What Are Streamers?

Often beginner fly anglers will wonder about some of the terminology that is used in fly fishing. Perhaps they may hear something like, “I caught that trout on a streamer” and wonder, what is a streamer?

It wouldn’t be surprising if the beginner thought a streamer had something to do with streams. But no, this is not the case. In fly fishing, there are five major categories of flies that are used. Of course, there are some patterns which are not easily categorized into these, but they are: Dry flies, nymphs, wet flies, terrestrials, and streamers.

Streamers are those flies that use a long (relatively speaking) amount of usually feather(s) to make a tail on the fly. Tying material such a bucktail can also be used, but many fly tiers and anglers call these “bucktails” to differentiate between those made of a feather or other soft material and those made from hair or fur.

Some dry fly purists and others that seldom use streamer flies refer to them as “lures” in a derogatory way. But you shouldn’t feel any dishonor if you fish streamers and have success with them. They represent and mimic bait fish, leeches, crayfish and other subsurface aquatic food that fish eat.

When you consider that fish consume over 90% of their diet from subsurface life including other fish, leeches and crayfish, it’s actually pretty smart to fish streamers and other flies that are meant to represent this aquatic life. You’ll likely catch more fish than the dry fly purist. And if you are teased about using these types of flies, remember the words of the famous and highly respected Irish Judge, T. C. Kingsmill Moore. Mr. Moore was one of the most learned men about the sport of fly fishing, and in his book, “A Man May Fish,” he writes,

“Some anglers have what seems to me an illogical objection to using a fly in this way. Why it should be more sportsmanlike to catch a fish by imitating an insect than by imitating some other form of life I never understood.”

If the great Kingsmill Moore has no problem with imitating bait fish, crayfish and leeches, I certainly don’t either, and neither should you.

There are a number of very effective streamer fly patterns available that you should try. One such pattern that is considered a classic and takes many fish is the Mickey Finn. Before 1936, this fly was simply called the “Yellow & Red Bucktail.” However, in 1936, American writer John Alden Knight went to Toronto for a fly fishing trip with Greg Clark. On that trip, this fly was so successful, that Clark dubbed it the “Mickey Finn” after a popular alcoholic drink which was rumored to have killed Rudolph Valentino. Clark figured the fly was as deadly on fish as the Mickey Finn drink was on Valentino.

Other excellent streamer patterns include Ian James’ “Blue Thunder,” and my own “The Malteser.” Stevie Munn’s “Black & Blue Jam Fly“ has proven effective on Dollaghan, Salmon and other trout. The “Mini Brown” which was originally developed by Peter Charles is another example of an effective streamer fly pattern.

If you’re just learning fly fishing techniques, you will most definitely want to familiarize yourself with streamer fly patterns. And don’t worry about what those so called “dry fly purists” say.

If all you do is learn about dry fly fishing, you’ll miss out on a lot of fish catching opportunities! Be sure to learn more about the different categories of fly patterns, and perhaps you’ll even develop a passion for fly tying.