the Tailout May 2020 tailout_may2020finalx | Page 22

Yarnies:
SIMPLE AND EFFECTIVE, YET CONFUSING AND CONVOLUTED.
BY JASON BROOKS
IMAGINE A STEELHEAD HOLDING
TIGHT against a bank. Having just left
the ocean it is several miles upriver.
Its instincts to feed are still strong, yet
its body is going through a physiolog-
ical change where its sole purpose is
to reach its spawning grounds. Now
place yourself in the scenario. You
have a small ball of yarn tied onto
a size 4 hook. It is connected to a
leader and a small weight system.
You’re standing knee deep in the river
opposite from where the steelhead
is holding. You cast slight upstream
and your weight touches the river
bottom. The current carries your
yarn ball and weight downstream.
The yarn ball has a scent that hints
of sand shrimp. As the river current
carries it downriver the movement
catches the attention of the steelhead.
It moves slightly toward the middle
of the river. The ball of yarn reminds
it of a cluster of eggs that it gorged
on as a smolt. The scent is similar to
the krill and shrimp it ate as in the
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SALMON
& STEELHEAD JOURNAL
THE TAILOUT
ocean as an adult. Instinct kicks in
and the steelhead opens its mouth
and swallows the yarn ball. You react
instinctively and set the hook. Sud-
denly without warning the steelhead
propels itself from the river bottom
into the air and your rod is bent into
the shape of a rainbow.
Welcome to the simplicity and
effectiveness of the Yarnie.
It’s difficult to pinpoint the first
person who invented Yarnies but it’s
a safe bet their origin was derived
from drift fishing a small drift bobber
and a tuft a yarn. The drift bobber,
in most cases a Corkie, was used for
buoyancy, and the piece of yarn was
secured through a bait loop onto
the hook. The yarn served several
purposes. It was there to give the
lure setup a larger profile, and it was
speculated that steelhead saw the col-
ored yarn easier. The tuft of yarn also
helped steelhead anglers hook more
fish. In theory when a fish mouthed
the Corkie and yarn setup, the yarn