Stayner Ducktail TBT

This week’s Throw Back Thursday Fly is the Stayner Ducktail TBT.

Stayner Ducktail | www.johnkreft.com

Ruel Stayner of Twin Falls, ID created this bait fish fly pattern to imitate bait fish in the lakes and reservoirs he fished.

Stayner owned and operated a sporting goods store in Twin Falls and created this fly in the late 1960’s. He attempted to create a fly to imitate perch fry in Idaho’s Magic Reservoir.

Seasoned anglers in Idaho also use the Stayner Ducktail streamer as well. Others have used it all over the world to imitate shiner minnows as well as trout fry.

My friend Jim Fisher, a noted fly tyer in his own right, tied this fly for me and I thought it a perfect fly to feature as a Throw Back Thursday Fly. Jim was the 2011 Stan Walters Memorial Tyer of the Year. The Oregon Council of the International Federation of Fly Fishers awards this annually “in recognition of your skills, teaching, and innovation in the art of fly tying.”

When I first looked at the fly, it reminded me of a streamer fly pattern I learned in the 1980’s when fishing the Metolius, something we called a Stovepipe.

I think I might have to tie up a few of the Stayner Ducktail this winter.

Enjoy…go fish!

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6 Comments

  1. Who supplies the Stayner Ducktail now? Is it a “Stayner?” I’ve seen it at Sportsman’s Warehouse. My last name is Stayner and I’ve been doing genealogy and Ruel is a great unlce of mine way back in my family line?

    Reply

    1. Case

      Thanks for your comment. Interesting to see a family member reading my blog! Sorry, but I don’t know anything more about Stayner than I wrote in the TBT post. What I do know is several other people commented how effective the fly is.

      John

      Reply

  2. Stayner Ducktail and the Sheep Creek Special are two of my go-to lake flies. They worked well in the lakes of California and almost anywhere else I have tried them. There’s also a “Blond Stayner” that is tied with yellow verigated chenille, but I prefer the standard one tied with dark olive chenille.
    Betty Rentz

    Reply

  3. Hi John,

    Another fly to check out for fishing in “Idaho lakes” is the Sheep Creek Special. Most Idaho lake fly fishers have a Sheep Creek and a Stayner’s in their fly boxes for good reason – they work! We both keep a few of each in our boxes. Take care & …

    Tight Lines – (Gretchen &) Al Beatty

    Reply

    1. Al

      Thanks for your comment. Great minds think alike…I featured the Sheep Creek Special as a TBT fly in June 2016. I need to remember to give it a try!

      John

      Reply

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