How to Tie Feather Wing Streamers

Trout streamers are patterned to imitate small fish that trout feed on. A variety of companies make streamer hooks each listed under their own model number which can be confusing when purchasing. Streamer fly tying hooks labeled 4X or 5X in sizes 4, 6 and 8 will work for most streamer patterns. Bucktail, calf tail or soft hackle feathers are the materials used for streamer wings. Feather wings fold over the fly when wet and give the appearance of a sleek fish. A popular feather wing streamer pattern is the Black Ghost.

Things You'll Need

  • Fly tying vise
  • Fly tying bobbin
  • Fly tying thread, black, 3/0 size
  • Fly tying scissors
  • Fly tying bodkin
  • Hackle neck, yellow
  • Four strand floss, black, on a floss bobbin
  • Tinsel, silver
  • Saddle hackle, white
  • Fly head cement
Show More

Instructions

    • 1

      Clamp the bend of the hook in the vise so the hook shank is parallel to the table top. Lay the end of the thread on the hook shank just behind the hook eye. Wrap the thread over the end in a clockwise direction to lock it down to the hook shank.

    • 2

      Wrap the thread around the hook shank continuously moving to the rear of the hook. Stop wrapping at a point directly over the barb on the hook point. Let the bobbin hang to keep tension on the thread.

    • 3

      Pinch a dozen fibers from one side of a yellow hackle feather and cut them off against the stem. Lay the fibers, tips to the rear, on the hook shank where the thread is hanging. Adjust the fibers so they extend past the rear of the hook one quarter the length of the shank and tie them down to the shank with four wraps of thread to make the tail.

    • 4

      Tie down the end of a 2-inch length of silver tinsel with three wraps of thread over the tail wraps. Wrap the thread forward to the hook eye stopping at a point behind the eye equal to three lengths of the hook eye. Tie the end of the black floss down to the shank at this point with three wraps of thread.

    • 5

      Wrap the floss clockwise around the hook shank moving to the rear of the hook keeping the turns tight against each other. Stop wrapping at the tail and reverse the direction and wrap the floss back to the starting point. Tie the floss down with three wraps of thread and cut the floss off against the hook shank.

    • 6

      Pick up the end of the tinsel and wrap it toward the hook eye in a spiral pattern leaving gaps between the turns. Make five to seven turns of the tinsel ending at the hanging bobbin. Tie off the tinsel with three turns of thread and cut off the excess tinsel.

    • 7

      Select two soft white saddle hackles and put the back sides of each hackle together. Place the hackles parallel with and on the hook shank so the shank is between the two hackles. Adjust the hackles so the tips are even with the end of the tail and they each flare out to opposite sides of the hook shank.

    • 8

      Tie the hackles down to the hook shank with five wraps of thread directly in front of the wraps over the floss and tinsel. Cut off the butt ends of the hackles extending out of the thread wraps.

    • 9

      Cut a dozen fibers from a yellow hackle in the same manner as for the tail. Set the butt ends of the fibers on the bottom side of the hook shank under the wing wraps. Hold the fibers so the tips point toward the hook point and extend for half the length of the hook shank. Tie the fibers down with four wraps of thread and then trim off the excess butt ends of the fibers.

    • 10

      Make a head on the streamer by wrapping the thread between the wings and the hook eye forming a cone. Tie the thread off with three half hitches pulling each one tight into the head. Apply fly head cement to the head with the tip of the bodkin and then cut the thread off against the head.