For me, and many others, June is the time when fishing really kicks into gear and I can start working my favorite flies: streamers. These versatile offerings catch many different species and have a tendency to produce large fish.

Many clients that I take out early in the season for smallies are successful because of streamers. I may have to duck on occasion due to back-casts buzzing above my head, but when a pike or a smallie is on the line, the reward is in the photo op.

Streamers can be fished up, down and even figure-eighted boat side. Let the current sweep one on bends of a river or strip it hard to entice a pike, trout, bass or even a walleye. There aren’t many fish I haven’t caught on a streamer. Whether you are stripping one high in the water column or using a sinking line for a deeper presentation, a streamer gives a fly fisher a tool of many colors and options.

In my fly box, I always carry some standards such as Woolly Buggers, zonkers, zoo cougars, bunny leeches, muddler minnows, Mickey Finns, and, most importantly, my own creations. And even if you’re a novice fly tier, streamers are great places to start and experiment with. Tied from sizes 2 to 10, and many that come in a variety of colors and materials, streamers allow the versatile fly angler to play that much more.

For me, a weighted cone head fly or one with dumbbell eyes provide all the variables I need. I’ll tie basic color combinations such white and chartreuse, black and orange, gold and rust and olive green. Many of the synthetic materials used today—such as cactus chenille—offer a lifelike appearance that regular hardware fishing can’t reproduce. Even if fish aren’t hungry, they just can’t help themselves, striking at a flash in front of their faces or just undulating in the current at the tips of their noses.