When I was about 12, a friend of my dad gave me a fly rod/reel and a box of flies, several of which were Matuka streamers. These were the first flies I both fished and tied, so the Matuka will always be one of my favorite patterns. The style of tying (lashing the wing to the top of the hook by ribbing through the fibers of the feathers) lends itself to infinite possibilities. Virtually any type of feather--or even fur strip, in which case the fly may be referred to as a Zonker--can be used for the wing and the choice of body material is unlimited. (See Bob Petti’s article on Matukas for more information on tying this style of fly.)

Throughout the years, small-sized matukas in black, brown, olive, yellow, and red have been very successful for me in catching trout, bass, and panfish. Naturally, when it was suggested that the streamer group swap matukas, I volunteered as swapmeister. I think we came up with some creative examples of this unique style of winging. Select any of the links below to see the patterns submitted for the swap.