Al’s Special
For Al Knudson, any activity other than fly fishing paled by comparison. He devoted his whole life to angling in general and steelheading in particular.
Knudson left his South Dakota home as a young man in 1923 and moved to Everett, Washington. Though he found the country to his liking, reports of the wonderful angling that could be had on the Rogue and North Umpqua beckoned. In 1929 he resisted no longer, moving to Southern Oregon and making his living as a professional fly tier. At various times he resided in Grants Pass, Gold Hill, Klamath Falls and on the banks of the Rogue itself. Here Knudson fished the year round and began carving his niche in steelheading history.
A Rogue pattern he developed was the Wet Spider. Once popular on both the Rogue and Klamath rivers, it is now a standard for Washington waters. He also began experimenting with streamer flies for steelhead and was perhaps the first to do so. Though the best Rogue River fishing comes in October, Knudson began working his fly ever farther into the year until he caught December steelhead, proving to himself that the winter-run could be enticed with flies.
He periodically returned to Washington to fish the Stillaguamish and Skagit rivers and was one of the first to regularly fly fish for winter-run steelhead in that state. Al relates how the bait anglers scorned his efforts as he cast to frigid waters with his patterns. The only fish he was at first able to catch were sea-run cutthroat and Dolly Varden char. That Knudson learned about this winter angling is proven by his repeated wins in the National Field & Stream fishing contest.
After permanently moving back to Everett, he perfected his streamers into specialty flies for winter steelhead. They are huge affairs, difficult to cast, and effective when rivers are high and muddy. The White Streamer and White Marabou are the two arrived at. These and the Al's Special (pictured here and tied by Dave McNeese) were first fished in the 1930's. Other Al Knudson patterns include the Black Bear, Hot Shot and Hot Orange Champ.
Al’s Special - Tail: Red hackle fibers. Body: Yellow chenille ribbed with silver tinsel. Hackle: Red. Wing: White bucktail.
Pictured Below (click to enlarge): (1) Al Knudson wades ashore with a magnificent Stillaguamish River steelhead (Photo by Ralph Wahl), (2) Al’s Special (Tied By Dave McNeese)
