“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 favorite classics that are not only important from a historical perspective, but also work well to this day.

100 favorite patterns including

Allie’s Favorite

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

Mike Valla is the Northeast field editor for Eastern Fly Fishing magazine and a recipient of the Poul Jorgensen Golden Hook Award. He is the author of The Founding Flies, Tying Catskill-Style Dry Flies, and Tying and Fishing Bucktails and Other Hair Wings, and has published articles in Fly Fisherman, Fly Tyer, and American Fly Fisher. He lives in Cambridge, New York.