'The dry fly, the wet fly, and the nymph all enjoyed cherished places in an angler’s bag of tricks; but all except the most opinionated will agree that streamer flies and bucktails; when properly selected and employed, hook more and bigger fish more often and in more places than any other type of fly rod lure.'

—Joseph D. Bates, Jr. Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing (1966)


Streamers, and hair wing versions called bucktails, are versatile patterns that can be fished anywhere whether targeting landlocked salmon on a pristine Rangeley region Maine lake, largemouth bass swimming among the lily pads in a tepid southern farm pond, cutthroat trout inhabiting swift, western rivers or hypercritical browns in the Catskills. In this valuable reference for tiers and anglers alike, author Mike Valla collects here for the reader his favourite classics that are not only important from a historical perspective, but also work well to this day.


100 favourite patterns including: 




Allie’s Favourite
Bleeding Shiner
Brooks’s Honey Blonde
Bumblepuppy
Chief Needahbeh
Colonel Bates
Edson Tiger-Dark
Fox’s Yellow Optic Bucktail
General MacArthur
Goober
Jane Craig
Missoulian Spook
Nine-Three
Parma Belle 
Shushan Postmaster
Spruce
Supervisor
Thunder Creek Silver Shiner
Warden’s Worry

Contributions by: Mike Valla