How to Tie the Minkie Streamer Fly

Learn how to tie the Minkie 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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There are many variations of this Zonker Streamer out there. It can be tied with bead chain eyes, lead eyes, lead wraps around the hook shank or just weightless. Tie it in colors to match the fry the fish are chasing on your favorite stream or in bright colors as an attractor.

Recipe

• Hook: TMC 5263 size 10
• Thread: Danville's 6/0 in White
• Danville's 6/0 in Black
• Wing: Hareline Rabbit Zonker in Grizzly
• Body: Estaz Medium in Pearl
• Throat: Hareline Rabbit Zonker in Red

Step One

Begin your thread about one-and-a-half eye's lengths behind the eye and secure it with a jam knot. Then wind your thread back to the beginning of the bend of the hook.

Step Two

Measure a grizzly Rabbit Strip so that it reaches the full length of the hook's shank. Once measured, separate the fibers with your bodkin and tie it in where you ended your thread--if you need to, wet your fingers to help separate the fibers between the wing and the tail--then advance your thread in front of the Rabbit Strip and make a few tight wraps.

Step Three

Prep a piece of Estaz by stripping the fibers off of the thread core and then tie it in just in front of the wing. Once tied in, bring your thread forward to the initial tie-in point.

Step Four

Wind the Estaz up the book shank to create the body. It's important that you use closely-touching wraps here, and if you have a rotary vise, using the rotary function makes it a bit easier. Once you've wrapped the Estaz to the tie-in point, tie it off and trim the excess.

Step Five

This is an optional step, but we like to switch thread colors here and use a black thread, so that the fly has a pronounced head.

Step Six

Strip off a bunch of uniform fibers from a red saddle hackle. You want to select a feather that has webby qualities here. Once you have the fibers ready, measure them so that they just touch the point of the hook, and tie them in. Once tied in, trim the excess.

Step Seven

Strip off a small section of fur from the Rabbit Strip so that it's easier to make a clean head. Once you've done that, tie the Rabbit Strip down and take as many thread wraps needed to form a clean head.

Step Eight

Finish the fly with a whip finish and cut the thread.

Step Nine

Trim the tail so that it's roughly the length of the hook's shank.

Step Ten

Add a bit of head cement to the head to increase durability and give your fly a nice look.

The Minkie Streamer is now complete, and whether you're tying it in white to attract hungry brookies in a mountain stream or a darker color like olive to swing on your favorite freestone creek, you can count on this fly to catch fish anywhere you take it.