The Best Streamer Patterns in Fly Fishing

by John Krutz

Streamer fishing is one of my favorite early and late season methods of fly-fishing. These are the times when trout seem more interested in larger meals, so streamer are fishing is often my method of choice. However, just like all other times in fly fishing choosing the proper streamer pattern is often the key to success. Here are my top five streamer patterns, including a wooly bugger.

Now it is hard to beat a wooly bugger in any type of subsurface fishing, but fishing a wooly bugger or any of its variations like a streamer is hard to beat. Wooly buggers in black, brown and olive are my favorite colors, and I will fish them from sizes 4 to a 10. Also some of favorite variations of this fly, like an egg sucking leach are my go to flies for steelhead.

My next go to streamer would be a zonker. I have had great success using zonkers in the past few years. The rabbit strip on the back of the fly give it great action under the water and considering it is a relatively new pattern (some patterns have been around for over one hundred years) it is already a favorite among fly fishermen. I prefer this pattern with either a white or black bunny strip and normally fish this in sizes 4 to 8.

My next fly is a classic streamer pattern, the muddler minnow. Muddler minnows have a cone shaped head made from deer or elk hair that give the streamer some unique attributes. First the larger head shape of the body allows the fly to push more water under the surface then other streamers, this aids in attracting fish to the fly. The other attribute the large head provides is the capability of floating. Deer and elk hair are very buoyant so this fly can be swung right on the waters surface. This is a great technique for nighttime anglers.

The last two patterns in my top five streamer patterns are going to clumped together because they are such classics. A black ghost and the mickey finn are two patterns that have stood the test of time, and with all patterns that have stood the test of time, they work. A Black ghost has the great contrast of white and black, and the mickey finn provides some great flash and bright colors. Both of these patterns can be very productive and are a must have for any fly fisherman.

There are so many streamer patterns to choose from when fly-fishing, but you should always keep the above-mentioned patterns in your fly box. Streamers are the perfect choice when targeting large fish, and these streamer patterns produce.