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Circus Peanut
A streamer, tied #2–6, carried year round. It is tied against 2 named insects in this book, and stands in when nothing is hatching — all year. Russ Maddin, Michigan.
An articulated streamer on two hooks in sizes 2–6, tied with olive or black 6/0 thread: the rear section a marabou tail, chenille body, palmered saddle and rubber legs, joined to the front by beads on wire, and the front section the same again with dumbbell eyes for weight. Rubber-legged and unapologetic, it is a Michigan big-brown fly, originated by Russ Maddin in Michigan. It is stripped hard on a sink tip, on rivers where a size 8 streamer is an appetiser, and the articulation gives the whole fly a swimming break at the joint while the dumbbell eyes drive it down and make it jig. Carried all season, it takes trout and smallmouth bass. The pattern is tied against Crayfish, Orconectes spp., May–October at 55–78°F, and Sculpin, Cottus spp., present all year at 33–72°F, and it also goes on as a searching pattern when there is no hatch at all.
- #2–6Hook size
- streamerType
- AllSeason
- 2Hatches matched
What it imitates
Each of these is the same hatch record the app's own panel reads, so a pattern recommended on a river card in the app is recommended for one of the insects below.
- Crayfish Orconectes spp. · May–October · 55–78°F · #4–8
- Sculpin Cottus spp. · all year · 33–72°F · #2–8
It is also tagged for no hatch at all — a searching pattern.
Tying recipe
In tying order. This dressing is the standard one — these patterns have been in the publicrecord for decades; Russ Maddin, Michigan. — and materials substitute freely: the proportions and the silhouette are the pattern, not the brand of dubbing.
| Hook | Two hooks, articulated, sizes 2–6 |
|---|---|
| Thread | Olive or black 6/0 |
| Rear | Marabou tail, chenille body, palmered saddle, rubber legs |
| Joint | Beads on wire between the shanks |
| Front | The same again, with dumbbell eyes |
| Weight | Dumbbell eyes |
When to fish it
An articulated fly for big brown trout. Stripped hard on a sink tip, on rivers where a size 8 streamer is an appetiser.
Carried all year. The insects it matches are active all year, in water from 33°F to 78°F.
Target species
- Trout
- Smallmouth bass
Rivers it fishes well
Rivers with a page here that sit in the regions where the insects this pattern imitates are recorded. It is a claim about coverage, not a report of a fish caught.
- Au Sable River northern lower Michigan · July mean 72.1°F
- Catawba River the North Carolina mountains · July mean 76.7°F
- Jackson River the Virginia mountains · July mean 66.3°F
- Muskegon River northern lower Michigan · July mean 71.0°F
- Escanaba River the Upper Peninsula · July mean 68.3°F
- Saint Croix River northern Wisconsin · July mean 77.2°F
- Smith River the Virginia mountains · July mean 51.9°F
- Tygart Valley River the Virginia mountains · July mean 74.6°F
- Kalamazoo River southern lower Michigan · July mean 71.3°F
- Aaron Creek the North Carolina mountains · July mean 76.7°F
- Aaron Run the Virginia mountains · July mean 77.1°F
- Aarons Run the Virginia mountains · July mean 74.2°F
Related patterns
Same type of fly, or tied for the same insects.
- Woolly Bugger (Brown) streamer · #2–12 — Brown with a bit of copper reads as a crayfish. Hop it along the bottom.
- Zonker streamer · #2–8 — Rabbit strip that breathes at rest. Deadly on the pause, not on the strip.
- Game Changer streamer · #2–6 — Segmented and it swims on its own. Slow water, big fish, a lot of patience.
- Muddler Minnow streamer · #4–10 — Sculpin sunk, hopper skated. Older than the sport's opinions about it.
- Peanut Envy streamer · #2–6 — Big articulated meat for the hour either side of dark.