Fishing Flies

Soo Fly, Don't Bother Me

It’s been said those who forget the past are
doomed to repeat it. Nonetheless, fishing flies
and lures successful in the past can be renewed and
rediscovered. So it is with the Soo Flies of the
St. Mary’s River.

Back in the 1940s, giant rainbow trout inhabited the fast water of the St. Mary’s River, especially where it flowed out of Lake Superior. Called “Soo Trout,” these fish were huge. And large fishing flies---size #2 and bigger---were used to catch them.

The “Soo Flies” had more going for them than size. They were bright flies, typified by overly long tails and wings, and large gold tags. Tails usually were hackle feathers, splayed out to about 45 degrees. Wings were either split bucktail, as long or longer than the tail, or feathers. Feathered wings, when used, also were splayed outwards.

In many ways, they resemble the style of tie West Coast anglers call “heavy water flies.”

In the water, Soo flies pulsated and breathed like living creatures, and the large rainbows found them irresistible. They were beautiful creations, rivaling some of the classic Atlantic Salmon fishing flies. But, except in the memory of some old timers, the Soo flies seemed to have gone the way of the fish they were designed to fool.

That speculation proved correct on the stream, as Rick so amply proved his first time out with them.

My friends and I have used them, since, in Michigan, Wisconsin, and New York, on major steelhead fishing rivers and small tributaries, and by casting river mouths and shorelines. In almost every case, we have done as well, usually better, than any other fly fishermen at the time---although none of us have equaled Rick’s incredible four-for-twelve performance.

In smaller sizes they’ve even proven themselves in smaller streams, for rainbows and brook trout.

Although the patterns differ, there are some general rules for tying the Soo Flies.

1. Although the originals were unweighted, you have to get down on the bottom for spring steelies. To weight the fishing flies, use thin lead wire, about half the diameter of the hook you’re using. Cover the entire hook shank with a layer of tightly wrapped thread, and coat with head cement. Wrap the lead wire in the opposite direction then the thread. Then bind the lead down with tying thread by wrapping forward and backwards a couple of times, finished up near the rear of the hook. If you’re going to do a lot of tying, things go faster and smoother if you tie a batch of weighted bodies all at once, then go back and tie the flies.

2. Tags are much longer than usual. Starting with a point even with the barb of the hook, wrap medium gold Mylar or tinsel to where the hook bend starts. Wrap back to the starting point and tie off. In the patterns, this is referred to as “from barb to bend.”

4. Patterns calling for feathered wings are tied the same way as tails. For those using bucktail, divide the hair evenly, then proceed as with feathers.

5. Hooks can be any standard type, in sizes #2 and #4. I prefer round eye hooks, because they seem to swim better. And, because steelhead are tough, I use stainless steel or plated forged salt water hooks.

6. Feathered fishing flies, supposedly, are less durable than hair flies. We’ve never found that to be true enough to bother us. But that may be because we take extra pains to make them durable. We half-hitch after every tying step, and use head cement and crazy glue liberally on the half-hitches and on any other wrapping material that will accept it.

Steps like these take longer, but we’ve never had a fly come apart. It’s true that tails are vulnerable, and one of the fly fishing flies is likely to show some wear and tear after the third or fourth steelhead tries to eat it. But that’s a small price to pay.