of Lon McNew, who operated Hap’s Sporting Goods in Eureka for 35 years. Most likely, the flies were offered for sale in the store.
During the following decades, several California anglers, including Grant King from Guerneville and angling legend Bill Schaadt, helped popularize the Comet-style fly for winter steelhead. Specific names have been given to various color combinations, including the Gold Comet, Silver Comet, Howard Norton Special, Boss, and Flaming Boss. Some tyers did not add the characteristic bead chain eyes.
The Comet-style fly remained popular for several decades on many California winter steelhead rivers. However, in the 1990s, a new style of winter steelhead fly appeared on the fly-fishing scene: the Intruder. The first Intruder fly is credited to Ed Ward with the help of Jerry French and Scott Howell. Jerry French, in a 2010 article, wrote that the three of them had been guiding in Alaska and fishing very large flies on 3/0 single hooks. The big flies attracted the attention of steelhead, but the long-shanked hooks made it easy for the fish to throw the hook.
Subsequent experimentation by the anglers resulted in the development of a shank fly. In essence, the hook was cut off near the bend of the shank, and the fly was built on the straight section that remained. A small hook was secured to the end of this shank with a loop that allowed it to swing freely. This design let big flies be fished without the leverage problems associated with long, rigid hooks. The new creation was a success and gave rise to a new generation of steelhead flies.
Dec Hogan, in A Passion for Steelhead (2006) described the original Intruder pattern and included a picture with tying instructions. Over the past couple of decades, the original fly has evolved into a number of Intruder varieties, many with individual names and different methods of rigging. Several books describe these ways to rig and tie the flies and provide examples, including Jay W. Nichols in Intruder Essentials (2015) and Advanced Intruder Strategies, (2016). Greg Senyo’s Fusion Fly Tying: Salmon, Steelhead, and Trout Flies of the Synthetic Era (2015) includes a number of Intruder-like patterns.
The basic Intruder fly incorporates several components. First, a metal shank, similar to the original English Waddington shank, or a tube when tied as a tube fly, forms the body of the fly. Fly tyers have used a number of different items for shanks, including the original cut-off single hooks, Waddington shanks, bobby and cotter pins, shanks manufactured expressly for tying Intruder flies, and homemade shanks from stainless steel wire.
Another feature of the intruder is the short-shanked trailer hook. The hook is usually connected to the shank with a length of vinyl-coated wire, braided fishing line, or monofilament. This style of rigging is different from the original Intruder fly, which had the rear hook connected directly to the leader.
The typical Intruder fly incorporates one or two bumps, sometimes called a “station” or “shoulder” when at the front of the fly. Stations are composed of chenille, fur, or synthetic dubbing. Jerry French has also perfected a method of combining natural and artificial materials in what he calls a “composite dubbing loop,” which produces a large, brushy hackle. The finished hackle is tightly wound on the shank to create the station.

A long-fibered feather such as marabou, ostrich, rhea, or a turkey flat or a similar artificial stranded material is tied in front of each station to give additional action to the fly. Patterns such as the Scott Howell Squidro series incorporate silicone stands in place of feather hackles to improve durability.
The body of the Intruder between the two stations is usually constructed using tinsel, fur, chenille, or some flat synthetic material. Some tyers palmer the body with a hackle. The body is kept thin to reduce weight and allow movement of the front shoulder materials.
Long, contrasting saddle feathers and stranded flash are often added at the head, extending past the body. The head of the fly is usually finished with some kind of weighted metal dumbbell eyes or a cone. A fly with less weight can be fashioned using bead chain eyes, as on the original Comet fly. Tied on top, the weighted eyes can cause the fly to ride upside down in the water. Unweighted Intruder flies are also useful for runs in which a weighted fly hangs up on the bottom at the end of a drift.
Fly size seems to be somewhat important in most steelhead fishing. In 1976, Roderick Haig-Brown wrote in the United Fly Tyers Roundtable magazine referring to winter steelhead flies, “I was already getting the idea that the pattern itself did not matter nearly as much as size and type and presentation,” and most winter steelhead anglers agree that larger flies are more effective in off-colored water, while smaller, sparser patterns will produce more often in clear water. The original Intruder flies were large, sometimes six inches long, but today, most patterns range from two and a half to about four inches in length. Some fly tyers have even come up with smaller patterns referred to as Micro Intruders.
Winter steelhead do not actively feed while in fresh water, and color preferences for winter steelhead flies are most often determined by the angler, rather than the fish. While a variety of colors and combinations fill fly shop bins, popular colors are black, black and blue, black and orange, and similar combinations. The use of stranded flash and artificial materials, including ultraviolet materials, all have their place. Some anglers swear that shades of olive are effective. In the lower river reaches closer to the ocean or in off-colored water, brighter orange and pink colors are productive and somewhat suggestive of ocean prey items such as krill or other crustaceans.
Winter Steelheading Today
Today, Northern California rivers that still provide winter steelhead fly fishing opportunities include the Smith, Mad, Eel, Mattole, Garcia, Gualala, and Russian Rivers, and Redwood Creek. A few smaller coastal rivers south of San Francisco Bay also offer limited prospects. The only tributary of the Sacramento or San Joaquin Rivers that has an annual run of winter steelhead is the American River. According to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, the American River provides up to 10 percent of the state’s total steelhead fishing.
I enjoy fly fishing the lower American River because it is close to home and has easy access. It is also generally fishable throughout the winter season. However, in some years, stream flows may exceed many thousands of cubic feet per second, making the river unfishable. Flows from 2,000 to 4,000 cfs provide the best winter steelhead fishing opportunities. The higher flows keep the fish and anglers from being too concentrated on just a few runs.
The America River winter steelhead run is supported by releases of juvenile fish from the Nimbus Fish Hatchery. The hatchery was constructed by the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation in 1955 to “compensate” for salmon and steelhead habitat lost by construction of Nimbus and Folsom Dams. Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel have the responsibility of operating the hatchery, while Reclamation provides the funding.

During the first two years of operation, only adult steelhead trapped at the hatchery were used as broodstock. However, due to the small number of adult fish trapped and eggs taken, winter steelhead eggs were transferred from Eel River egg-collecting stations to the hatchery. From 1958 through 1962, approximately two million juvenile fish were hatched from these egg transfers and released in the Sacramento River. The egg transfers and juvenile fish releases, coupled with the continued hatchery propagation program, were highly successful. A decade later, Department of Fish and Game personnel estimated the winter steelhead run in the river during the 1971–72 season was 19,538 fish of which anglers caught 5,369.
I enjoy being on the river in the very early morning, before most anglers have finished their morning coffee. California angling regulations allow fishing on most rivers one hour before sunrise, and I often find myself standing in the cold, waiting for my watch to show it’s one hour before sunrise so I can make my first cast.
During most winter seasons, I fish a 13-foot two-handed 7-weight rod matched with a 525-grain Skagit head, 12 feet of T-11, and a 4-foot leader with a 2-foot-long 12-pound tippet. My favorite winter fly is my interpretation of Scott Howell’s Squidro pattern. My version uses dyed black raccoon fur for the stations, black silicone strands as the hackle, with a collar of marabou or a turkey flat feather. The wings are two matching grizzly saddle hackles with a few strands of Flashabou between. I usually add medium-sized metal dumbbell eyes to keep the fly swimming upright. However, during periods of low water, I replace the metal eyes with bead chain eyes. The bead chain is lighter and makes the fly less prone to snag on the bottom. The variety of materials allows the fly to pulsate and move in the water, attracting steelhead.
Today’s fly tyers are limited only by their imaginations. As more new synthetic materials and tying techniques become available each season, the possibilities seem endless, and new patterns are almost sure to appear, just as the Comet and Intruder did. Nonetheless, whatever fly pattern is fished, as the late Ted Trueblood, an Idaho outdoor writer and conservationist, is reported to have said, “Ninety percent of the time I think fishing our fly where the fish are is more important than the kind of fly you use.” Those are words of wisdom. And there is some truth to the old adage, “When in doubt . . . any fly will work as long as it’s black.”