Egg
Steelhead Bead
Modern pegged-bead egg
Trout · Salmon · Sea troutSubsurface
Not a tied fly at all but a moulded plastic or glass bead pegged a couple of inches above a bare hook — the modern Great Lakes and Pacific steelhead standard. The bead drifts as the egg; the hook rides free and pins fish cleanly in the corner of the jaw.
Fish this when
Steelhead and trout below spawning fish, autumn through spring. Peg the bead 1.5–2 inches above the hook and dead-drift under an indicator; match bead size and colour to the natural roe.
Why it works
A pegged bead drifts more naturally than a weighted tied egg, and because the hook rides separately it hooks fish in the jaw hinge rather than deep — better landing rates and cleaner releases. Colour and translucency are matched to egg age (fresh, mottled, dead).
Naturals it imitates
single salmonid egg, pegged above the hook
Typical zone & fishable range
usually
Surface
Film
Subsurface
Deep
Setup sensitivity: medium
Quick facts
Tying difficulty
Beginner-friendly