Streamside Imitations by J Deshefy Jr

Streamside Imitations by J Deshefy Jr A page created to document my adventures in fly fishing and fly tying.

Black & Copper Woolly Bu**ers. Same style as last night’s tie, a little extra flash along the side, wrapped with wire to...
09/03/2026

Black & Copper Woolly Bu**ers.

Same style as last night’s tie, a little extra flash along the side, wrapped with wire to create the segmentation, and finished off with a soft-tackle hackle head. Nothing complicated, but it’s a combination I really like this time of year.

I also went ahead and tied these with one thing on my mind, bringing an Atlantic salmon to hand this year!

For years, I’ve spent time on the Salmon River chasing these fish and over the last three years, the opportunity for anglers to encounter Atlantic salmon has obviously increased. Now that the program has had a couple of years to establish itself, I’m incredibly interested to see what this season brings.

More than anything though, I’m just excited to finally get back to that water.

Last year was a tough one for me. I was laid up after two surgeries and a long stretch of rehab, including a total reconstruction of my right shoulder. Being away from the river for that long was harder than I can really put into words so I can’t wait to get back up there, get lost for a little while, hear those familiar sounds, stand in that water, and even just sit back and watch other anglers doing what we all love to do.

I feel like I split my time now between upstate New York and home here in New Jersey, and that river has become a home away from home for me.

So getting back up there is going to be a little bittersweet.

But mostly…

I’m just ready to go home. 🎣

Tonight’s Tie: Olive Woolly Bu**er Tonight’s tie is an Olive Woolly Bu**er, not your traditional Woolly Bu**er, but the ...
09/02/2026

Tonight’s Tie: Olive Woolly Bu**er

Tonight’s tie is an Olive Woolly Bu**er, not your traditional Woolly Bu**er, but the way I like to tie mine, especially for this time of year. I like to add a little more pomp, flash, and movement to the pattern.

For this one, I went with a Mustad Signature Series R74-9672, a 2X-heavy, 4XL streamer hook in size 6, paired with a 5/32” gold bead.

I chose not to go with tungsten, and I kept the lead wire light, just a few wraps of .020 lead. With the current water conditions and no Whitewater release this weekend, I want to keep the fly relatively light and have the ability to adjust with split shot if I need to.

The rest of the recipe is pretty straightforward:

• Sculpin Olive marabou
• Pearl Krystal Flash
• Olive chenille
• Uni-Mylar Peacock #10 / 1⁄16” for the flash along both sides of the body
• UTC Ultra Wire, Olive, Medium for the segmentation
• Finished with an Olive/Brown soft hackle

And I know some people are going to ask about the soft hackle instead of traditional Woolly Bu**er hackle.

Honestly, I just prefer it.

From a production standpoint, it’s a little easier to tie, but more importantly, I think I get the same effect, if not a little better movement and undulation in the water. That soft hackle breathes really well and gives the fly a ton of life.

This one is always a must-have in my box this time of year. Those early Kings can’t seem to resist an Olive Bu**er, and it’s one of those patterns that just continues to produce year after year. 🎣

TONIGHT’S TIE — CHASING THE FORAGE 🎣As we get closer to spending some time on the Lake Ontario tributaries, I’ve been th...
09/01/2026

TONIGHT’S TIE — CHASING THE FORAGE 🎣

As we get closer to spending some time on the Lake Ontario tributaries, I’ve been thinking about one thing, FORAGE.

Chinook, Coho, Steelhead and Browns spend much of their time in the lake feeding on alewife, rainbow smelt, emerald shiner and golden shiner being important pieces of the forage picture.

And when you look at these baitfish, there’s a common theme, olive, gray, silver, pearl and white.

So tonight’s pattern is a Rainbow Smelt — Iron Mike style.

It’s a spin-off of a pattern I’ve used successfully before, with a few changes: Pearl Ice Dub, olive marabou, mallard flank for natural barring and red tinsel, all tied on a vintage Mustad 9672.

The 9672 gives me that heavier streamer hook I want when tying for the larger Chinook and Coho. When you’re dealing with Lake Ontario fish, I want a little more beef underneath the pattern when that fish decides to make a run.

And now we’re getting into one of my favorite times of the year, the fish that come into the Salmon River early!

These aren’t the big push of fish we see later in September and October. They’re those early Browns, Coho and big Kings that start showing themselves ahead of the main movement.

Normally, Labor Day weekend also brings the whitewater release, and that change in flow can be a trigger that brings more fish into the river. That release is being canceled this year, but with the rain forecasted for the Salmon River watershed this week, hopefully we get enough water to give the river that little bump and bring some fish in naturally.

And after a LONG hiatus from fishing, my last time on the Salmon River was November 30, 2024, I can tell you one thing…

I am itching to get back up there this weekend!

Tonight’s Tie | Olive & Copper Nymph Simple olive and copper nymph tied on a Daiichi 1120, size 8, paired with a 3/16” (...
08/28/2026

Tonight’s Tie | Olive & Copper Nymph

Simple olive and copper nymph tied on a Daiichi 1120, size 8, paired with a 3/16” (4.5mm) Firehole Outdoors Stone in Olive Drab.

The rest is simple:

* UTC 70 — Black
* UTC Vinyl Rib — Olive, Nymph size
* Olive goose biot tail
* Fly Tyer’s Dungeon Private Stash NK Dubbing — Copper Olive

Simple ingredients. Simple fly. One that just produces.

That’s the approach I like for the early run on the Salmon River. As the run progresses and I really start targeting steelhead, that’s when I get a little more particular with my flies. But early on, something like this has definitely earned a place in my box.

I’ve been playing around with three or four new color variations over the last few posts, and changing the bead really changes the game. Firehole Stones offer some great egg-inspired colors like Pumpkin Pie, Autumn, Pink Floyd, and others. Even purple and Royal Blue can be surprisingly effective.

With a 3/16” bead, you can also get a pretty convincing single-egg profile, and when that dubbing gets moving, it really comes alive and undulates in the current.

Simple enough. Quick enough. Effective enough.

That’s exactly what I want in a Salmon River early-run nymph. 🎣

After spending the last week in Georgia with 90-plus-degree temperatures and high humidity, arriving home in the early m...
08/27/2026

After spending the last week in Georgia with 90-plus-degree temperatures and high humidity, arriving home in the early morning hours to those cool Northeast temperatures really got my mind thinking about steelhead.

I decided today was the day I needed to get organized and get back into production mode.

While cleaning up the tying desk, I came across a few random materials, some hot-pink beads, Pink Lady dubbing, and fluorescent pink goose biots and figured I might as well put them to good use. The result was this little steelhead pattern.

The run is fast approaching and with recent reports of a few kings and cohos brought to hand, the time is now to get completely prepared for trips up North.

The boxes need filling, the materials need organizing, and the vise needs to start turning, not to mention show season is also just around the corner!

Production mode: activated. 🎣

This time of year, the tying desk shifts into production mode. Salmon and steelhead season is right around the corner, s...
08/11/2026

This time of year, the tying desk shifts into production mode. Salmon and steelhead season is right around the corner, so the flies going into my boxes need to be durable, tied with purpose, and proven to produce.

I’ve always had a lot of confidence in nymph patterns that incorporate a Firehole Stone in Pumpkin Pie or Autumn. There are days on the Salmon River when the fish absolutely hammer these colors.

Tonight I tied a simple variation, keeping things clean and effective.

The biggest change is the thorax dubbing. Instead of the brighter Ice Dub Pheasant Tail, I went with Fly Tyers Dungeon Private Stash NK Dubbing in Vanilla Copper. It has a really cool blend of copper, bronze, orange, red, and darker fibers. Just enough flash and contrast without being over the top.

The thing I really like about it is the movement. It makes the fly breathe.

I kept this one simple, no rubber legs, just a small Thin Skin wing case—and tied it on a Daiichi 1120 #8 with a 3/16” Firehole Pumpkin Pie tungsten bead. UTC 140 dark brown, UTC 70 brown, brown goose biot, and amber UTC Vinyl Rib complete the foundation.

These are built specifically for the Salmon River, so a little bigger and heavier for those heavier flows. 🎣

A New Addition to the Winter Box There are certain fly patterns that become the foundation for everything else you creat...
08/09/2026

A New Addition to the Winter Box

There are certain fly patterns that become the foundation for everything else you create at the vise. For me, the Copper John, Jumbo John, and Blackjack are three of those patterns.

They’ve proven themselves over the years, and they give you a great starting point to get creative with materials, color, profile, and movement without overcomplicating the fly.

This particular pattern is built with winter steelhead in mind.

Recipe:

* Hook: Daiichi 1120 — #10
* Bead: 1/8” copper
* Weight: Approximately 8 wraps of .020 lead wire
* Thread: UTC 70 — Black
* Tail: Black goose biots
* Rib: UTC Vinyl Rib, Nymph size — Black
* Underbody: Orvis Crystal Flash — Smolt Blue
* Dubbing: Prism Dubbing — Peacock
* Wings: Black goose biots

One of the things I really like about this combination is how the Smolt Blue Crystal Flash works underneath the Peacock Prism Dubbing. The two materials complement each other perfectly, giving the fly just enough flash and color without making it obnoxious.

The black vinyl rib gives it that strong segmentation, while the goose biot tail and wings add a little movement and contrast.

Could you add rubber legs? Absolutely. And I may tie some up that way. But honestly, I don’t think every fly needs to be overcomplicated.

This one already checks the boxes for me:

Profile. Segmentation. A pop of color. Flash. Movement. Weight.

And most importantly, it’s built around a style of fly that has proven itself to me over many years of winter steelhead fishing.

Sometimes the best patterns aren’t the most complicated ones. They’re the ones that give the fish everything they need to make a decision!

Tonight I kept it simple and tied one pattern that has earned a permanent spot in my winter steelhead box.You could call...
08/06/2026

Tonight I kept it simple and tied one pattern that has earned a permanent spot in my winter steelhead box.

You could call it a cross between a Jumbo John and a Prince-style attractor nymph, but its roots come from a Great Lakes steelhead pattern known as the Blackjack.

The Blackjack is a relatively modern Great Lakes pattern that gained popularity among guides and local steelheaders fishing the tributaries of Lakes Erie and Ontario. While it doesn’t appear to trace back to the classic West Coast steelhead flies, it follows the same philosophy, keep it simple, get it deep, and let the fish tell you the rest. Its sparse profile, black body, and bright bead have made it a proven producer on winter steelhead throughout the region.

The original Blackjack is about as simple as it gets: a black thread body, a fluorescent bead (orange, chartreuse, or pink), matching thread ribbing, UV-cured for durability and finished with white goose biot wings.

My version is a little different. I tie what I call a Wired Blackjack because I fish it primarily during the Winter when higher flows are common. On those cold, sunny days when steelhead slide into deeper water to get out of the light, I want a fly that gets down quickly and stays there.

Materials:
• Daiichi 1120 hook
• Firehole 3.5 mm matte black tungsten bead
• UTC 70 Black thread
• UTC Medium Black Ultra Wire
• SF Prism Peacock dubbing
• White goose biot wings
• Black goose biot tails

Like all of my steelhead nymphs, I tie these in three sizes and vary the weight depending on water conditions. When the dam is pushing more water, I simply reach for a heavier version and keep fishing.

Sometimes the simplest flies are the ones that earn a permanent place in your fly box. The Wired Blackjack has certainly done that for me. 🎣

It’s definitely been a minute since I’ve been behind the tying vise. It’s been a busy Summer between my son Parker’s fun...
08/03/2026

It’s definitely been a minute since I’ve been behind the tying vise. It’s been a busy Summer between my son Parker’s fundraiser for Knot Lucky, my daughter getting her permit and spending time teaching her to drive and tackling projects around the house. Fly tying usually gets put on the shelf during July, but August is when I start getting back into it. The salmon run is right around the corner, with steelhead season not far behind.

With that said, it was time to spend a little quality time at the vise this evening.

Tonight’s fly is a variation of a pattern by Al Ritt that imitates a Pale Morning Dun nymph, featured in Fly Tyer Magazine (Winter 2020, page 15). I made a few changes to suit my own style and because I have steelhead on the brain.

Instead of the original hook, I tied it on a Daiichi 1120, size 10, paired with a 1/8-inch copper bead. For the body, I used brown UTC Nymph Vinyl Rib over four strands of root beer Krystal Flash. I wrapped the flash first to create an underbody, then segmented the vinyl rib, leaving just the slightest gap between each wrap so the Krystal Flash could peek through. I finished it off with a simple thorax of Peacock Ice Dub.

I’ve tied similar variations in the past with good success, so I’m looking forward to seeing how this one performs when the salmon and steelhead start pushing into the rivers.

I hope everyone is having a great Summer! It’s flying by and honestly… I’m not complaining. I can’t stand the heat, and I’m more than ready for crisp Fall mornings, cold water, and another season chasing chrome 🎣

One of the most satisfying parts of fly tying isn’t just mastering a pattern, it’s reaching the point where you know it ...
07/12/2026

One of the most satisfying parts of fly tying isn’t just mastering a pattern, it’s reaching the point where you know it works, you have complete confidence in it, and then sharing it with someone else.

There’s something special about opening a text message and seeing photos of beautiful trout brought to hand, along with a message that says they had an absolutely epic morning or an unforgettable day on the river. Those moments never get old.

At this stage of my life, that’s what it’s really about for me.

I think back to being a 13-year-old kid following my grandfather to the river. I didn’t know anything about fly tying or fishing, I was just soaking it all in. Now, nearly 40 years later, I still love catching fish, and I still love sitting at the vise creating flies. But the greatest reward isn’t filling my own net anymore.

It’s knowing that something I tied helped create a memory for someone else.

That’s the real payoff!

“Your small black and gold stones didn’t again for me today. I caught a 22” Brown and 5 18” Browns today. They Hammered the small stones.....looks like they were size 12. What a morning I had!”

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