Behind the Fly

Behind The Fly - RIO's Morrish Trailer Trash

Ken Morrish October 27, 2022

About Ken:

"My name is Ken Morrish and I am the co-founder and Director of Travel Sales for Fly Water Travel in Ashland, OR. In the evenings, typically between 8 and 11 PM, I am a fly tier and fly designer for RIO flies. I have had the good fortune of fishing many of the best fisheries around the world and before I travel, I always tie new patterns in the hopes of creating something special. I'm always developing new patterns with the hopes that it will help me and others succeed on the water. As a result, I have more design ideas than time to execute them all. Typically, when I return from trips, I fine-tune the patterns based on what I learned on the water."

Designing the Trailer Trash:

"In the early 2000’s when the first two-stage intruder-style patterns were leaking out to the public, I wanted to create a simple, inexpensive, large profile fly that folks could swing for steelhead and other anadromous species. The Trailer Trash is what I came up with."

Fishing the Trailer Trash:

"In 2002 I had a handful of early prototypes and my buddy Jon Hazlett invited me to check out a not often witnessed king salmon phenomenon that was occurring on the Rogue River. It was basically dark when I tied on a nightshade prototype. Then we waited, and as it was getting light enough to see Jon pointed out a large bulge of nervous water heading upstream towards us. On my second cast, my 15-foot 9-weight drew tight, and I was into something BIG. Twenty minutes later I was whipped with an amazing 40-pound chinook at my feet. A short while later, I hooked another that really spanked, but I lost it. During the fight, the trailing material had pulled loose, and I was pissed. So, the next night I reworked the design, ensuring that it would never happen again!

How and where you should fish this fly:

"It's a super versatile fly for a wide range of fishing scenarios, as long as your fishery is conducive to larger flies. The Nightshade color is my favorite for winter steelhead, the Sherbet I use a ton in the fall and spring, and the Chartreuse is my go-to for fresh kings."