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Mallard Express Streamer Step-by-Step:
At only eight steps, this week’s tie, the Mallard Express, should prove a little less time consuming than last week’s introduction to the world of articulated streamers. A small shrimp/baitfish pattern popular with Scandanavian Sea Trout (sea-run brown trout) anglers, I’ve long been curious about its prospects as a cool weather pattern for our local Speckled Seatrout.
So, with cool weather forecast over the coming week, it seemed the appropriate time to test just that.
| Materials: | ||
|---|---|---|
 Gamakatsu B10S or equivalent (#2-6) |  140 Denier (White) |  Senyo’s Laser Dub (Fl. Orange) |
 Ice Dub (UV Tan) |  Mallard Flank (Natural) |  Lead-free Wire |
 Flex Seal |
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Mallard Express Streamer Step-by-Step Tying Instructions:
(Mobile Viewers: Click images to enlarge or rotate phone to landscape)
Tips and Tricks
- Color Selection – While more subdued/natural tones may seem the obvious route to go on these flies, I intend to also tie up a series in Chartreuse (just waiting on some Chartreuse Mallard Flank). There’s simply something about that color that is a trigger to fish, and I intend to have it at my disposal. As Lefty said “If it ain’t chartreuse, it ain’t no use.”
- Sizing – While the above example has been tied on a #2 Gamakatsu B10S, don’t overlook smaller sizes. Large shrimp are sparse in the marsh during winter months, and I’ve landed more than a few upper slot reds on shrimp patterns tied on a #8 Gamakatsu SL45 during December and January.
- Weight Optional – Looking to get this fly a little deeper? Consider adding a few wraps of Lead-free Wire beneath the dubbed body.
- Proportions – Keep an eye on your proportions when tying this fly. The hot spot is not intended to extend beyond your mallard collar as it does in the above example. While I’m confident that the fly will still fish, it would have benefited from either a shorter hotspot or larger mallard flank feather.
Proof of Concept
Though the fly above and a batch of similarly sized Mallard Express streamers have yet to be fished, I hope to resolve that soon. Fall is here in south Louisiana and with any luck the trout will be moving their way deeper into the marsh in the coming weeks. Once that has happened, these flies will find their way to the end of my line and hopefully into the mouth of a few speckled trout.
Tight Line!
Chris
Species Caught on the Mallard Express Streamer to Date:
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Nice looking streamer. I’m sure the mallard flank will really wiggle and pulse in the water.