908 | Fishing Smaller Flies for Great Lakes Steelhead and Salmon with Alex Belonga

What if the key to catching Great Lakes steelhead isn't bigger, flashier flies—but smaller, more subtle ones? In this deep dive, Alex Belonga, a fly tyer from St. Ignace, Michigan, challenges the modern obsession with bulky 'intruder' patterns. He argues that flies like the Munker—featuring a wide deer head, sparse hair, and a zonker wing—create more effective water displacement and better fish attraction than traditional heavy flies. Belonga shares how he’s shifted from mass-producing flies to focusing on education, using his new outdoor shed to create tutorials. He reveals that natural, baitfish-matching colors like black copper Kelly green outperform flashy patterns in tough conditions, and that even small, sparse flies like temple dogs and hair wings can outfish big, bulky ones due to better casting and presentation. The episode also explores the unique ecosystem of the St. Mary’s Rapids, where Atlantic salmon, steelhead, coho, and even sturgeon coexist, and how the Great Lakes offer a rare global diversity of species in one region. Belonga’s philosophy? Less is more—both in fly size and in life priorities, as he now balances family, business, and fly fishing with intention.