Hello everyone,
I was wondering if you have any go to streamer patterns for fly fishing small mouth in the BWCA. The first trip we are planning is the first week of June and one around a month later. I have been primarily using body wrap and feather game changers to mimic bait fish, wooly buggers, frog and mice for top water.

I will be brining a floating and full sinking line on a 8 weight. Typically I fish an unweighted fly on a sinking line unless I am aiming for top water. I have the rest of winter to spend and the fly tying bench. So if you have any go to flies I would love to bring them with me on my trip.

Happy paddling!
Loopy Loons

No idea if it will work, but I like zoo cougars on a floating line as a topwater/wakebait type of deal. I'm planning a trip for late may, so I'll update if I remember. I'm also bringing crayfish patterns, zonkers (white, black, natural, purple), a dungeon variant with a split bunny strip that's supposed to look like claws, foam poppers, wooly buggers, clousers, and deceivers.

These are my two flies. The streamer has a little weight so it fishes 1 to 3 feet deep. It started out as a Murdoch minnow but it developed into what you see. I like the head and the big eyes. I fish it on an intermediate sinking line. The diver is pretty standard. Difficult to tie but they can be purchased. Getting the hair dense is the key. I use a clouser or a Whistler if I want to get deeper and try for a walleye or pike.

I managed to save my deer hides this season so I will have to give tying that a shot. Do not have alot of practice spinning hair yet but only one way to get that. Thanks.

I will 2nd all the patterns mentioned and add one more. I tried an egg sucking leach last year on a whim and the smallies really liked it.

This guy has a pretty good video on tying the diver.

Steve Potter Diver


I tied this egg sucker for steelhead last week. I have not used it for bass but someone else told me it works. This one has a single trailing hook. My buddy and I got this striper canoe fishing a clouser a couple of days ago. Not a giant striper but a nice photo.

Nice pattern and fish!

My uncle tied me a few bucktail bulkhead deceivers (i think he worked from Gunnar Brammer's tutorial on YouTube) and they cast and swim great. I made the mistake of trying to fish for LMB in a local reservoir known for its pike population (the zoom fluke bite was on fire earlier that week) with one of the flashier ones and was promptly bit off.