Your Go-To Streamer Pattern

[ChrisTheFish]

Streamer fishing is probably my weakest area in fly fishing, and yet it appears to be the best producing fly pattern in terms of size of fish. I was just curious what everybody considers to be the bread and butter streamer patterns? Maybe even a couple general hints on the best ways to fish them.
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[eagleflyfshr]

I'll give you what I do for trout.

Go-to streamer: Size 10 GBH black crystal woolly bugger. If nothing on black, then my first fly change is to olive. Bread and butter patterns for me are size 8 and 10 GBH and plain, black, olive, and brown woolly buggers, black and olive leech and minileech patterns, olive matukas, Stayner Ducktails/Sheep Creek Specials, and, even though they may not techniquely be "streamers", Carey's specials - I fish them like streamers. If I could only have 3 flies in my streamer box, they would be size a 10 black GBH woolly bugger, a size 10 olive GBH woolly bugger, and a Carey's special.

See my post here for my general techniques:

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=657938;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;page=unread#unread"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/forum/gforum.cgi?post=657938;forum_view=forum_view_collapsed;page=unread#unread[/url]

Just my way of doing things.
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[gstott]

I mostly fish small crystal buggers too. I like olive, and peacock black. I have also found that purple and black can be really good too, especially in the fall. I have done well with brown, black, olive, and purple mohair leeches as well. Those patterns always do well for me on the Preston and Malad area reservoirs.
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[albinotrout]

I always start with the olive woolly bugger then work my way down. Also depends upon the fish I am fishing for too. If bass is involved I will put a chartreuse one on that I tied up to see if they want to play with it or not. [] I usually fish most buggers ( I am usually chasing trout) on a fly rod with a full sinking line dragging it behind me on my toon or doing short strips of the line will sometimes trigger a strike as well. If no fly rod available then I will rig it fly and bubble style with my spinning rod.
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[windriver]

It depends by what you are considering a streamer. Like others have said, many big trout have been caught with Wooly Bugger variations.

For true minnow immitating streamers I like Zoo Cougars, Muddler Minnows, Zonkers, Double Bunnies, and Matukas.

I have probably caught more on a muddler minnow than any of the others.

Then of course there is the best streamer of all the Rapala.[:p]

Windriver
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[wannabeafish]

i like Woolly buggers in Tan, cinnamon, and black with a brass bead head, as well as a brwon muddler minnow. I have seen Zoo cougars do good as well.
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[riverdog]

For trout it's hard to find any streamer that doesn't actually work. If I lose one I'll tie on another that's handy in my flybox without concern to what was just working. For salmon it seems a purple egg sucking leech out produces other patterns for me. But I've never found a streamer that won't catch salmon either. Presentation seems far more important than pattern.
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[cpierce]

In still water I use a lot of variations of Stayners and buggers, and some of my own. Small chartreuse and red sparkle wooly buggers work great for bass and panfish. White, brown, black, and green crystal buggers or regular bugger variations for trout.

I usually fish small streams instead of deep rivers anymore, so most of what I use is dry flies. This may sound weird, but a lot of the time when a caddis, stimulator, or even other flies gets waterlogged, I may fish it for a while as a small streamer. I especially like small stimulators as a spur of the moment streamer. I think they resemble a muddler minnow. I don 't know what a caddis resembles but it seems to work well swimming underwater back to me also.
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[troutpimp]

There are many subcategories under the heading of "streamer" - are you fishing in streams, or stillwater?

I really like leech patterns for fishing lakes, and among them I like the Denny Rickards Seal Bugger and various colors of SimiSeal leeches the best, not necessarily in that order.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DZN1249smis
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[scorsi]

sparkle minnow
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[ChrisTheFish]

Thanks for all the suggestions so far. I forget that leech patterns are considered "streamers" too. I was more referring to minnow oriented patterns and was primarily referring to moving water (rivers).
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