How to Tie the Haymaker Streamer Fly

Learn how to tie the Haymaker Streamer Fly pattern including step-by-step instructions, a video tutorial, pictures, and much more. Improve your fly tying skills here.

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The Haymaker is a Charlie Craven-designed streamer pattern that sort of looks like a cross between a Wooly Bugger and Pat’s Rubber Legs. While Craven initially designed the Haymaker to be trailed off a larger streamer, it works equally well fished on its own. It is heavy, gets down quickly, and has a versatile silhouette that imitates a variety of prey that trout, bass, and sunfish feed on. Strip, swing, or drift it: Simply fish it!

Recipe

• Hook: TMC 5262 Size 10
• Thread: UNI-thread 8/0 in Black
• Lead Wire: .020 Danville Spooled Lead Wire
• Bead: Hareline 5/32 Plummeting Tungsten Bead in Gold
• Tail: Hareline Wooly Bugger Marabou in Black
• Body: Hareline Black/Gold Speckled Chenille
• Legs: Hairline Medium Round Black Rubber Legs
• Collar: Hairline Hen Saddle in Black

Step One

Begin the pattern by sliding the tungsten bead to the hook’s eye.

Step Two

We want the Haymaker to get down quickly; lead wire helps with this. Make several wraps with the wire around the shank, then push it into the bead.

Step Three

For our next step, build a dam behind the lead wire by running the thread from behind the wire to the hook’s point, then cover the wire.

Step Four

We are moving on to our first material, Wooly Bugger Marabou, for the Haymaker’s tail. Secure a plume with the fluffy fibers pointing rearward, then cover the forward-facing material with thread and tie it down behind the bead. Be sure to clip the excess material before moving on.

Step Five

Tie three inches of the rubber leg material on the shank’s side nearest you, then pull half of it on the opposite side and secure with additional X-wraps. The first set of legs should point rearward, with the tail between the two legs.

Step Six

Start the Haymaker’s body section by removing the fibers from the chenille fabric’s tip, then tie the exposed part between the legs. We will finish the body after tying the final pair of legs on.

Step Seven

Tie the second set of legs near the lead wire. Once again, pull one side over to the shank’s opposite side the secure it with additional X-wraps.

Step Eight

Repeat the previous step for the final pair of legs, tying them on three eye lengths before the bead.

Step Nine

Now that the final set of legs are tied on, complete the body by advancing the chenille fabric with overlapping wraps, but be careful not to trap the legs. Secure a whip finish once the chenille reaches the bead, then clip the excess material.

Step Ten

The last material we are using is black hen saddle for the collar. Secure two overlapping feathers by the tip and behind the bead, then wrap them around the shank two times.

Step Eleven

The Haymaker is ready to hit the water after completing a whip finish.