This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is John Barr’s Bouface Streamer.
This is another fly I found in the book entitled Barr Flies (2007). I’ve been tying Dolly Llama streamers and Barr’s Bouface was very similar to that fly. The Bouface is featured in chapter 19 and includes detailed tying instructions.
Originally tied as a pike fly in the early 1980s, it has gone through many iterations and is a proven fly not only for pike, but largemouth bass and later, trout.
His most popular colors are black, chartreuse, black and white, and red and white. Olive versions of the fly became his favorite when trout fishing. Beads and cones were added in later years to replace the split shot pinched on a leader to sink the fly.
For many years, Barr tied the fly with rabbit. He discovered pine squirrel Zonker strips and began using them because the shorter hair fibers provided better proportions for the fly.
The collar is tied with marabou on top and bottom to create life-like undulations.
Happy Thanksgiving John!