The CDL Chickabou Jig Streamer is one of our favorite streamers on the South Holston and Watauga Rivers, and is definitely a favorite jig streamer. The CDL Chickabou Jig Streamer is a simple, one-material fly. It’s about catching fish, not demonstrating tying skill or showing off a bunch of different materials.
This fly was born out of 1) the need to level up our sculpin/crayfish imitations, 2) some observations from fishing with Houston Brown, and 3) putting our hands on some Whiting Coq de Leon Hen Soft Hackle Chickabou Patches for the first time.
The CDL Hen Soft Hackle Chickabou Patch is obviously the key material. It is an extremely fishy, and you can tell it’s going to catch fish as soon as you pull it out of the package.
We frequently fish this fly with a mono rig or euro nymphing setup and 5x tippet. Fish it slow with a dead drift or with twitches deep in the water column. Fish it fast with quick strips across riffles. We tie this fly in a variety of weights for different retrieves, depths, and water types.
Favorite colors include Copper Olive, Burnt Orange, Golden Olive, Brown, and Medium Ginger. Also try White… if you can get the materials.
This is a core pattern in our streamer box, particularly when wade fishing.
For some context one why you want a fly like this in your box, listen to our podcast interview with Houston Brown.
Materials List:
Hook: FM5130 – Size 8
Bead: Fulling Mill Slotted Black Nickel 4.6mm
Thread: Uni 140 Light Olive
Feathers: Coq de Leon Chickabou Patch