If you want the best shot at catching large predatory fish, then fly fishing with a streamer will arguably give you the best chances for catching huge trout. This is true for other predatory game fish as well. Big fish like big meals!
At some point in a trout's life, they reach a tipping point in their lifecycle. They stop eating insects and start eating other fish. These are the fish that serious streamer anglers are after. Fish that come every couple of hundred and maybe even thousand casts. To me, a trophy trout on a streamer is any fish between 22" and 30". Fish that eat other fish.
In this article I am going to cover 12 of my favorite streamer patterns, how to fish them, and how to rig them. Before we get into that list, I am going to discuss the characteristics I look for when choosing a streamer pattern.
Streamer Pattern Characteristics
First and foremost, size is important. I prefer to fish large streamers in the 3" to 7" range. Most of the streamers that I choose are on average 5" in length.
The size of the fly is important for several reasons. First, streamer fishing is the art of imitating baitfish or other terrestrial forage items like rats with artificial flies. While predatory fish will eat small minnows, we are looking for large trout that eat other sizable fish, like sculpin or other trout. Juvenile trout in the three to seven inch range are the perfect size forage item for these kings of their domains. They offer the right amount of calories in a single meal. Plus, fish in this size range will often provoke other larger fish to attack them with territorial strikes, even when they are not actively feeding.
Choosing a pattern with natural materials that move well in the water is critical too. Unlike conventional lures that have lips to add movement to a lure on the retrieve, flies lack the added appendages. Therefore, streamer patterns tied with rabbit hair, fox hair, marabou, rubber legs, schlappen hackle, and synthetic furs all create lots of movement when retrieved aggressively and manipulated with the rod tip with aggressive strips. While not necessary, articulated patterns add even more movement with additional swimming action.
Streamers tied with mass is important too. Tightly packed deer hair heads with dumbbell eyes, or synthetic heads with lots of material through the body portion of the fly pushes water as it moves through the water column. When a baitfish, sculpin or smaller trout, swims, they displace water and emit a signature. Similar to sonar, trout can detect this. Sound and vibration emissions helps them to identify and find food. Streamers that push water in a similar manner will attract predatory fish. This is particularly true for anglers that fish at night. Mice patterns and extra large streamers are important at attracting nocturnal trout that hunt for the largest of food sources.
With that out of the way, below is a review of 12 of my favorite streamer patterns in no particular order. These are patterns that I enjoy fishing, and work for me day in and day out. If you have other patterns you think should be on this list, please comment below!
My Favorite Streamer Patterns
Sex Dungeon
Kelly Galloup is a streamer fishing legend. He is one of pioneers of the large streamer revolution. In particular, the articulated streamer. His Sex Dungeon pattern is wickedly effective, and proven to be one of my all time most productive streamer patterns.
Tied with a deer hair head and articulated streamer body, the schlappen hackle and marabou tail gives this fly tons of movement in the water. It comes in a variety of colors: orange, yellow, brown, green, black and white. This makes it ideal for imitating a wide variety of forage species. Not only does it work for trout, but I have excellent luck fishing the orange color on a sinking line for bass in areas where crayfish are present.
There is no wrong way to fish this streamer. I have caught trout on large tailwater rivers, underneath dam outlets nymphing this pattern similar to nymphing flesh flies in Alaska. The most popular way to fish the sex dungeon is on a sinking line with a short leader. Make a presentation slightly upstream of 90 degrees, mend, and really use the rod tip to jerk and manipulate this fly on the retrieve. The deer hair head with dumbbell eyes gives the fly neutral buoyancy, so it flutters and moves similar to a conventional jerk bait.
Kreelax
The Kreelax is a phenomenal fly that slays fish. It is versatile. It works well for trout, bass, salmon, steelhead and inshore saltwater species. The profile is similar to a clouser minnow, but is tied with a little more mass and a shiny synthetic material called kreelax. This, in conjunction with the heavy dumbbell lead eyes gives the fly an incredible vertical action when quickly stripped back to the angler.
The best way to fish this pattern for me, is to make a cast just above 90 degrees to my position, throw in an aggressive upstream mend when the fly makes contact with the water. This first mend allows the fly gain depth immediately, and the fly isn't dragged by the rivers current. The up and down jigging action of this fly is what really attracts fish to strike, so it is important that the fly has plenty of opportunity to jig up and down. Make quick, medium length strips with a pause in between on the retrieve. Allow the kreelax to swing at the end of the drift, as this will often receive strikes too.
Sparkle Minnow
A friend of mine turned me onto the sparkle minnow, and it has been one of my more effective flies for catching aggressive brown trout in the fall months. Tied out of marabou and shiny sparkle brush, the fly imitates sculpins.
The thicker body of the sparkle brush pushes water well, and the marabou tail gives this fly a realistic swimming action. It too is versatile, and will also work for warm water species as well. I use the gold and white version for trout. The black and purple or solid silver versions have caught bass for me too. It incorporates a tungsten head which gets this fly deep.
This is one of those fly patterns that can be fished in many different ways. With the tungsten head, it is an excellent fly to nymph dead drifted. It can also be fished on the swing too, similar to how you would swing flies to salmon or steelhead.
For me, this fly stands out in extra fast water. I like to make a presentation slightly upstream and across from my position. Using a medium sink tip fly line, and three to four feet of 20 lbs straight mono leader, I throw an aggressive mend into the line in conjunction with a reach cast. The tungsten cone head punches through the faster surface water, and gets the fly down to the fish. Strip it back to you varying the retrieve in both length and speed.
Name Changer
It is rare that a fly tier creates a new pattern or style of fly that truly revolutionizes fly fishing. Most of the time, new patterns are just old variations of the old ones. This fly was invented with multiple segments
Swimbaits have been gaining popularity for many years with conventional fisherman. Anglers that consistently catch large fish understand that it requires large baits to do so. Swimbaits are often their tool of choice with their size, natural movement and large profile. The game changer is fly fishing's version of a swim bait. The multi segmented body and changer chenille create a solid body profile that resembles natural forage in size, movement, and profile.
This fly comes in various sizes and the larger versions require a large rod in the 8 to 10 weight range. It can be fished in both rivers and lakes. It works well for salmon, trout, steelhead, muskie, bass, and just about any other gamefish that eats other fish. Similar to other articulated flies, using the rod tip to aggressively manipulate the fly allows the angler to simulate a swimming fish or dying forage fish. When conditions call for this type of presentation, then this is your fly.
Woolly Bugger
The woolly bugger is a classic fly patterns that has been around for years. There are many versions of this classic fly: coneheads, rubber legs, articulated and just about any other modification you can think of has been added to this pattern. No matter where or what you are fishing for, this streamer works well for smallmouth bass, trout, and even carp. It is a classic because it works.
One of my favorite ways to fish the woolly bugger is to nymph it under an indicator. This has worked well for me early in the season during the salmon fly hatch. Nymphing a black woolly bugger deep along banks makes this pattern a good alternative to a Pat's rubber leg, which is what 95% of the other anglers are usually fishing. The bugger allows you to present a different look to unsuspecting trout.
The woolly bugger is also a phenomenal fly for small mouth bass. Depending on what color it is tied in, it can represent small crayfish, hellgrammites, and bait fish. The smaller sizes of this pattern can be fished with effective results on a lighter 5 and 6 weight rods, making this fly a excellent pattern for every angler.
Double Bunny
The Double Bunny is a product of Jackson Hole Fly tier Scott Sanchez. It came to prominence by winning the prestigious Jackson Hole One Fly competition several years in a row. It is a simple, yet effective streamer pattern.
Tied on single hook, with a rabbit fur strip on the top and one rabbit strip on the bottom of the hook, it moves incredibly well in the current. The barbell weighted eyes help get the fly to depth. This fly can imitate a variety of baitfish, whether it's juvenile trout, sculpin, or even shad. It also works well in loud, bright, attractor colors too.
I have had the most luck fishing the double bunny by casting to banks, mending immediately so the fly can gain depth, and then using medium to short strips with a longer pause in between strips. The longer pause allows the fly to flutter and drift in the current similar to a wounded or dying fish.
Zoo Cougar
The zoo cougar is another brainchild of Montana streamer legend Kelly Galloup. The larger version of this fly is tied in the 5"-6" range. It has a tightly packed deer hair head which is similar to the Sex Dungeon.
What sets the zoo cougar apart, is that it is unweighted, and it is not an articulated streamer. When cast to the bank and manipulated with quick strips and violent rod tip jerks, this fly acts very similar to traditional jerk bait.
Because it is unweighted, the flies deer hair head gives it slightly positive buoyancy which allows it to swim erratically followed by a slow climb vertical in the water column. This unique swimming action will trigger reactionary strikes. It is critical to fish this fly on a sinking line in order to achieve the correct swimming action.
Gonga
The Gonga is an extremely popular fly in here in Colorado. After all, it was created by the legendary fly tyer Charlie Craven from Denver. While the woolly bugger is one of the most effective streamers of all time, it is more of an impressionistic pattern. Charlie Craven has improved on the positive attributes of woolly bugger by adding additional detail to make the fly better.
For starters, the profile represents a sculpin incredibly well. Schlappen hackle, silly legs and ton of marabou help to give this streamer an excessive amount of natural movement in the water. Movement is critical to creating an effective pattern that trout notice. The head is tied out of polar fibre which helps give this fly negative buoyancy. Negative buoyancy allows the fly to sink with out adding a ton of weight to the fly or using a sinking fly line.
These examples of the Gonga fly are from Fly Fisherman tying recipe for the Gonga that you can read here.
Zonker Minnow
If you need a pattern that can effectively imitate small baitfish, then it is hard to beat the zonker minnow. This fly works in a variety of situations. The rabbit strip fur and pearl body material makes this an attractive fly. While the zonker lacks the size and complexity of other streamers on the list. I like it for a two specific reasons.
First, it can be fished on a smaller fly rod. This makes it ideal for anglers who don't have multiple fly rods or larger rods needed to effectively present some of the larger streamers on this list. It works well for bass, panfish, and trout. Second, when fishing tailwater fisheries, this is my go to streamer that I like to nymph in tandem with other flies.
On the Box Canyon section of the Henry's Fork River in Idaho, a zonker minnow presented as your point fly with a small zebra midge behind it as the second fly is a deadly combination. I set this up in a similar manner to how you would fish a traditional two fly nymph rig. Adding split shot to the rig is often required for getting the flies to depth. Cast up stream and nymph this pattern the way you would nymph a traditional two fly nymph rig. Let the drift fully play out and then swing the flies to the surface of the water. Hold it there for a second or two.
Morrish Mouse
Whether you fishing in Alaska or Arkansas, veteran big brown junkies know that fishing mice patterns are effective at fooling the biggest fish in the river. I cannot think of a more fun way to fly fish, then to skate mice across the surface of a river. Of course the most effective time to catch the biggest fish in the river is in the middle of the night. This adds an additional element of angling excitement.
Mousing has exploded in popularity, and there are now many mice patterns in the fly shop bends. A lot of standard patterns in the fly shop look great but don't work super well. The reason they aren't super effective is that they fail to push enough water to emit a large enough signature for trout to find them in the darkness of the night.
The Morrish Mouse is the best mouse pattern I have ever fished. It incorporates a large amount of water pushing deer hair, that is splayed out in a wide oval shape. The hair in conjunction with the foam head and upper body push a ton of water which allows large trout to sense the flies presence.
I fish mouse patterns on a floating line. Target areas of lakes and rivers that are next to grassy fields. This is where a majority of mice live, and thus fall haphazardly into the water. Cast the fly with an aggressive presentation to make a loud noise when it makes contact with the river's surface. You need a to hear a loud slap when the fly hits the water. Mice will instinctively freeze for a second or two and then start swimming. Let the fly hit the water and pause for a 1 to 2 second count. Then start your retrieve.
My most productive presentation is to keep in the mouse in continual motion, as most mice will start swimming and not stop until they are eaten or make it to dry land. This could be quick strips without a pause in between, or lift the rod tip and continually skate the fly back to you while simultaneously stripping in excess slack.
Drunk and Disorderly
The Drunk and Disorderly, or D&D as it is sometimes known, is a massive fly. Here's an article from Orvis News on this fly pattern. The larger versions of this fly are tied in longer lengths of 7"-8" inches. This is a big fish fly, and it works equally well for large trout as well as pike and musky.
The majority of this articulated streamer is deer hair. What sets it apart from other streamers is the shape of the head. The flat almost shovel like deer hair head is tightly packed and sealed with glue or head cement. This allows the fly to swim in the most erratic of motions upon retrieval. It dips, glides, and rolls in the random ways, and this in conjunction with its large size is what really grabs a fishes attention.
I like fishing this streamer in medium to medium slow water, and it is one of my favorite patterns to fish from a raft or drift boat. Casting to banks allowing it to drift over transition zones from shallow to deep water is an effective way to catch fish. Fishing this fly on a sink tip is a must do, to ensure that it gets to proper depth.
Boogie Man
The Boogieman Streamer is another Galloup pattern that attracts big trout. Tied similar to the sex dungeon, it is an articulated streamer with eye catching mallard flank feathers tied in for extra contrast.
Tied with a synthetic head and weighted eyes, the fly sinks and gets to depth quicker then it's cousin the sex dungeon or zoo cougar. In addition, it moves in a side to side manner that closely resembles the way sculpin naturally swim.
I like to fish the boogie man on a sinking fly line. This is an especially productive fly when fished in fast moving water. The denser material allows this streamer to absorb water, and in conjunction with the lead eyes, will get the fly down deep to slower water. It can be fished on a sinking or floating fly line, and I like to fish it with a 7 weight fast action fly rod.
