Steelhead guide and author John Nagy was in Elk Creek Sports Store a few years ago when he spotted a box of impressive looking flies.

"I asked, 'Who tied these?' " recalls Nagy, who learned they were made by Greg Senyo, an Orvis-endorsed steelhead guide who grew up on Elk Creek and now lives in Holland, Ohio.

Nagy has included seven of Senyo's steelhead patterns in the latest edition of his book "Steelhead Guide: Flyfishing Techniques and Strategies for Lake Erie Steelhead, Updated and Expanded Fourth Edition" (Great Lakes Publishing), which is slated for release tomorrow. The book features 119 new recipes for eggs, nymphs, soft hackles, streamers, wooly buggers, sculpins, leeches, spey flies and tube flies.

Senyo's Wiggle Stone made the book's Deadly Dozen list, which actually is a baker's dozen of the most effective patterns for Erie streams.

"This fly is my No. 1 seller and works in all conditions, except chocolate milk," said Senyo. "It also works on other species, like trout and smallmouth bass."

The Wiggle Stone is patterned after the stonefly nymph that abounds on Great Lakes tributaries, and gets its lifelike movement from its jointed construction.

"Stoneflies cling or crawl; they don't swim. When dislodged from rocks, they move frantically, trying to find something to grab onto," said Senyo, whose Jag Fly Co. employs tiers in Ohio, Pennsylvania and Michigan. "You can vary the color of the Wiggle Stone to the species you're targeting, the conditions and the time of year. Fall steelheading would call for metallic blue, which looks like claret under water, and peacock, which is a known fish-catcher on Erie."

Although the Wiggle Stone can be presented in various ways, Senyo usually dead drifts it under an indicator. The largest steelhead it ever produced for him was a 15-plus pounder on Elk Creek. Matt Supinski of Newaygo, Mich., said Senyo, caught one close to 20 pounds on the same fly on a Lake Michigan tributary.

While the Wiggle Stone is an intermediate-to-advanced tying challenge, nothing could be simpler than the Miracle Nymph, the pattern Rod Yerger of Lawrence submitted for Nagy's book. Though half the patterns in Yerger's catalogue are Atlantic Salmon flies for anglers heading to Russia, Norway and the maritime provinces of Canada, the Miracle Nymph is one of his personal favorites for sight-fishing local waters.

"I've caught 300 trout a year on this fly on Dunbar Creek alone," said Yerger, who also fishes it for Elk and Walnut creek steelhead.

Although it's as easy to tie as a Green Weenie, he said, "It takes a little finesse to present properly. It can't be up or down. It has to be level with the fish or up to a foot on either side. The fish will eventually turn to it, which means you need to pay attention to your split shot. I use micro-split shot about 18 inches above the fly."

The tying material is what makes the Miracle Nymph effective, said Yerger, who has been in business for 30 years and does all of his own tying. "The secret is the white floss I use in the over-body. When wet, it looks real slimy. Trout and steelhead love it."

Nagy's book features his patterns and the work of 43 other tiers. He devotes an entire chapter to tube flies, featuring 28 conventional and Scandinavian patterns.

Tube flies are becoming popular with steelheaders, and many tiers are now converting other patterns, especially large streamers, to tube designs, using metal or plastic tubing available online and in fly shops.

"Tube flies have the big fly, small hook advantage," Nagy said. "You'll land 50 percent more fish because the short shank hook doesn't bend and twist like a long shank hook when you're fighting a fish, which often causes it to dislodge."

When a fish is caught on a tube fly, the fly normally disengages from the hook and slides up the leader, Nagy said. "That makes it easier to remove the hook from the fish's mouth, so it's easier on the fish, and it preserves the life of the fly, which makes it economical."

Scandinavian patterns are more innovative, Nagy said. They are tied asymmetrically, with a wing on top, in the fatback style: the wing is angled high and away from the body of the fly, which has a small head.

"It's the design I fish most often when I swing flies," Nagy said. "There's a bit of a learning curve to tying these patterns, but it's worth it."

While streamer patterns are the most effective for swinging flies, egg patterns and bead-head nymphs will always be the mainstay for dead drift presentations. A Nagy nymph pattern that even beginner tiers can master is the Candy Caddis. Jelly rope in the fly makes it a great attractor in high, slightly stained water.