OutdoorsNovember 6, 2015

Commentary / LeRoy Hyatt
Outdoors Fly Rusty Bomber
Outdoors Fly Rusty BomberTribune/Kyle Mills
LeRoy Hyatt
LeRoy Hyatt

I'm not sure how long I had tied and fished with natural deer hair bombers when someone asked if I ever thought of tying the pattern with orange deer hair.

The assumption was the orange would represent an October caddis as it floated in the current. During the early part of the next steelhead season, I tried orange deer hair while tying a bomber. I didn't like the looks of the white calf tail wing and tail, so I started experimenting with other materials. The wing needed to be on the stiff side so it would create a disturbance in the water as it skated through the run. I finally settled on black moose body hair for both the wing and tail. The fly looked good, but would it work?

I gave the pattern to a couple of friends and asked if they would give it a try, and took it for a test run myself. I started in the mill run and liked the way the Rusty Bomber skated through the water. I had been worried it might be tough to see the fly without a white wing, but that wasn't a problem.

A steelhead took the fly and left a large boil where the fly had been. I don't remember if I landed that first fish or not, but I was excited to know it worked.

Now I was eager to see how the other fly fishermen made out. One called and said it worked better than the natural bomber. The other tester took longer to call, but he also had success.

Since then, several fly shops have heard of the Rusty Bomber and are requesting the pattern for early season fishing. Stories of the fly's success also rippled through the steelhead fly fishing community, with all kinds of stories. I'm not sure how many of these stories are true, but I keep tying the flies. One shop calls the pattern LeRoy's steelhead candy. I certainly am not sure of that statement, but as long as it keeps the fly in the water I certainly don't care.

Then the fad of using hackle feathers in hair exploded, and the long saddle hackle I needed to tie the bombers seemed to dry up. I even had beauty shops call me to see if I would sell them some hackle. One shop I tie for in Montana told me that if they answered the phone and a woman asked for saddle hackle, they would ask her what pattern it was for. If the lady couldn't answer, the shop refused to sell the hackle.

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Now I always tell my customers that I will tie the pattern, but the hackle may be on the short side. Everyone is aware of the hackle shortage and understands.

At any rate, if you enjoy spinning and trimming deer body hair, you should give the Rusty Bomber a try. I can assure you the results are worth the effort. Do not be afraid to tie the Rusty Bomber as size No. 6 or even a No. 8. You won't believe the adrenalin rush when a large fish comes up and takes your fly off the surface. If you are like me, it will take some time to get your hair pounded back down.

Last lines

"Every moment of life, I suppose, is more or less of a turning point. Opportunities are all around us all the time thicker than gnats at sundown."

- Henry Van Dyke.

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LeRoy Hyatt is an avid fly tier who lives in Lewiston. He can be contacted at city@lmtribune.com.

Rusty Bomber

Hook - Steelhead dry fly hook. I like Daiichi No. 2421 size No. 4 through No. 8.

Thread - Orange 6/0 (140 denier) to spin the body and black 8/0 (70 denier) to finish the fly. I like Uni thread, which will flatten out and make a nice, neat head.

Wing - Black moose body hair. Try to get hair without any white in it.

Tail - Black moose body hair. Try to get hair without any white.

Hackle - Brown dry fly quality saddle hackle. I have also seen the fly tied with grizzly hackle.

Body - Orange deer body hair spun and trimmed to shape.

Tying tips

Pinch the barb and dress the hook shank with the 6/0 tying thread. Tie in the moose hair with the tips extending over the eye of the hook. Take the thread to the rear of the hook and tie in the moose hair forming the tail. Tie in the brown hackle and let it hang at the rear of the hook. Clip a small amount of the orange deer body hair. Every clump of hair you get will feel different. My suggestion is the clump should be approximately the diameter of a pencil. I clip the tips off as I hold the hair in my fingers. The tips just get in the way. Take a soft wrap of thread around the hair and as the second wrap is made and the hair flares, let go of the hair and let the thread spin the hair around the hook. Take the thread forward through the hair until you run out of hair. Tie in another clump of hair and spin it as you did with the first clump. Wrap the thread forward to the head area. I pull the hair rearward and make several wraps with the tying thread and then whip finish and clip the thread. Take the fly out of the vise. Trim the body into a cigar shape, smaller at the rear and larger at the front. I also trim the belly flat. When the fly is trimmed to your satisfaction, put it back in the vise and attach the 8/0 black thread. Now wrap the hackle forward in smooth even wraps and tie off with the tying thread at the front of the fly. Clip excess hackle. Take several wraps of thread in this area just to be sure that if a riffle hitch is used, the head will withstand the punishment.

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