3 Essential Tips for Tying Big Streamers That Catch More Fish
With: baitbucketflies
If there’s one thing that makes a streamer junkie’s heart skip a beat, it’s a well-tied fly with the perfect swim. So, we tracked down Jeff—a guy whose Instagram is packed with some of the cleanest, fishiest streamer patterns you’ll ever see. He’s been at the vise since he was a teenager, drawing inspiration from legends like Larry Dahlberg and Kelly Galloup. We talked about his approach to tying, how he fine-tunes patterns for specific fishing situations, and what’s next on his bench.
Jeff, your Instagram is filled with impressive streamer patterns. What first drew you to tying streamers, and how did you get started?
I started tying pretty young, probably around 13 years old, but I really started getting serious about it around 15 years ago after seeing what guys like Larry Dahlberg and Kelly Galloup were doing. Brown trout, bull trout, and pike were all readily accessible to me and all would eat a big streamer so it just evolved from there.
When tying big streamers, what are your three key tips that every angler should keep in mind to ensure they’re effective on the water?
1. Less is more. Too many materials or too much bulk will affect everything from fly action, to castability, to hook up percentage. Choose materials that create and maintain the profile you want, that also shed water and won’t interfere with your ability to set the hook.
2. Know your forage species and imitate them. Everyone expects a picky trout to count the tails on your sunken spinner pattern before committing but still eat a kreelex minnow. I treat streamer tying the same way someone like Shane Stalcup (if you don’t know who that is do yourself a favour and look him up - RIP) approaches tying a mayfly cripple to match a hatch. If the predominant forage is lake chubs or whitefish, I want to tie a pattern that matches the size, profile, and location in the water column that the forage species is. I also keep in mind that some of the forage may be a different color when spawning at certain times of the year. That’s not to say a pike that’s eating suckers won’t hit a chartreuse deciever, but to me that’s like throwing a foam hopper during a midge hatch.
3. Test your flies. Cast them, swim them, and make the required adjustments at the vise.
Your attention to detail in your streamer designs is incredible. Can you walk us through your process when you’re coming up with a new pattern?
I’m a fly tyer over fly designer and I can’t take credit for most of the patterns I tie. What I try to do is take an existing platform like tandem streamer or a gamechanger, and adapt it to a specific fishing situation. How big of a baitfish are you imitating, how deep do you need to fish, etc. Then I sit down at the vise and try to come up with ways to match the fly to the situation.
Fly tying can be a creative and meditative process. How has it influenced your connection to fly fishing, and what’s been the most rewarding part of it for you?
I’m a creative person and I’ve always needed some kind of outlet for that creativity. It can be art or music or fly tying, I just happen to be better at tying than the other two. I think anyone can understand the satisfaction of catching a fish on a fly you tied yourself, but it’s also made me see and appreciate all the forage fish species that we typically overlook. Many of these have far more interesting survival strategies and adaptations than our target species. Look at sticklebacks for example - they build a nest like a bird and look after their young.
Looking ahead, what’s next for you in your fly tying journey? Are there any new techniques or patterns you’re excited to explore?
Many of the watersheds I fish in Alberta are under threat from invasive species. Northern Crayfish and Prussian Carp have really exploded in the last few years. While this will almost certainly turn out to be an ecological disaster, I’m interested so see how it changes forage habits of gamefish in the near term. I’ll definitely be working on some crayfish and carp imitations. Outside of that I’m just looking forward to everything the upcoming season has to offer.
