Of late, my steelhead fly fishing efforts have been confined to a two hander. But, not to be forgotten are the fly fishers that fish for steelhead and salmon via the nymphing techniques akin to trout fishing. The technique is much the same and the flies are usually bigger. The Copper Swan has been around for a few years and is best suited for nymphing as opposed to swinging the fly. The original tie shows a biot wing like the Prince Nymph. The recent versions I have seen are indicative of what happens…innovations, even improvements. That is fly tying. Even the legendary patterns have multiple versions. That is part of the fun. I did not tie these flies. I purchased them at a local fly shop and have found them good flies and even a good choice as a heavy point fly for trout in a two fly rig.
I have included a link which discusses the fly tying portion. You can see the biot tail above (like a Prince) and the two colored wire body (not woven). I like the rubber legs and stouter body on the ones above.
SwittersB & Exploring 