“Confidence cannot be given like a gift. It is earned through trial and error.” That’s a strange thought to have as the stream’s cold water runs down my face, splashed by the steelhead’s frightened surge racing away from my hand to the safety of its home, deep in the flowing river. But an angler learns through repetition, trial and error, and hooking fish. Having confidence in the fly you fish is especially important, and like most of us, the flies in which I have the most confidence are the ones that experience has taught me to trust.
This was the sixth steelhead to hand and the last of my early autumn trip to the Trinity River. All six steelhead had risen to the fly I now held between my fingers, a version of the Silver Hilton called the October Hilton, tied by my friend and guide, Jason Hartwick. It is my confidence fly on the Trinity. Much like an Eskimo who lashes an ivory figurine of a seal to the spear intended to kill a seal, I tie on a fly that has special juju in the hunt for steelhead that I will release for sport.
The October Hilton is an easy pattern to tie. The body color mimics an October Caddis, and the wings give great movement. First, select a size 6 or 8 classic steelhead hook. Attach bright orange or black thread behind the eye and wrap back to a position above the hook point. Tie in a strip of orange Flashabou and wrap a tag back to a position over the barb, wrap it back to the tie-in point, tie it off, and trim the remainder. Dub the thread with October Caddis–orange dubbing and wrap it sparsely forward to about a quarter of an inch behind the eye. For the wings, tie in two matching grizzly hackle cape feathers just in front of the dubbed body. The wing should extend back to the bend. Then tie in some wood duck, make two turns forward, and tie off. Whip a small head and coat the head with cement. You’re done. I like to fish this fly just under the surface. I use 5 or 6 feet of 15-pound-test fluorocarbon tippet attached to a 10-foot or 14-foot intermediate poly leader.
I fish the October Hilton with confidence on the Trinity, but on the rivers near where I live in Sacramento, a Brindle Bug is my go-to fly. My first-ever steelhead 22 years ago was a half-pounder that slammed a Brindle Bug that Bill Kiene sold me to swing in the American River. I was lucky, for a beginner, because there were way more fish back then. These days, it is difficult for a newbie steelheader to gain confidence in any fly through trial and error, because fish populations are so diminished. That auspicious day, however, I broke off three steelhead before I landed four more by evening’s end. I was hooked for life and always have confidence that a Brindle Bug will bring me fish. The Brindle Bug is also simple to tie. Slide a black or gold bead to the eye of a size 12 to 6 down-eye 1X-long hook (originally, though, this fly had no bead). Attach brown thread behind the bead or an eighth of an inch behind the eye (if you’re not using a bead, tie in a length of fine silver tinsel) and secure it by wrapping back over it to the end of the level shank. At that point, tie in two brown hackle tips that extend a little beyond the bend of the hook and trim the excess. Next, tie in some yellow-and-black variegated chenille just in front of the hackle tips, wrap it forward to just behind the bead or the eye, tie it down, and clip the excess. Now rib the tinsel forward over the chenille to the tie-off area and secure. Tie in a brown hackle, make two turns in front of the chenille body, and tie off. Whip finish behind the bead or eye, add cement, and that’s it.
Fish these two patterns, and you’ll gain confidence in them when you feel the adrenaline rush as your rod arcs and a steelhead races away from the screeching reel.
—Andy Guibord
