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Fly Fishing
5/19/2013
Email a Friend Streetwalker
By Amy Hazel

Gordon Nash's Streetwalker has long been a favorite fly for steelehad anglers on the Deschutes and wherever steelhead swim. It was one of the very first flies to incorporate a lot of flash, which started a revolution in fly design.

She's flashy and a little slutty, which is why the steelhead chase her with such wild abandon. This fly is one of the easiest steelhead flies to tie. Gordon Nash, who works right here at Deschutes Angler, was kind enough to sit down at the vise to tie this fly step by step for you to follow along.

This fly was originally tied on an Eagle Claw 1197 N which was, at the time that Gordon invented this fly, the only nickel plated hook on the market at the time - but that hook is really heavy, hard to sharpen, and an overall bad design. Now there are lots of really nice hooks on the market that are nickel plated and which hold fish a lot better than that ugly Eagle Claw hook ever did!

Step 1 Gordon's favorite hook for this fly is a nickel plated Alec Jackson Steelhead Iron in sizes 3, 5, 7, or 9. In this example, Gordon is tying the Streetwalker on a size 7 steelhead iron.

This fly is pretty much all purple - so Gordy is using purple 8/0 Uni Thread. He starts by tying a little thread onto the hook to make a base. The next step is to tie in a purple tail using the fibers off a Strung Rooster Saddle. The tail should extend slightly beyond the bend of the hook and the length of the tail should be approximately 1 1/2 times the gap of the hook (the gap = the distance between the point of the hook and the shaft of the hook).

Step 2 After the tail has been tied in, tie in a piece of silver oval french tinsel in a size small. Adjust to a size medium for larger hook sizes like size 3. You could also use the silver side of small mylar tinsel as the ribbing.

Once you have tied the silver ribbing back by the tail, begin dubbing a body using purple angora goat hair dubbing. To make it more flashy you could use STS trilobal dubbing, Polar dub, Ice Dub, or any other bright dubbing on the market - purple. In this example, Gordon uses the traditional angora goat hair dubbing.

Dub the body and make sure that it is nice and fuzzy - this gives the fly body and adds life to the fly. Use a little dubbing comb to fluff it out. Next, bring the ribbing forward in five nice even turns. Leave a little room behind the head where you are going to tie in the hackle and the wing. See how Gordon has left some room on this fly....

Step 3 To tie in the hackle, use the same material you used to tie the tail - Strung Rooster Saddle in Purple. The hackle can extend as long as to the point of the hook - Gordy's preference - or it can be a little bit shorter but it should not be longer.
Step 4 The final step is to tie in the flashabou wing. Gordy prefers to use the original flashabou pearl for the wing. Gordy takes about 6-8 strands of flashabou and lays them down over the body so that the ends of the flashabou are flush with the end of the tail - take note here, you want the flashabou to be TWICE this long because you are going to bend it back. Tie in the flash at the half way point, bend it back over itself, and finish by making a nice neat head of the bent back flashabou. By bending the wing back and doubling it over you get a fly from which the wing can never be pulled out.

Whip finish and head cement that fly and go fishing.

When I saw the finished product, I was thinking to myself...mmm, the wing is a little longer than I would have expected Gordy to tie. Before I even said anything, Gordon piped up about the fact that the flashabou shrinks and gets a little curled over time in using the fly. This is why he ties it a little long to begin with because it shrinks over time. Very smart, Gordon Nash!

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Click photos to enlarge
Products for this fly:
•Daiichi Alec Jackson Std. Wire Spey Hooks
•Strung Rooster Saddle
•Angora Goat Dubbing
•French Tinsel Oval
•Flashabou
•Uni 8/0 Tying Thread
Click Here to buy this fly!
Fly Tying Materials, Rare Fly Tying Materials, Fly Tying Vises, Tube Fly Materials, Tube Flies, Fly Tying - Books and Media, Fly Tying - Vises, Fly Tying - Tying Tools, Fly Tying - Tying Storage Bags, Fly Tying - Hooks, Fly Tying - Tube Fly Materials and Components, Fly Tying - Beads, Eyes and Coneheads, Fly Tying - Cement and Wax, Fly Tying - Feathers, Fly Tying - Hackle, Fly Tying - Saddles, Fly Tying - Necks, Fly Tying - Hair and Fur, Fly Tying - Dubbing, Fly Tying - Body Materials, Fly Tying-Synthetic Wing Material, Fly Tying - Mylar and Flash, Fly Tying - Foam and Rubber Legs, Fly Tying - Plastic and Ribbing, Fly Tying - Threads and Floss, Fly Tying - Tinsel and Wire
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