Just Did A Radio Interview

[solopaddler]

Great article! And it brought back a PILE of good memories.

 

I think it was around 1984 or so that I met a guy who was whaling the steelhead at Thornbury when nobody else was catching a fish. I eventually asked him what he was using and he showed me these bitty little flies. Well, they were Michigan wigglers, tied by a guy called Jay Passmore if I recall correctly, and they were dynamite!

 

Same river, or maybe the Bighead, I took a mid-morning break for breakfast and a coffee and met local steelhead master Rick Simms (I think that is how he spelled his name.) Rick had caught a bunch of fresh run steelies that morning, when I know most of us had not connected with many fish. I asked him what he was using. "BUGS" he said. Like Michigan wigglers, I asked? Nope, BUGS! And he showed me a bunch of insects he had gathered up from the river bottom. He was fishing them singly on a #16 hook IIRC. I never did catch my own bait critters, but that image came back when I read that portion of the article.

 

So THANKS MIKE for some great memories!

 

Doug

 

 

Thanks for the feedback Doug, glad you liked!

 

Jay Passmore is a name I havn't heard in a while, he used to tie flies for me way back in the day.

 

One in particular, a pale yellow hex nymph was just dynamite on steelhead. We'd place orders of 100 flies at a time with him 'cause we'd burn through them so fast.

[akaShag]

Jay used to tied flies for Hans Fuhrman, who owned a little tackle shop in Thornbury. I met Jay there one time he was in replenishing the stocks. He must have tied a gazillion flies..................and I still have a bunch in my old (neglected) steelhead vest.

 

Doug