Silver Doctor Blue Chickabou Body Marabou Patch

Silver Doctor Blue Ewing Chickabou Marabou Body Patch A Steelhead’s First Love

Silver Doctor Blue is the pale, bright blue from the throat of the Silver Doctor, one of the most famous Atlantic salmon flies ever tied. It’s lighter and softer than royal blue, with a cool, icy look.

Silver Doctor Blue Ewing Chickabou gives you that classic blue in a soft, easy-to-wrap feather. It’s perfect for salmon and steelhead collars, shad flies, and any baitfish pattern that needs a light blue back.

Atlantic salmon, steelhead, American shad, sea trout and bonito.

Recipe 1: Silver Doctor Blue Chickabou Salmon Fly

• Hook: Salmon or spey hook, #4–#6, or a 1-inch tube
• Thread: Red 8/0 (the classic red head)
• Tag: Fine oval silver tinsel and yellow floss
• Tail: Golden pheasant crest
• Body: Flat silver tinsel, ribbed with fine oval silver
• Hackle: Silver Doctor Blue Ewing Chickabou, 2 turns as a throat/collar
• Wing: Grey squirrel tail or mixed bucktail, sparse

Tying: A simplified “hairwing” Silver Doctor. Wrap the blue chickabou collar before the wing so it flares around the body. Finish with a red head.

How to fish: On bright days in clear water, swing it on a floating line or light sink-tip. Mend to slow the swing. Silver-bodied flies flash in the sun and work well for fresh-run salmon and steelhead.

Recipe 2: Silver Doctor Blue Chickabou Shad Fly

• Hook: Short-shank wet fly or jig hook, #6–#8
• Bead: Silver bead or small bead-chain eyes
• Thread: Red 6/0
• Tail: Silver Doctor Blue Ewing Chickabou, short tuft, plus 2 strands silver flash
• Body: Silver flat tinsel or Mylar
• Head: Red thread, built up

Tying: Shad flies are simple. Short tail, flashy body, red head. The blue chickabou adds the color that shad seem to love in clear water.

How to fish: During spring shad runs, swing it across the current on a sinking line. Shad hold in deep runs and below dams. Let the fly swing slowly near the bottom. When you hit a school, you’ll hook fish on every few casts.