Wet FlyintermediatePacific Northwest
Freight Train
$7.95
Available Sizes#2 - #6
Color Variations
Standard (purple/orange/green)
Randall Kaufmann named this fly the Freight Train because when a steelhead eats it, the experience is about as subtle. Layers of purple, orange, and fluorescent green hackle create a color palette that exists nowhere in nature except inside an artist's fever dream, and yet steelhead eat it with the conviction of someone who has been waiting their entire migration for this exact combination of hues. The Freight Train does not creep up on fish. It announces itself, dares them to respond, and they do. Repeatedly. There is no explaining this fly. There is only fishing it.
Quick Facts
TypeWet Fly
Difficultyintermediate
SeasonsSummer, Fall, Winter
Target SpeciesSteelhead, Coho Salmon
Sizes#2 - #6
Best LocationsDeschutes River, OR; North Umpqua River, OR; Rogue River, OR
Where to Fish It
Deschutes River
OR · Freestone River
North Umpqua River
OR · Freestone River
Rogue River
OR · Freestone River
Map unavailable. Locations for Freight Train: Deschutes River, OR; North Umpqua River, OR; Rogue River, OR
Related Reading
region guide
Pacific Northwest Steelhead: The Complete Guide
Steelhead are the fish of a thousand casts. In the Pacific Northwest's rainforest rivers, anglers swing intricately tied flies through emerald runs for the chance at one explosive take from a chrome-bright sea-run rainbow. This is the complete guide to the pursuit.
species science
The Great Migration: Pacific Salmon Life Cycles
Pacific salmon are born in gravel, grow in rivers, vanish into the ocean for years, then navigate thousands of miles back to the exact stream where they hatched — to spawn and die. Their lifecycle is the most dramatic story in freshwater biology, and understanding it makes you a better angler.
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