Trout fly lures consist of two types: streamer and bucktail. Streamers are tied with feathered wings with different types of feathers, the more usual ones beings cock neck or saddle hackles. In other types feathers alone, or feather and hair combinations, are used. Bucktails differ in that hair from various deer tails are used for the wing. The name “bucktail” is also applied to flies using goat, calf, and even squirrel hair. Man-made fibres are used in some contemporary patterns.
All species of game fish will take streamers and bucktails. Among the the fish taken are brown and rainbow trout, dolly varden, cut-throat, migratory seatrout, steelhead, Atlantic salmon and some species of Pacific salmon, pike and other predatory coarse fish. A whole range of saltwater sport fish are also taken on bucktails and streamers. Large flies are not exclusive to Britain and the USA, however. New Zealand, for example, boasts a range of unique lures, which have influenced fly designed in places such as Australia and South Africa.
Two books regarded as definitive on the subject of streamers and bucktails are Streamer Fly Tying and Fishing by Joseph D. Bates (Stackpole) and Fishing Flies and Fly Tying by William Blades (Stackpole). Most fly tying books will include a range of lure patterns, especially since this type of fly has become such an important tool for fly fishermen.
You’ll find a comprehensive range of such trout fly lures on our website.
