Intruder Step by Step

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The Intruder. Originated in the Pacific Northwest by Ed Ward, this fly has become pretty much the go-to wet-fly of most NW steelheaders. The size and motion in the water are meant to produce the most violent strikes possible, and will move the most sullen fish.
Personally, I think for a fish like steelhead, every bit of a fly needs to be put in with as much thought as possible towards motion and asthetics. Steelhead are an incredible fish, and deserve a work of art to catch them. Simply put, this is no ten minute tie, and personally I don't believe it should ever be rushed.

While rhea isn't cheap, it does make a fly with more movement then regular ostrich. Plus, every fish you land on one of these bugs feels even more special.

SHANK - Partridge waddington 35mm
LOOP - 30 Firewire, twice looped (for strength and stability)
THREAD - black
HOOK - Tiemco 600sp,
#2TAIL - White Artic Fox spun, followed by Blue Artic Fox Spun, Followed by Pink and Blue rhea wrapped around it. Followed by Blue Amherst
BODY - BlueLagartun flat braid
HACKLE - Blue Rhea followed by Pink Rhea over spun Blue Artic Fox. Followed by Blue Amherst and Two hackles each of dyed grizzly saddle (blue and pink)
COLLAR/Head -Pink Senyo's Laser Dub
HEAD - Spirit River Real Eyes
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Attach the firewire loop by laying it down on the shank and doubling back apon itself. This saves you having to glue (which can make a mess, as well as having to wait for the glue to dry)
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Spin white artic fox followed by blue artic fox in a dubbing loop and wrap them forward. This will make 1. a lot of motion in the water and 2. a support for the rhea, so it does not collapse.
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Add amherst around the shank. You can also spin amherst in a dubbing loop to speed this process up. I like being able to place every bit of amherst exactly where I like it.

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Wrap rhea (should be split already from the stem. Come in the shop to see how this is done.) a few times around the shank. Less is better, as it won't clog up in the water.

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Wrap blue rhea forward

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Attach blue largatun flat braid and wrap it forward. If you have lots of time, it's nice to make a nice clean shank using thread. It doesn't matter too much as you can hardly see this when the fly is done. Also a good time to add in the real eyes (helps to tell how much room you have remaining to work with)

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Again spin blue artic fox in a dubbing loop.

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Wrap blue rhea again. This should be considerably longer then the length you used at the back.

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Wrap pink rhea forward. The rhea shown here is nearly 7" long. Big flies move big fish.
We recently got in a new stock of what could easily be called the best Rhea we've ever seen (oh, and it's cheaper then previous batches :) )
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Tie in blue and pink grizzly hackles. I like to match them to the longest rhea on the fly. Finally these are available pre-dyed, and are one of my favourite products on the shelf right now. No more dying or using permanent markers!!

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Tie in an 'egg' head using Senyo's Laser Yarn. This is a new product that I'm also very impressed with. Spin it in a dubbing loop and wrap forward. Then pick it out with velcro and it makes a VERY sleak head that looks great in the water.

The 'egg' addition is nice, and has been proven over and over with the success of the simple Egg Sucking leech.

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Done!

You can tie these in as many different color combinations as you want. See down the blog one post for an orange and black that Babine fish can't help to smash (especially on Halloween).

What ever color you can get the Rhea in, you can tie this fly in.

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Note that I did not attach the hook (mostly cause I didn't have one beside me at that time). By far my favourite hook for these flies are the Tiemco 600sp. They are possibly the sharpest hook we've ever found, have a nice short shank and the super-point doesn't miss any grabs.

If you have any other flies that you'd like to see featured, feel free to email or comment!