Undoubtedly, when one thinks of attractor streamer and bucktail patterns, the venerable Mickey Finn comes to mind. More often than not, it's the very first pattern streamer aficionados are introduced to when learning to tie...and rightly so, as it remains a productive pattern in our streamer wallets. The Mickey Finn, and other colorful, flashy, attractor patterns aren't designed to imitate a bait fish as much as they are intended to trigger an aggressive response from the target fish. Many times, a strike can be triggered with attractor patterns when more realistic forage fish imitations fail.

Speaking of the Mickey Finn....I can fondly recall a number of occasions when this and other attractor patterns have saved the day for me. On a frosty April morning a couple of years ago, I was fishing the open water caused by the inlet of a small stream on a central Maine lake. The stream was nearly all open, other than a small amount of "shelf-ice', and the moving currents had made a crescent-shaped area of open water on the otherwise frozen solid lake. I positioned myself at the head of this inlet to work a streamer through this area, and did so with little success. My luck changed when I decided to tie on a small casting-sized Mickey Finn. On one occasion, I was working the water close in.....fishing the Mickey on a short swing, when a large landlocked salmon rose from the dark waters and slashed at my offering. The fish was clearly visible through the entire take. No need to set the hook, as the strike was so vicious the deed was done automatically. It's takes like these under the conditions described above, that give attractors a warm place in my mind, and a dedicated spot in my wallet.

Select any of the links below to see the patterns submitted for the swap.