Flies / Streamer

Salmon Fry Streamer

Betts reports large trout and steelhead 'feeding heavily on Chinook salmon fry along the shoreline' of the Muskegon from March into June, when salmon fry, steelhead fry and sucker fry are the bulk of the trout diet. Feenstra adds that sucker fry have a purplish hue, so lavender and pink tones work. Strip or swing a #8 to #12 fry along shallow edges.

#8–12Silver/oliveLavender/pink (sucker fry)

What the pattern looks like

Reference photos of the Salmon Fry Streamer tied by others, shared by their photographers. Not our flies; our own product photos replace these as they are shot.

Salmon Fry Streamer reference photo — Photo © the photographer, used with permission

Photo © the photographer, used with permission

Season

Months this pattern is in play across Michigan, derived from what it imitates.

Imitates

Forage

Salmon and steelhead fry and alevin
Juvenile trout and salmon parr

Fish it for

Steelhead Brown trout Rainbow trout (resident)

Setups

Streamers
Indicator nymphing
Swinging flies (spey / switch)

How it's tied

Salmon Fry Streamer (representative Michigan tie). A one-inch fry imitation with a big eye and a pink throat for the late-winter and spring weeks when Chinook and coho fry leave the gravel; the lavender version copies sucker fry. Our own write-up of the standard tie, checked against the sources below. Recipe by Nomad Anglers (2020).

Materials

Hook: TMC 2457 sizes 8 to 10 or Gamakatsu C14S sizes 6 to 10; a standard 2X streamer hook in 8 to 12 also works
Thread: Fluorescent orange 6/0 (Nomad) or gray 6/0 (Current Works); the orange shows as a hot throat
Tail: A few strands of pearl Krystal Flash, plus a wisp of white or grizzly marabou no longer than the hook
Body: UV pearl Ice Dub or white and Silver Minnow Belly Laser Dub, dubbed loose and brushed out
Back: Olive or peacock Ice Dub (olive Laser Dub) pulled over the top from the eyes to the tailLavender Laser Dub for the sucker-fry version
Throat: Pink dubbing or a band of pink thread under the headFeenstra: pink always seems to work best
Eyes: 3D adhesive eyes 5/32 in, or small black bead chainThe eye is the feature fish key on
Collaroptional: A turn of teal or mallard flank for a barred, parr-marked look
Head: Thin UV resin over the eyes and head

Steps

1.Lay a thread base to the barb and tie in a short tail of pearl Krystal Flash with a wisp of marabou over it, about hook length.
2.Dub a slim body of pearl Ice Dub or white Laser Dub two-thirds of the way up the shank and brush it out with Velcro so it is translucent.
3.Tie in a pinch of olive (or lavender) dubbing fibres on top just ahead of the body, tips pointing forward over the eye, to become the back.
4.If you are using bead chain, figure-eight the eyes on the underside of the shank just behind the eye; if you are using stick-on eyes, leave a short bare section of shank here.
5.Wrap a single turn of teal or mallard flank as a sparse collar and sweep the fibres back.
6.Dub a small pink ball for the throat around and behind the eyes.
7.Pull the back fibres rearward over the body, tie them down behind the head and trim them so they end at the tail.
8.Whip finish and, for the adhesive-eye version, press a 3D eye on each side of the head with a drop of gel superglue.
9.Coat the head and eyes with a thin layer of UV resin and cure it.
10.Wet the fly and check length: it should be about one inch overall, slender, with the eye and pink throat the most visible features.

From the tier

Kevin Feenstra (Mangled Fly): fry pop out of the gravel in February and March and grow to an inch fast; high water pushes them to the edges, so swing a fry pattern through any bank-side run that holds steelhead, or nymph it slowly; use holographic flash on sunny days for twinkle.
Ted Kraimer fishes his Fonzi Fry from March into June: below an egg on a dead drift for steelhead, and down and across on a floating line for trout with a twitch at the end of the swing, on the Manistee, Betsie and Bear Creek.
Nomad Anglers' King Fry is the two-minute swing version: Laser Dub over a flash tail with big 3D eyes. Feenstra notes sucker fry emerge later in spring with a distinct lavender tinge, so a lavender and pink tie fished along the edges covers them and doubles as an Isonychia nymph.

King Fry | EASY fly pattern for Spring Steelhead This is a representative recipe combining Nomad Anglers' King Fry and Kraimer's Fonzi Fry with Feenstra's colour and eye advice; it is not a single published pattern, and the lavender sucker-fry version follows Feenstra's description rather than a named fly. Unconfirmed: No single Michigan source publishes a lavender sucker-fry streamer recipe; the King Fry page gives materials but no step list, and Current Works' year is inferred from site metadata. Also checked against Ted Kraimer, Current Works Guide Service (2012), How to Tie and Fish the Fonzi Fry, Kevin Feenstra, Mangled Fly (2016), Fishing Salmon Fry, Anchored Outdoors (2023), A Seasonal Guide to Baitfish with Expert Kevin Feenstra and Capt. Chuck Hawkins, Hawkins Outfitters (2024), Top 5 Spring Steelhead Flies.

Materials to buy

Everything one Salmon Fry Streamer takes, each item once: 9 items, plus 1 optional. Quantities are for a single fly. We do not sell components yet; when we do, these will link to them.

Hook and hardware

Scud or streamer hook1
size 8 to 10 · TMC 2457 or Gamakatsu C14S
Hook
1
3D adhesive eyes1 pair
5/32 in, super pearl
Eyes
Or small black bead chain
1 pair

Feathers and fur

Maraboua wisp
white or grizzly
Tail
a wisp
Teal flankoptional1 feather
Collar
1 feather

Synthetics, flash and legs

Krystal Flash4 strands
pearl
Tail
4 strands
Ice Dub or Laser Duba pinch
UV pearl or white
Body
a pinch
Ice Dub or Laser Duba pinch
olive or peacock (lavender for sucker fry)
Back
a pinch
Dubbinga pinch
pink
Throat
a pinch

Thread and finish

Tying thread1 spool
6/0, fluorescent orange
ThreadThroat
1 spool
UV resin1
thin
Head
1

Sources