Crandall's Wedding Dress

Rob Crandall lives in Portland, Oregon, where he operates Water Time Outfitters, which offers guided fishing trips on the Deschutes River for trout and steelhead, as well as guided fly fishing for steelhead on the Clackamas, NF Nehalem, Trask and Oregon Coast rivers in the winter. It is on these rivers that Rob designed and developed his fish-catching patterns. He grew up on the banks of the Clackamas River and has been a licensed Oregon fishing guide since 1992. Rob is also the past editor of Flyfishing & Tying Journal magazine.

Rob Crandall on the Wedding Dress

This is a “guide secret” fly that I have developed over many years — pure and simple, it catches fish even when other flies are not working. This pattern works for winter fish and summer steelhead alike, as well as big trout in Alaska and Canada and even as a trolling fly-in lakes.  

It is tied with a stinger style hook to maximize hookups on fussy fish. It has an elusive flash and material blend that reveals colors as it moves in the water and reflects bits of color under many light conditions giving it a higher response/grab rate than other flies in similar conditions. It is also an excellent “go-to” pattern for medium to low-clear winter steelhead conditions and even works well on waters where fish see more pressure. Small red bead and stinger style hook add qualities that make this pattern even more unique — increasing results and landing more fish!