Pine Squirrel Cheater

[JohnScott]

This streamer evolved at the fly tying bench just a year ago. It is the product of some things that worked for me spin fishing and fly fishing, and some things that I could do and some things that I couldn't do at the vise. So it is more accident than intent, more experiment than experience.

Undoubtedly, a lot of folks already have the same or a similar fly in their arsenal. But for those who don't, it is definitely worth considering. As part of the "sales pitch" for this fly, during 2007 I took somewhere between 425 and 475 browns, rainbows, cutthroat, cuttbow and brook trout, and a couple mountain whitefish which hardly ever hit a streamer, on this fly on quite a variety of water here in Southeast Idaho. It took the biggest trout I've had on yet - a brown on the Henry's Fork of the Snake that I saw when it rolled just after taking the fly ( one of those "oh, wow" moments ) and lost when it broke off a fresh 2X 10lb test tippet on its third run, just before it ran into the backing. From what I did see of it and how it felt on the line, I guesstimated it to be in the 26-28" range.

So much for the sales pitch. The materials are a size 6 Dai-Riki 280 hopper hook, 6/0 olive dun Uni-thread, and a Wapsi pine squirrel zonker strip in sculpin olive.

Start the thread behink the eye. Wrap back to the bend, make a return trip to the eye and then back to the bend. With the zonker strip hair pointed toward the tail, hang about 3/4 inch of hide off the bend and secure the zonker to the hook. Wrap the thread forward to midshank. Bring the zonker forward, and secure it at midshank. Wrap the thread forward to just behind the eye. Wrap the zonker forward as a collar, stroking the hair back during each turn to keep it free of the wraps. It usually takes about 9-10 wraps of the zonker to reach the eye. Tie off the zonker, clip the excess, and build up something of a head with the thread. Soak the head with cement to improve durability.

I like to fish this off a Class II full sinking line and a short leader of 2X tippet across or down and across with short steady strips during the swing. Letting it hang at the end of the swing occasionally picks up a fish ( both whitefish hit it while I was fiddling with gear before picking up for another cast ).

This is not a fly tier's fly - it ain't pretty, it ain't complicated, it don't take no special fly tying skills or techniques.

This is a fisherman's fly - it is simple, easy to tie, durable and effective. Seems kind of like cheating.

( I've tied micro pine squirrel zonkers on size 10 Dai-Riki 075 hooks for smaller water, and fished both the regular and micro in black with decent results. But there is a reason that the sculpin olive is my favorite that will be obvious if you tie this streamer. )