Here’s a great, bulky fall streamer pattern that pushes a lot of water to attract big trout, especially if you fish after sunset. Even better, it’s a snap to tie—even easier than a Woolly Bugger.
Tim Flagler ties his Pine Squirrel Streamer without weight, but you can add a lead-wire underbody, a set of dumbbell eyes, or a heavy cone to the front of the fly. Although Tim refers to the little foam “nubbin” at the back as “optional,” it will clearly help prevent the tail from fouling around the hook. And since you may be casting this fly in the dark, that just gives you one less thing to worry about.
Like all the fantastic videos from Tightline Productions, this one offers clear, step-by-step instructions for tying the pattern, as well as important tips that will help you when tying other patterns. Here, you’ll learn how to use just a small amount of foam to prevent fouling, how to use Zap-A-Gap to make the fly more durable, and how to keep the fibers of the zonker strip from sticking to the glue. I also love it when Tim takes his patterns out on the water to show how they work and that fish love them.
Pine Squirrel Streamer
Hook: 6X-long streamer hook (here a Lightning Strike ST5), size 4.
Rear Thread: Brown-Olive, 6/0 or 140-denier.
Tail support: 1/4-inch strip of brown craft foam.
Adhesive 1: Zap-A-Gap.
Tail and body: Sculpin Olive pine-squirrel zonker strip.
Head: Tying thread.
Adhesive 2: Head cement.