Texas Marauder

This is a very effective streamer
pattern for many species.
Hook: Mustad 7957B (wet fly 4XL) 10 - 2
Tail: maroon hackle fibers
Body: light gray rabbit fur
Wing: turquoise (dyed) saddle hackle
Throat: red hackle fibers
Thread: black monocord
This streamer is stubby by most
standards, but for some reason, it makes it more efficient. Ask the
fish why. I'm not exactly sure myself. This is a plain old streamer.
Full foundation, tail, dubbing, throat, hackle, finish with a wrap
know and cement. If you need further instructions, buy a basic fly
tying book or check the archive. I see no sense in being redundant on
this fly because it's so basic.
Part of this fly's appeal is the color
sheme. It's best used on days when the skies are blue, maybe not
bluebird day, but at least some fair portion of sky showing through
the clouds. The turquoise color is a good mimic of a green being
colored blue by the sky as seen from below. One variation possible is
a more purplish tail, but the idea is to give the impression of a
bruise, in contrast to the scarlet red of the throat representing the
gills. This color diferentiation really alligns the fish to strike
the fly at the proper angle from behind, assuring better hook ups on
the strike. Don't use scarlet on both ends.
Fish this streamer as you would any
standard streamer, with a swimming motion in still water, or playing
downstream, swaying it across the rod's arc (l to r) while slowly
giving ground in moving water. Just be ready for strikes from below.
They're likely to be rather splashy.