My tying seems to go in spurts and in checking my fly boxes, it seems this is a good time for a spurt – especially in the streamer department.  I was assessing what I needed to tie for the autumn season and that go me thinking about my top streamers.

I fish a lot of streamers throughout the year but with autumn approaching, its definitely streamer time.  Everyone has their personal favorite flies including myself.  I doubt mine are more effective than any one else’s (quite possibly less) but they are the streamers I like to fish which counts for something.  So here they are:

• Wooly Bugger – must be on everyone’s list.  I tie them in olive, black and brown but the last few years it seems brown has been my preferred color.  I like a bit of brown crystal flash in the tail. Sizes range from 6-12. Of course there is always room to vary the patterns.  Here is a version I tied the other day.  I haven’t tried it yet but I am curious to see how the Krystal Hackle body works.
• Palmer Chenille Bugger – not withstanding the name, this is definitely a unique fly and one I recently posted about.  It has become one of my go to streamers.  I tie them in black, brown, olive and am trying a new orange version. These tend to be smaller than traditional buggers – size 8-10 usually
• Hamill’s Killer – despite its New Zealand origins this is a consistently good pattern for me here in Canada.  Colors include olive, yellow and orange.
• Mrs. Simpson - to me this pattern is a generic minnow imitation.  I find them tricky to tie because of the multiple wing pairs and the need to keep them tight against the body but they sure work well.
• Grizzly King - I got on to this one a couple years ago.  It has worked well for me but I seem to have a problem tying them in a way that they don’t fall apart after the first fish.  More practice I guess.

There are so many others that I say I should fish – and I may try them for a bit but I seem to revert back to these five pretty consistently.

Having said that, I can always be convinced to try something new. So, let me know what must have streamers I am missing.