Streamer

Snake

Reservoir snake lure

TroutSubsurface

A 3–4 inch length of rabbit zonker strip threaded on braid over two small hooks — a short front hook carrying a dubbed head and a trailing hook hidden under the fur — so the whole strip swims free and wriggles like an eel. Black, olive, white and natural are the staples; the UK reservoir version, not the sea-trout snake fly of the same name.

Fish this when

Stocked rainbows in spring, and fry-feeding fish from late summer into autumn. Strip it on an intermediate or a sinker from the boat or the bank; a slow figure-of-eight can work as well as a fast pull. Use strong fluorocarbon — takes are savage.

Why it works

Nothing on the hook stiffens the strip, so the fur keeps moving on the pause as well as the pull, and the trailing hook catches the fish that nip at the tail.

Naturals it imitates