Streamer flies are a Maine tradition Use enables lots of action for anglers

Fly fishermen are a unique breed of angler. Devout, died-in-the-wool fly casters would rather go home fishless than sully their reputation by using bait. A few will stoop to using lures or plugs, but many won’t even venture into that shaded area. Once converted, fly casters are dedicated to their sport, and at no time is this more obvious than during spring trolling season.

During April, May, and even June in the Crown of Maine, trolling streamer flies is a way of life for Maine anglers. For two or three weeks after ice out, fish respond readily to sewn smelt, hard baits and lures, but the water temperature is still a bit cold for flies. Nonetheless, hard-core fly fishers troll tandem streamers with faith, hope and devotion. A few will trail a Rapala as well as the streamer, but even that is attached to a fly rod.

The theory is simple: fooling a gamefish into striking a fly, especially one tied by the angler is a great accomplishment, and playing and landing the fish on lightweight equipment is a thrill and challenge that overshadow any other styles of fishing. Some consider this an elitist attitude, while others would rather catch more fish, regardless of the technique. But the fact remains more sportsmen are taking up fly fishing each year.

If you’re considering taking up fly fishing, one of the simplest methods is trolling, and that particular sport is in prime time right now. Trolling tactics are fairly simple and just about any light to middle weight rod and reel will suffice. The crux of trolling success lies in the understanding of streamer fly patterns; their colors, sizes, materials and presentation. This style of fishing is a big part of Maine’s angling heritage.

Streamer fly history

Centuries ago our ancestors created the first fly by haphazardly affixing chicken feathers and wool to a bare hook, and it worked. From that point forward the mystery and mastery of fly fishing engulfed many an angler. Maine lakes have been renowned for their salmon and trout trolling since the turn of the century, and anglers from throughout the world flocked to our state to fly fish. It’s no surprise, therefore, that many of the world’s best known and productive streamer flies were created right here in Maine.

The Gray Ghost, arguably the most famous and dependable of streamer patterns was created on July 1, 1924, by Mrs. Carrie Stevens of Upper Dam, Maine. Tied to resemble a smelt, this was one of the premier imitation patterns, and Mrs. Stevens proved its reliability during the first hour of its testing by landing several fish, including a 6-pound, 13-ounce brook trout that took first prize in the Field & Stream magazine’s annual competition. Carrie originated at least 20 other popular streamer patterns, one a very colorful fly, one of the first attractor patterns, called a Colonel Bates. Many believe its trolling and casting effectiveness to be second only to the gray ghost.

Other well-known streamers created in the Pine Tree State include the Supervisor (1925), the Lady Doctor (1926), and the Warden’s Worry (1930), all by Joe Stickney of the Rangeley region. The Supervisor rivals the Gray Ghost as a smelt imitator. William Edson, also of the Rangeley area, created the well-known light and dark Edson Tigers. Three other streamers from Maine that have endured the test of time are the Ballou Special by A.U. Ballou, the horizontal winged Nine-three by Dr. J.H. Sunburn, and the Black Ghost by Herb Welch.

Feather Wing Favorites

Almost all of the aforementioned celebrated streamer patterns were created between 1920 and 1930, and it should be noted that nearly all are feather-wing patterns. Feathers have a certain flow and natural motion as they glide through the water, and these lifelike undulations are very seductive to fish. Combine the length and shape of a well-tied streamer fly to its particular movement when trolled and it’s simple to understand their effectiveness. The use of silver tinsel to add flash and jungle cock to give the impression of eyes and the fly nearly comes to life.

Early streamer flies were all tied on single, long-shank hooks, known now as Carrie Stevens hooks. The normal hook size for river and lake streamers are Nos. 2 to 10, and the shank length runs 2X to 8X. The size to be used, then and now, is totally dependent upon pattern, water depth and coloration, and personal preference. The pattern to be tied is consistently based on angler preference and past experience, since certain flies produce better on specific lakes and a rare few seem to take fish regularly regardless of conditions and location.

It’s a rare thing to see, let alone use, Carrie Stevens-style streamers anymore. A few old-time anglers still occasionally troll a long-shank single out of tradition more than effectiveness. Almost all current streamers tied for trolling big water are tandem style. A tandem streamer has a front hook and a back hook connected with wire or heavy monofilament. The fly ends up being the same length as a single long shank, but with two barbs it offers a much better chance of hooking a fish that strikes short or hits the head of a fly.

Tandems are less rigid than single-hook streamers, and therefore produce a flexible, more lifelike movement while trolled, and this realism induces more strikes. Front and back hooks may be different sizes and some tiers prefer to have the rear hook face upward, with the assumption less strikes are missed and hookups are more solid. Variables for building tandem streamers are many, so once again it’s each to his own when buying or tying.

The theory for tandems, as well as Carrie Stevens style streamers, remains big fly for big fish. Most trolling streamers are three to four inches long, which may seem large, but an average live smelt is twice that length. A wide selection of feather-wing favorites of varied color and size should adorn every serious troller’s fly box. Imitation patterns must include the Gray Ghost, Nine-three, Black Ghost, Golden Darter, Colonel Bates, Barnes Special and Supervisor. Feather wing attractor patterns to stock would be Ouananuche Sunset, Grand Laker, Spruce, Morning Glory and Red Ghost.

Bountiful Bucktails

With the advent of tandem streamers came a noticeable increase in flies tied with hair wings, especially bucktail, and a decline in new feather-wing creations. Thanks to a multitude of colors, most of the bucktail flies were tied as attractor patterns with little or no resemblance to any bait fish. They surely worked, however, and continue to be mainstays on most regional waterways. These colorful streamers are particularly effective in off-color water or when there’s a lot of floating or suspended debris.

The effectiveness of hair-wing streamers goes beyond the wide array of colors, and more to the unique action the coarse hair has when pulled through the water. Wave and current flow, boat movement, and anglers who hold their rod while trolling and twitch the tip, all impart a breathing action to the bucktail style wing. With each forward pull the wing becomes compact and slender along the top of the fly, and with each twitch or pause the wing blossoms outward giving a very lifelike movement that’s the basis for its consistent popularity with fish and fishermen.

An amazing number of trolling streamers now have wings and throats comprised of a combination of feathers and bucktail. Perhaps the thinking behind this is if one or the other doesn’t work, both might, and often they do since some are excellent patterns.

In recent years, the creation of synthetic materials for fly tying has skyrocketed. Flashabou, Krystal Flash, Mylar, SLA fiber and more have changed the look and performance of streamer flies, as well as the parameters for altering old classic pattern and creating new ones. Streamer flies with bucktail wings that are proven producers include the Red and White, Miss Sharon, Black Nose Dace, Mickey Finn, Little Brook Trout, Warden’s Worry and Edson Tiger. Hair and feather wing streamers that are must-haves for trolling are the Rainbow Ghost, Maggot Smelt, Herb Johnson Special and Blue Devil.

Imitator Versus Attractor

One of the great mysteries of trolling which anglers have wrestled with for decades is when to use bait-fish imitations and when to use brightly colored attractor patterns. Vast experimentation has yet to yield a definitive answer. Game fish eat smelt and minnows all the time, so why then do they ignore bait fish shaped and colored streamers to take a rainbow colored pattern that would do a circus clown justice? The very next morning you could drag a streamer that has the spectrum of a paint chart and every strike will be on the monochromatic smelt imitator. That’s why it’s called fishing, instead of catching, and part of the intrigue that keeps trollers coming back, albeit with more and more streamer patterns.

The solution to this quandary is fairly straightforward. Show the fish a greater variety of flies. Give the trout and salmon a greater selection by trolling two or three rods, each with a different streamer. Perhaps one imitator and one attractor, or maybe a feather wing, a hair wing and a combination wing fly on each of a trio of rods. My personal approach is to put out two rods, each with a regular leader and fly, as well as a second dropper fly. I’m able to present four variable options at once, and when one style or color combination of streamer outperforms the other, I quickly tie similar patterns on the other lines.

Streamer trolling is an exciting and challenging style of fishing, and learning about and understanding the wide variety of streamer patterns is an achievement unto itself. Streamer trolling is big-water fishing, very different from casting small streamer flies along a stream, and the results are big fish and the thrill of fighting them on a fly rod. With the proper equipment, it’s a season-long style of fishing, not just spring trolling as many neophytes assume. Fall trolling is every bit as productive as ice-out, and deep water streamer fishing in July and August is also excellent on many lakes and rivers.

Trolling streamer flies is a big part of Maine’s angling heritage, so don’t ignore these special patterns just because July arrives and dry fly season begins. Freshwater or saltwater, spring or fall, there’s always a time and place streamer flies will produce action for the dedicated streamer trolling angler.

Outdoor feature writer Bill Graves can be reached at graves@polarisumpi.maine.edu