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Sept 2002
by Rich Johnson
Fly of the Month: Rajah
Notes: This month the silver salmon fishing will overlap our fall steelhead fishery. So I thought I’d share a pattern I like that can be effective for both species. According to Trey Combs in “Steelhead Fly Fishing and Flies”, the Rajah was originated by a Spokane area conservationist named Arthur Solomon in 1967 for the Grande Ronde River. But its use in other fisheries became wide spread within the next few years.
The Rajah has been a favorite of mine since the first time I saw one tied by Marty Karstetter many years ago. Marty builds high quality bamboo rods and maintains a connection with fly angling history. Occasionally he would talk of steelhead fishing on the Deschutes, the Rouge, or the Umpqua He was always drawing from the past to enhance his current fishing. The Rajah is one of those patterns that keep showing up in my Steelhead boxes and in my vise. The version shown here is a modified version on the original recipe from Trey Comb’s book.
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Hook: Standard Salmon, UTE, small
Thread: 6/0
Weight: Optional
Tail: Hackle fibers, Fluorescent Pink
Body: Rear 2/3 – Embossed silver tinsel
Front 1/3 – Fluorescent Pink Chenille
Hackle: Saddle hackle, Fluorescent Pink
Wing: Calf tail, White
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1) I prefer a small (#8) hook. Lay a base of thread on the rear two-thirds of the shank leaving the thread in the front of the wraps. |
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2) Gather a sizable bunch of hackle fibers from the base of a large saddle hackle and tie them in along the top of the shank, creating a smooth under body for the tinsel. (The original pattern called for fluorescent pink bucktail. But I prefer the soft action of hackle fibers in the waters that I fish. |
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3) Tie in the embossed silver tinsel just forward of the tail fibers, wrapping the thread forward. |
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4) Double wrap the tinsel, back, then forward over it self. Un-wrap all but two of the thread wraps then tie down the tinsel and trim the excess. (Embossed tinsel is metal and is a little more difficult to work with than mylar so make sure that you butt each wrap up against the previous.) |
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5) Tie in the butt section of a long fibered saddle hackle, and the chenille. Bring your thread forward, leaving more than an eye width behind the eye.
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6) Wrap the chenille forward. Tie off and trim the excess.
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7) Palmer the hackle through the chenille and put three or four tight wraps just in front of the body. Tie off and trim the stem. (The original pattern calls for the saddle hackle to be attached and collared after the front body is wrapped.)
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8) Tie in a slim wing of white calf tail. (The original pattern calls for white bucktail, but I find on my smaller hook, I prefer the texture of calf tail.) Wrap a neat head and cement.
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