Ostrich Herl Streamer

[jOrOb]

There have been a number of requests for a warmwater pattern lately, so I thought I would post my favorite one. It is a really simple streamer pattern given to me by Bruce Whittle at Sowbug when I first started tying. I love it because it is very simple to tie, and will catch bream, bass, crappie, trout, and even one really large Gar which I didn't get to land. unfortunately, Bruce never told me what he called the pattern, so I just call it that ostrich herl streamer.

Materials list:

Hook: #10 Aberdeen (#12 Streamer)

Bead: Seed Bead (color your choice)

Weight: 10 turns of .20 lead wrap

Thread: Black 6/0 Uni Thread

Tail: Grizzly Chickabou

Rib: Copper Wire

Body: 3 strands of Ostrich Herl

I like the aberdeen hook because it is cheap and easily acquired at your local Wal Mart. Aberdeens generally run one size smaller than typical streamer hooks.

The Seed Bead I used was from Wal Mart as well. I use several different colors, but this time I used Yellow because "perch like yaller."

Debarb the hook and install the bead.

Wrap 10 turns of lead onto hook and push it up against the bead to hold it in place.

Start your thread and make securing wraps around the lead. Now advance thread back to the tie in point just above the barb.

Tie in the Grizzly Chickabou tail. Make the tail about the same length as the hook shank. Snip out the excess and cover the butts with thread.

Now tie in a length of copper wire and move it back and out of the way.

Next tie in three strands of ostrich herl. Advance thread to just behind the eye.

Now palmer the herl to form a nice fat body. The real trouble here is keeping the herl strands together. Tie off at the bead and snip out the excess.

Counter wrap the copper wire around the herl to rib and strenghten it. Tie off at the bead and snip out the excess. Form a collar behind the bead and whip finish.

The finished product!

I have tied these with marabou tails, chickabou, even yarn.

They catch fish.

[Danoinark]

Nice looking bug JoRob....reckon with a red head, them trout might like it?

Dano

[Jeremy Hunt]

Nice pattern JoRob, I tie something close to that for Taney at night. This is a simple pattern to tie, but very effective fly for catching a lot of trout. I agree with throwing a red bead and tie the body in purple and black to imitate egg-sucking leeches when fishing at night. You can tie that same pattern in olive in a size 10 with a gold bead fishing it on a dead swing with no strip and hook up trout in the middle of the day when trout seem to be picky. I have found that fishing big wooly’s during the day is not the way to go. I have never had much luck fishing wooly buggers in anything bigger than a size 8 during the day with much luck. Size 10 and 12 are the ticket. If the wind creates chop on the water then you will definitely catch trout on wooly buggers. Just remember to fish your fly under the choppy water and not the calm pockets that sometimes don’t get any of the wind that comes and goes throughout the day.

night pattern- Egg sucking leech

Lake pattern- Char. ostrich with palmered chenille ody

JH

[Danoinark]

Jeremy

I have to agree with fishing baby buggers as opposed to anything much bigger than a size 10. That was exactly the case one late afternoon this week on Taney. And they did take it on the swing more. I was fishing olive 12's with an ostrich herl body and some palmered soft hackle ribbing.

Dano

[jOrOb]

I am sure red would be the ticket for trout. However, I have found that red is my least favorite color bead for Bream. I have better success with blue than red. Yellow, white, and orange are my favorites.

[bowfin47]

Ostrich herl???

That iridescent herl sure looks like peacock herl.

[Terry Beeson]

Yep... looks like peacock to me...

But Ostrich would work...

Is the chickaboo tied to be "flat" or could you use a bunch of fibers to make a "funnel" shaped tail?

[jOrOb]

Yep, I was smokin dope when I wrote the title. Oops!!

It is Peacock herl. But ostrich does work well.

I like to tie the chickabou in a bunch, similar to marabou