Indian Summer Streamer

Hook:	Mustad S 74S SS # 8-2
Tying thread:	Dyneema
Body:	Flat silver tinsel
Rib:	Oval silver tinsel
Underwing:	4-5 pecock herls from under the eye of the tail feather and a few strands of white buck tail.
Throat:	hackle Red he
Wing:	2 yellow, orange, red and green cock hackles
Sides:	green neck feather from a golden pheasant with Jungle cock.
Head	Red

There is evidence that streamers where used in England for trout fishing as early as the 1800s, but it wasn’t until the 1890s in the USA that streamer design really began to grow and mature as its own fly pattern style.

The climax of which was In the 1920s, when Carrie Stevens tied her first Gray Ghost streamer, and while testing it caught a brook trout of 6lb and 13oz – 24 ¾ inches long. She enterd this fish into a ”Field & Stream” fishing contest. She was overwhelmed with requests for her Gray Ghost streamer from fishermen all over the USA and Canada. Since then, streamers have become an important part of the fly fisherman’s fly assortment.

Many patterns we have used as regular patterns over the years, we dont really associate with ”streamer fishing”, but Muddler minnow, Wooly bugger, Mickey Finn & Deciever just to name a few, all stem from these early patterns. It’s only in the last 10-15 years through salt water sea trout fishing that the streamer has had a bit of a revival here in Norway / Europe.

Streamers play two roles, one as a small bait fish and the other as an attractor pattern. I am in no doubt as to which catagory the Indian summer streamer falls. This is an ellegant streamer that illustrates the basic tecniques of tying streamers. If you follow these rules, change the materials, combinations and colours, the only boundries are your own imagination.

1. Run your tying thread along the whole hook shank.

2. Fray the end of a length of oval silver tinsel. This will make the build-up of body material less for the foundation of a tinsel body.

3. Tie in the frayed end at the tail of the hook. And run your tying thread back behind the hook eye.

4. Tie in your flat siver tinsel.

5. Give the hook shank a coat of super glue or varnish. This will make your tinsel body much more durable.

6. Cover the hook shank in your flat silver tinsel and then make 6-7 turns of tinsel rib and tie off.

7. On the underside of the hook tie in 4-5 strands of peacock herl, about 1½ times the length of the hook shank.

8. Cover the peacock herl with a small bunch of white buck tail hair.

9. Sellect and tie in a bright red hen hackle for the throat.

10. Wind this on as a conventional collar hackle.

11. Now divide the collar hackle over each side of the top of the hook shank and make a couple of turns of tying thread just to hold it down, as shown.