The standard streamer
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FLY-FISHING FOR PIKE by Paul Le Gall, translated by Claude BELLOIR
Tying a “Moustache”, the standard streamer of a modular system
Fishing with a streamer can be done almost everywhere and all the time.
It can be practised in
all seasons, deep down as well as in the surface film, in shallows and weed
beds. With a suitable weed guard, it is still possible, even in very snaggy
areas.
Personally,
I very rarely fish on the surface, only when it isn't possible to sink the
leader and the lure. That happens when, in the middle of a large patch of lily
pads, only tiny pockets of water are to be found, or again when the long weeds
of underwater savannah grow from the bottom and spread over the surface to cover large
areas.
Most of the time I use the “Moustache”,
the streamer shown in the photo. It is devised according to the above
observations. Although I devised it, it was inspired, as far as its large size
and the use of mylar fibres are concerned, by the “357 Magnum”
created by Thierry Cloux. His was a lure whose efficiency but also limits,
regular use had allowed me to appreciate. What makes the “Moustache” special can
be summed up in the following:
-
At the tail of each hook,
a
link swivel which can be used as the head of a modular system. - A pinch of stiff asymmetrical hair (giving the
streamer its name) increasing the
wake of the lure in a significant way. -
Long and fine flat mylar strands.
Let's now examine how every element of the rig justifies its role. How to make the weed guard is shown in
box A photos # 1, 2 and 3. There's nothing revolutionary in my creation, as it was inspired by some
already existing systems on the market which I'd had the opportunity to try.
To
my mind, in spite of their qualities, some of their shortcomings ruled them
out altogether.
For some years now, I have used the streamer
shown in the photo as it has proven its great reliability. It surfs on the
patches of water lilies just as easily as it weaves about in weeded out water,
it inches and climbs its way safely among pondweed and even sunk trees,
provided it isn't worked heavy-handedly or with brutal jerks.
.
The rounded shape of the steel wire, its branches
set far apart from each other and the tail bridge crowning the barb, and set
back both vertically and lengthways, make an immovable guard thanks to the
flexibility of the material. How it is fastened keeps it loose in the bend of
the hook allowing its throat to remain open at the strike. It doesn't even
partially block the eye and leaves it entirely free to allow an easy passage
of the link attaching the leader, which is one of the conditions to give the
lure good mobility. This is not the case in some rigs either on the market or
recommended in some fishing magazines.
The way it is tied makes it act as a spring whose strength is enough to
resist the impact of the landing of the fly on the water, and moderate shocks
such as side shocks against snags. Which isn't the case when it is set in
front of the barb as it is often done. On the other hand, this protection
frees the hook point at once when there's a brutal shock or when a fish
strikes and this spring is clamped in the pike's jaws.
With
the large hooks used here, the piano wire of 0.30mm is the optimum diameter. The
spring is too weak and the protection doesn't hold with a smaller diameter. With a bigger one, it is too strong and the protection holds too well! It should
also be noted that with smaller hooks or with shorter-shanked ones, the weed
guard remains efficient. However in such cases, the piano wire, even fine, is
still too stiff and isn't suitable. It must be replaced by more supple wire
trace (6 strand/12kg). The
front hook is a heavy double iron (Ref. Partridge P Salmon 3/0. Weight:1.7g).
The tail hook is a much lighter single (Type: Kamazan B 940
2/0. Weight: 0.5g). The
first one points downward and serves as a keel and horizontal stabilizer. It
also tips over, head first, thus making the mylar fibres of the wing fan out and
wave very enticingly. At
the bend of this first hook is attached a large loop of wire trace of the same
b.s. as that of the leader. Its length is chosen according to the length
required for the standard streamer. In this respect, it seems preferable not to
exceed 10 cm between the two hooks. The usual dimensions are 5/5/5/5 (
front hook/joint/tail hook/tail), i.e. 20 cm in all. This causes the waving
motion of the fibres to develop during the pause in the sink and draw and maybe
avoids a lateral take between the two hooks. In
this large loop, which acts as the backbone of the rig so to speak, are threaded
first a braided tube (e.g. Mylar piping) which may be varnished or lightly glued,
then a rubber runner and finally a link swivel. In so doing, one obtains the
necessary stiffness to hold the tail part of the rig lightly. The
single tail hook is attached to the link of the front one. It can be positioned
as one wishes, hook point facing downward, upward or sideways, by stiffening the wire trace-swivel-hook
joint with a supple runner. It must also be noted that
this second hook also bears a link tied at the tail too. This allows the angler
to lengthen the lure as he wishes, and from the standard rig, makes for all
desirable combinations. This single hook can also be replaced by a small treble,
possibly with no weed guard.
The
role of the three moustaches at the head is to stir up water when the lure is
worked. In order to do so, its fairly stiff materials ( strong nylon, Ultra hair,
etc...) are assembled so that the dressing (figure-of-eight knots, glued joint,
tight chenille turns) keeps this propriety and maintains them at right angles
with the hook shank. Thus when the line is drawn in, this dressing produces a
strong wake and makes all the materials tied behind it flutter. The
three moustaches are trimmed slantwise, a little shorter on one side of the
shank than on the other, to increase this wake. This slight asymmetry causes the
lure to move sidewise more or less fully and jerkily, according to the rhythm
and speed of the retrieve. As
far as the dressing proper is concerned, the mylar used for the wing and belly
looks like flat and fine tinsel (0.3mm wide). Its extreme lightness makes it
flutter at the slightest twitch. Its weight is only 0.8g/100 metres and a few
metres only are needed for one streamer. This material can be found under
various brand names such as 'Mobile' by Lureflash. It's worth noting that
brands like 'Crystal hair', 'Crystal flash' or 'Rainbow'
offer mylar that is wrinkled and as a result works differently. I
have got used to sticking eyes and using chenille as other materials for the
head. The chenille is preferably, but without good grounds for believing it,
chosen in a colour with red as the dominant, complementary of that of water
vegetation. It is said and written that the eyes represent an essential mark. I
am not really convinced as I happen to continue fishing with eyeless lures
without any change in the rhythm of the catches. Yet I stick them on when I tie
flies or systematically stick some again, back home from fishing, because they
give the lures a more pleasing and life-like appearance. However, I only use
those that have a hollow halfbubble shape of plastic containing a mobile ball
likely to tinkle with each sink and draw. Concerning the tail hook, the basic
dressing is to tie two rabbit fur strips along the whole shank which they
prolong by at least the hook's length to form a very mobile tail that swims
enticingly. At the head a cone of bucktail is tied to act as a deflector, thus
preventing the strips from getting stuck. I usually tie red ones for the reasons
mentioned above, but any other colour such as fluorescent yellow will be
suitable. Though
it may be tricky to cast out, the “Moustache” is extremely efficient
and I use it most of the time, only resorting to another streamer when
circumstances dictate a change. In the fly box, it doesn't look like much. And
tied to the leader and set in the hook keeper of the rod, it looks like a
Christmas decoration, but as soon as it swims, it's another matter and its
imitation of a food fish is almost too good to be true. All the big pike that
had been through worse than that, and swam up into the boat for a cuppa, told me
so !
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