StreameradvancedPacific Northwest
Popsicle
Flybox sourcing profile
No TWG price or checkout is active. Use this page to validate the fly, then source it through the mapped tier or trusted fly shops.
Pattern Ledger
Source Popsicle
Want help finding this exact pattern or a tied-to-order equivalent? Join the sourcing ledger and we will prioritize demand by water, species, and pattern.
Trusted Sourcing Ledger
Find this fly from an independent source
Exact links are published only after the product name and live page are checked. TWG does not sell the fly, set the price, or control stock, shipping, or returns.
Exact source still under review
We have not published an exact product link for this pattern yet. The directory below can help locate a regional specialist, but it is not proof that the exact fly is currently listed.
Regional source directory
Pacific Fly Fishers
Matched on Pacific Northwest, streamer flies, steelhead. Pacific Northwest shop with a large online catalog and steelhead/trout regional relevance.
Alaska Fly Fishing Goods
Matched on streamer flies, steelhead, intruder. Alaska-specific fly shop with fly categories for trout, char, grayling, salmon, and steelhead.
Schultz Outfitters
Matched on streamer flies, steelhead, steelhead. Michigan and Great Lakes shop lead for steelhead, trout, and smallmouth patterns.
Fulling Mill Flies
Matched on streamer flies, steelhead, broad catalog. Large pattern house with broad freshwater and saltwater fly categories.
These are independent businesses. A listing does not imply endorsement or partnership. TWG currently receives no purchase commission from these links. Any future paid or affiliate relationship will be labeled beside the relevant link.
Ed Ward looked at the Intruder he had already created and apparently decided it needed to be louder. The Popsicle takes the same articulated platform and dresses it in layers of orange, cerise, and hot pink that would make a sunset feel self-conscious. In the green-gray water of a Pacific Northwest winter, these colors create a thermal signature that steelhead cannot ignore. Science has not fully explained why a chrome-bright ocean fish that has stopped eating responds to something resembling a melted popsicle, but the catch records speak for themselves. Sometimes the fish know things neuroscience does not.
Quick Facts
Where to Fish It
Skagit River
WA · Spey River
Hoh River
WA · Coastal Stream
Sandy River
OR · Coastal Stream
Loading map...
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
Chrome and Current: The Science of Steelhead
Steelhead are rainbow trout that went to sea and came back transformed — chrome-bright, ocean-strong, and wired with a grab reflex that makes them eat flies they have no biological reason to eat. Understanding the science behind the chrome changes how you fish for them.
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.
You Might Also Like
StreameradvancedThe Intruder
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#2 - #1/0 (trailing hook)
Tier reference: John Kreft
The modern steelhead fly. Long shank, trailing hook, maximum movement. Swung on a spey rod through winter runs.
Steelhead
StreamerbeginnerEgg Sucking Leech
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#4 - #8
Marabou leech with a fluorescent egg head. Dead-drifted or swung. Catches everything that swims in the Pacific Northwest.
Steelhead · Rainbow Trout · Chinook Salmon · Coho Salmon
StreamerbeginnerBunny Leech
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#2 - #8
Rabbit strip leech in dark colors. Cone head for sink rate. The simple, deadly streamer that bridges the gap between fly and lure.
Steelhead · Rainbow Trout · Sea-Run Cutthroat
StreamerbeginnerFlash Fly
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#1/0 - #4
All-flash streamer for salmon and steelhead in off-color water. Flashabou over a weighted hook. Maximum visibility, minimal pretense.
Chinook Salmon · Coho Salmon · Steelhead
StreamerintermediateNightshade
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#2 - #6
Dark, sparse steelhead swinging fly. Black and purple materials with minimal flash. Designed for clear water and pressured fish.
Steelhead
StreamerintermediateMuddler Minnow
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#2 - #10
Don Gapen's legendary sculpin imitation. Spun deer hair head, turkey wing, gold tinsel body. Floated, swung, or stripped -- versatile beyond reason.
Rainbow Trout · Steelhead · Sea-Run Cutthroat · Smallmouth Bass