Corky & yarn color combos

[Steelie Ben]

Just curious as to what are your favorite color combos for winter steelies. I am particularly fond of the pearl/pink dot corky with a little bit of white and pink yarn. I know there is alot of knowledge out there on this board, just thought I would pick your brains a little.

Thanks,
Ben

[Drachir]

My all time favorite, Pearl Pink Corkie w/ White Yarn!! By far and away my most productive!! :grin:

[rcl187]

It's really dependent on the water conditions. For ultra low/clear water I've used a light or metalic pink corki with pink or red yarn with decent success but as I've found peach corkies with a very light roe (orange/peach) yarn the best. For early morning/late evening fishing I like a mix of red and light roe yarn with the glitter rainbow corkies. In limited visability its usually better to go to winged bobbers or something with a little action. Bright orange usually works best with red yarn. I've caught fish on just about every color combination so its good to experiment when things slow down or you lose alot. Just keep a stocked box.

[FearNoEvil]

i like to use a shinny red corkie that has white in the inside *on both sides* and then little black marks across the white, with a blue with green in the inside with black marks across the green with a piece of white yarn!

[spinnermaker]

Well i like 2 combos that are my go to colors.Pearl/pink with peach yarn on the NF Nehalem.On the clack i like red with green yarn.

[ChuckDog]

So now that a few of you have posted your favorite colors, what if you throw into this mix the theory / proven fact that color disappears below, say, 3 feet of water... :whazzup: Just a thought. I too have my favorite (or color I feel better about using). Do you buy this theory or do you feel they do differentiate between colors at depths below 3 or 4 feet?

[spinnermaker]

Chuckdog i test this out under water at about 7' look the to me the colors.I DON'T HAVE FISH EYES But i think the color change is at 20' or so.

[rcl187]

ChuckDog - being a fisheries major at the UW I know a little about this light transmission in water. In water about 60% of the entering light energy is absorbed in the first meter, and about 80% is gone after 10m. The long wavelenghts (red) are absorbed rapidly within this zone while the shorter wavelenghts suh as blue and green are transmitted to greater depths - over 150 m in some cases. Since most rivers we fish are well under 10 m in depth we shouldn't have to worry about colors not appearing due to light/water characteristics.

[Uncle Bob]

Color & Light & Water???
Do you want the scientific facts, then go get the book, WHAT FISH SEE by Dr. Colin Kageyama

Frank Amato Publishing, Inc.
P.O. Box 82112
Portland, Oregon 97282
503-653-8108
The book costs $19.95 and is worth every cent.

Not only do you need to consider the color of your lure, but also the color of the water and the color of the back ground. I know I'm not explaining this very well.

Using the same principle for determining whether a person is color blind and by disecting the fish eye, and examining the rods and cones and nerves, many things have been determined. Once again, the book makes it a lot more clear.

UB

[wiser]

All I can say is that a small metallic blue with orange yarn has not been scaring fish away from my line during low clear water conditions we were experiencing before this last rain. On a historcal perspective, over the years I've seen more fish caught on pink pearl, red or orange corkie than anything else. I'm not so sure what the best yarn color has been. I usually only use a very small piece of yarn. A knot big enough to pull down and hold a half hitch around a shrimp tail.

[Thumper]

Blue pearl corkies are big in the low water of the Situk in Alaska for spring steelhead.

[Alligator]

Peach colored is my favorate with white yarn.

Question. Is pearl/pink the same as peach?

Anyway I also use orange/white and red/white. I picked up ten dozen last night at Gi Joes adding a few more colors to my assortment.

[Artwo]

My go to color would have to be pink/pearl with a small piece of red yarn or black scale with a small piece of white yarn. Wiser turned me on to the metallic blue corkie using those rubber steelhead candy eggs and I enjected them with Marie's shrimp oil, they worked real well last weekend on the Sandy. Out of about twenty people fishing the hole for a four hour period, four fish were hooked, three using these rubber eggs (two of them were by me), the other was on a fly. This was the first time I've ever trid them and I will continue using them in my tackle selection.

JK

[drifter]

I have been experimenting this year with glow in the dark, fluorescent and opaques in corkies, yarn and other materials - so far with excellent results. Fly fisherman have some great stuff to play with. Getting more aggressive strike than in the past.

The best thing since "sliced bread" is GLITTER Corkies. They really make a difference.

Email me for more information. Drifter.

[FearNoEvil]

hey wiser? have you tried the metallic blue with the green in the middle on both sides with black lines across the green.. i swear by them for coho!!! if not i'll send you up a few to try they work great for me.,

[RipDatLip]

What color is that PrimeEvil?

Matt

[Fishtail]

I have 2 colors that I have found to be most successful over the years. First, is the pink pearl corkie using white yarn. This would be my favorite choice in prime water conditions where the water is a good steelhead green. My second choice is what I call the blue pearl which looks like the pink pearl but has a pale blue color instead of the pink. With this corkie I use a very, very small piece of red yarn. The blue pearl has for the most part never failed me when the pink pearl hasn't come through. I first started using the blue pearl in 1980 while fishing the Wilson river. I found one floating in an eddy and tried it.

[wiser]

I'd love some PrimeEvil. I don't care what everyone else says, you are a gentleman :smile:
email me. It's in my profile.

[ 01-10-2002: Message edited by: Wiser? ]</p>

[Trick]

Pink-pearl w/white yarn, orange with scales w/white yarn, or hot pink w/white yarn. Hard to break old habits when something works. Sometimes though I really wonder if it's more "right place at the right time" or color. I think placement is way more important.

[FearNoEvil]

hey wiser? whats everyone else saying.. ah well i dont want everyone to love me.. cant win them all :wink:

[Damien]

I would have to go with light orange with darker orange scaling. I wanted to throw something else out there about leader length when drifting. I've seen guys use as short as 1' and some that say 6' of leader is the best. I suppose that it depends on conditions but what is the best overall length of leader for drifting?

[rcl187]

18-24 inches is the best. I rarely use anything over 36 inches. A foot or less and the corkie/hook is to close to the bottom. Over 36 inches and your wasteing your line. The corkie doesn't float to much higher and your ability to detect bites decreases. I use leaders closer to 18 in reduced visibility and longer when the water is clear.

[wiser]

Right-on RCL187, 18-24 unless you're plunking in deeper water. Then up to 3 feet.

[FearNoEvil]

hey wiser do you use sliding sinker or a fixed sinker?

[wiser]

Right-on RCL187, 18-24 unless you're plunking in deeper water. Then up to 3 feet.

[wiser]

Prime Evil,
Slinky attached to the snap ed of snap swivel. Barrel end of snap swivel slides free on main line above a bead and small barrel swivel. Never fixed on a drift rig.

[Nanook]

Use the same corkie and yarn rig but try replacing your corkie with a "puff ball" and yarn sometime. Available in virtually any craft or hobby store. Come in different sizes. Real cheap, great quanity. Floats real natural. Pink/White - Red/White - Orange - Red. A total "soft" bait when they grab it, and who knows, but maybe hold it longer or hangs up in the teeth better, and it all holds scent. Best way when tying is a needle with your line attached through the ball, then the hook if tying multiple rigs or in a hurry fishing just push it on over the hook itself.

Add your yarn "fly" the way you normally do.

Run it alone, or if tied with an egg loop, drift it with eggs or shrimp as well.

Rick :smile:

-----------------
"Mission - turn off the heater"

[ 01-10-2002: Message edited by: ****** ]</p>

[wiser]

Sounds like a keeper catcher to me. My wife has some of those puff balls somewhere. Maybe now's my chance. She's out of town for a week. I can snoop through her crafts and maybe find some other good stuff.... Lets see glass beads, yarn.. Oh I better stop. ****** you're going to get me in trouble. :smile:

[FearNoEvil]

hmm.. my mom "cher" has tones of craft stuff.. i always find what i need... its like 1/4 of our house. she keeps telling me to move out so she can have my room :wink:

[Doc Spratley]

I'm not using corkies anymore. I am sold on using softer lures, especially "rags". I like hot pink and white yarn combination on my rags. Also have had some luck with hot pink and chartreuse or black and chartreuse. I think fish hold onto softer material longer allowing you more time to sense the bite. I caught a fish just before Christmas that I never would have known was on the hook until I saw the line "lifting" off the bottom, the bite was that soft. If the fish bite down on something hard like a corkie, they will drop it much more rapidly. Hey, when it's raining and cold and you are too frozen to remain mentally sharp, that extra time on a bite can be the difference between a steelhead barbeque and canned chili for dinner!

[Chris Nordling]

For the winters I like to use orange or pink corkies and various yarn colors. On the Nestucca last year I hit three fish in a row ,in the same spot, using a mutli colored yarn combo. That was pretty cool. :grin:
I think shades of colors and sizes or multiple corkies all depend on conditons of the water. My favorite combo so far this season has been a creamsicle orange and white corky (fairly small), with a small pinch of soft orange yarn ( under the egg loop, to cover the shank of the hook), loaded with shrimp scent. Very effective, especially when no one can get shrimp :grin:
The pink pearl also runs a close second, coupled with white, red or black yarn, this is great when the water seems to be "perfect". Glow pink clown with red or white or pink yarn is also another option when the steelies seem to be picky.
Good luck,

Chris :cool:

[Uncle Bob]

Doc S

You've got a valid point there

UB