Wet FlyintermediatePacific Northwest
Freight Train
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.
Available Sizes#2 - #6
Color Variations
Standard (purple/orange/green)
Pattern Ledger
Source Freight Train
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.
Sourcing Ledger
Where to source this pattern
TWG checkout is closed. These are current sourcing leads, scored by mapped tier, region, species, fly type, and named-pattern evidence. Confirm availability directly with the tier or shop.
Regional shopStrong match
Pacific Fly Fishers
Matched on Pacific Northwest, wet flies, steelhead. Pacific Northwest shop with a large online catalog and steelhead/trout regional relevance.
Pacific Northwestwet fliessteelhead
Visit sourceBroad sourceStrong match
Big Y Fly Co.
Matched on wet flies, salmon, wet. Broad by-type catalog useful for common benchmark patterns and inexpensive backups.
wet fliessalmonwet
Visit sourceRegional shopStrong match
Schultz Outfitters
Matched on wet flies, steelhead, steelhead. Michigan and Great Lakes shop lead for steelhead, trout, and smallmouth patterns.
wet fliessteelhead
Visit sourceBroad sourceBroad match
Fulling Mill Flies
Matched on wet flies, salmon, broad catalog. Large pattern house with broad freshwater and saltwater fly categories.
wet fliessalmonbroad catalog
Visit sourceBroad sourceBroad match
Orvis Fly Catalog
Matched on wet flies, salmon, broad catalog. Broad retail catalog for standard trout, warmwater, salmon/steelhead, and saltwater patterns.
wet fliessalmonbroad catalog
Visit sourceRandall 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.
You Might Also Like
Wet FlyintermediateBoss
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#2 - #8
Virgil Sullivan's steelhead and salmon pattern. Black chenille body, fluorescent orange tail, silver rib. An Oregon standard since the 1960s.
Black/Orange
Steelhead · Chinook Salmon · Coho Salmon
SprSumFallWin
Source & Details →
Wet FlyintermediateGreen Butt Skunk
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#4 - #1/0
Classic steelhead wet fly. Fluorescent green butt, white wing, black hackle. The Pacific Northwest standard.
Standard (green/black/white)
Steelhead · Coho Salmon
SprSumFallWin
Source & Details →
Wet FlyintermediateGeneral Practitioner
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#2 - #8
Esmond Drury's classic British salmon fly adapted for Pacific steelhead. Orange hackle, golden pheasant tippet collar, prawn-like silhouette.
OrangeYellowRed
Steelhead · Chinook Salmon
SprSumFallWin
Source & Details →
Wet FlyintermediatePurple Peril
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#4 - #8
Ken McLeod's classic Northwest steelhead fly. Purple body, brown hackle, silver tinsel rib. A Washington State legend since the 1940s.
Purple/Brown
Steelhead
SprSumFallWin
Source & Details →
Wet FlyintermediateComet
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#2 - #8
Classic salmon and steelhead pattern with a gold tinsel body, orange hackle collar, and gold bead chain eyes. Dates to the early 20th century.
Orange/GoldRed/GoldGreen/Gold
Chinook Salmon · Coho Salmon · Steelhead
SprSumFallWin
Source & Details →
Wet FlyintermediateAlaska Mary Ann
FlyboxFind a tier or trusted source
Pacific Northwest
#2 - #6
Frank Dufresne's classic salmon pattern with a tinsel body and polar bear wing. Originally designed for Alaska, equally deadly in the PNW.
Silver/WhiteGold/White
Chinook Salmon · Coho Salmon · Steelhead
SprSumFallWin
Source & Details →