polar fiber streamer
I love fishing streamers, especially when conditions are right for them. A good streamer pattern, used properly, will tempt the biggest fish in the water you’re fishing. The short list of patterns I use has recently be bumped for a new star~the Polar Fiber Streamer!
Patterns using this material are not that new, but I’d been reluctant to try this synthetic craft fur~just could not imagine it having good properties when wet. Boy, was I wrong! I tied a few this spring for crappie fishing in hopes that they would both look like the minnows the bait guys use, and last allot longer. I was pleasantly surprised at how translucent the material gets, and how well it breathes in the water.
This pattern has been the only one I’ve used with success while fishing ice-out brook/lake trout this year, I’d urge you to give it a try!
Note on using Polar Fibre:While it is a synthetic fur, it has some of the properties of natural stuff~namely, underfur! (and lots of it) In the interest of keeping a small/slim bait fish profile, I take great care to rid the stuff of all of this underfur, leaving only the longest fibres. The clumps that I cut from the patch of Polar Fibre are approx. 1″x1″ For reference in the tying instructions, I’ll use “clump” as a unit of measure….very precise!
Weight:Med, lead wire, 11 wraps
Thread:White 6/0
Under body:Flashabou dubbing
Belly:Red Polar Fibre over White Polar Fibre
Back/wing:Olive Icelandic Sheep over Off-white/tan Polar Fibre
Flash:Fire Fly skirt material
Cheeks/gills:Orange (spooled) antron
Eyes:7/32″ self adhesive 3D eyes, black/gold
Head:5 minute epoxy
Optional:Dark Brown permanent marker for spots
Position your hook and make 11 tight wraps of med. lead wire. Push it forward, ALMOST to the eye of the hook. You’ll be tying your other materials over this lead wire.
Secure the lead wire with your thread, tapering it behind the lead wraps as shown.
Begin dubbing over the lead wraps using the Flashabou dubbing.
It should look like this when done.
Rotate the vise, or remove the hook and place it back in the jaws upside down. Trim and prepare one clump of white Polar Fibre and tie in about 1/4″ behind the eye of the hook.
Trim and prepare a quarter of a clump of red Polar Fibre and tie in about 1/4″ behind the eye of the hook, on top of the white Polar Fibre.
Return the hook/vise back to it’s original position and tease the Polar fibre so that its evenly distributed on either side of the hook bend.
Trim and prepare two clumps of the off -white/tan Polar Fibre and tie in about 1/4″ behind the eye of the hook as shown.
Cut a small amount of olive Icelandic sheep hair, roughly about 2/3 the volume of 1 clump of Polar Fibre. Tie in as shown.
Tie in 3 strands of the Fire Fly on each side of the streamer as shown. Trim to irregular lengths shorter than the longest Polar Fibre/Icelandic sheep.
Tie in a cheek/gill of orange antron on each side as shown. Flare it out a bit so that it takes a “fan” shape.
Position the self adhesive 3D eyes over the thread as shown, press down on them so that they stick!
Mix your 5 minute epoxy and begin applying it over the eyes, thread..under the eyes…avoid getting it on the eye of the HOOK though. If your 5 minute epoxy is new, it will be too runny when you mix it. Give it 45 seconds or so (or until you can tell its slightly thicker in consistency) before you use it. Though I’ve tried, I can only do a good job on one fly at a time. In your vise, or clipped to some hemostats, rotate the fly every 20 seconds or so to keep the epoxy from sagging. There are machines that can do this for you, but this method works fine. The epoxy will set, as the name suggests, in about 5 minutes. It will reach total hardness in about 18-24 hours.
On some of my Polar Fibre Streamers, I add small, faint brown dots on both sides to give them a baby trout-like appearance. This is optional though.
Patterns using this material are not that new, but I’d been reluctant to try this synthetic craft fur~just could not imagine it having good properties when wet. Boy, was I wrong! I tied a few this spring for crappie fishing in hopes that they would both look like the minnows the bait guys use, and last allot longer. I was pleasantly surprised at how translucent the material gets, and how well it breathes in the water.
This pattern has been the only one I’ve used with success while fishing ice-out brook/lake trout this year, I’d urge you to give it a try!
Note on using Polar Fibre:While it is a synthetic fur, it has some of the properties of natural stuff~namely, underfur! (and lots of it) In the interest of keeping a small/slim bait fish profile, I take great care to rid the stuff of all of this underfur, leaving only the longest fibres. The clumps that I cut from the patch of Polar Fibre are approx. 1″x1″ For reference in the tying instructions, I’ll use “clump” as a unit of measure….very precise!
Tying The Polar Fibre Streamer Pattern
Hook:Daichi #1710 size #8Weight:Med, lead wire, 11 wraps
Thread:White 6/0
Under body:Flashabou dubbing
Belly:Red Polar Fibre over White Polar Fibre
Back/wing:Olive Icelandic Sheep over Off-white/tan Polar Fibre
Flash:Fire Fly skirt material
Cheeks/gills:Orange (spooled) antron
Eyes:7/32″ self adhesive 3D eyes, black/gold
Head:5 minute epoxy
Optional:Dark Brown permanent marker for spots
Position your hook and make 11 tight wraps of med. lead wire. Push it forward, ALMOST to the eye of the hook. You’ll be tying your other materials over this lead wire.
Secure the lead wire with your thread, tapering it behind the lead wraps as shown.
Begin dubbing over the lead wraps using the Flashabou dubbing.
It should look like this when done.
Rotate the vise, or remove the hook and place it back in the jaws upside down. Trim and prepare one clump of white Polar Fibre and tie in about 1/4″ behind the eye of the hook.
Trim and prepare a quarter of a clump of red Polar Fibre and tie in about 1/4″ behind the eye of the hook, on top of the white Polar Fibre.
Return the hook/vise back to it’s original position and tease the Polar fibre so that its evenly distributed on either side of the hook bend.
Trim and prepare two clumps of the off -white/tan Polar Fibre and tie in about 1/4″ behind the eye of the hook as shown.
Cut a small amount of olive Icelandic sheep hair, roughly about 2/3 the volume of 1 clump of Polar Fibre. Tie in as shown.
Tie in 3 strands of the Fire Fly on each side of the streamer as shown. Trim to irregular lengths shorter than the longest Polar Fibre/Icelandic sheep.
Tie in a cheek/gill of orange antron on each side as shown. Flare it out a bit so that it takes a “fan” shape.
Position the self adhesive 3D eyes over the thread as shown, press down on them so that they stick!
Mix your 5 minute epoxy and begin applying it over the eyes, thread..under the eyes…avoid getting it on the eye of the HOOK though. If your 5 minute epoxy is new, it will be too runny when you mix it. Give it 45 seconds or so (or until you can tell its slightly thicker in consistency) before you use it. Though I’ve tried, I can only do a good job on one fly at a time. In your vise, or clipped to some hemostats, rotate the fly every 20 seconds or so to keep the epoxy from sagging. There are machines that can do this for you, but this method works fine. The epoxy will set, as the name suggests, in about 5 minutes. It will reach total hardness in about 18-24 hours.
On some of my Polar Fibre Streamers, I add small, faint brown dots on both sides to give them a baby trout-like appearance. This is optional though.
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