Nymphs and streamers tied on jig hooks are remarkably Weedless no matter what. Just the way they are. Using jig hooks for streamers is a popular trend too. I see more streamers tied on jig hooks, on social media almost every day. You improve the return rate even more by tying a bit of weight on the bottom, that protrudes a bit forward of jig bend. I call these flies Bank Robbers because they are so remarkably weedless you hardly need to be careful. You can cast Bankrobbers right into bushes, logjams, and undercut banks and usually get them back again. When you cast them over a branch, the front of the fly catches the branch and tips the hook up as you pull back on the line, allowing the fly to jump over the branch without snagging. When heavily weighted you can drag Bank Robbers along the bottom almost indefinitely without snagging the upturned hook.s
Any wet fly or streamer can be converted to be a Bankrobber. Instead of barbell eyes or lead or brass wite wrapped around the shank for weight, use a small length of solid wire solder instead. Let the solder protrude 1/8" inch to 1/4" forward of the jig hook bend, so it is exposed and visible. Jig hooks are pretty good without Bankrobber enhancements but they do sometimes slide over a branch on one side or the other, thereby allowing the hook to snag. If it's a Bankrober it jumps over almost every time.
One of the first questions people ask when they see a Bank Robber is if it hooks a fish as well as a normal fly. The answer is yes, they do hook well, perhaps even better, as long as the weight protrudes forward no more than 1/4" inch. Fish caught with any jig hook arrangement will usually be hooked in the upper jaw.
Bank Robbers are not invincible; they will eventually get pinched between two boulders, or the leader will sometimes get wrapped hopelessly around a branch. But Bankrobbers do stay on your line longer.
I'm a drift boat builder. I spend a lot of my free time drifting Montana rivers, splashing big wet flies into the eddies behind the overhanging cottonwood roots, dead-falls, and willow branches that line the lower reaches of our bigger rivers. The further into these pockets you get, the more flies you lose, and the more fish you catch.
Before I learned to make Bank Robbers I lost lots of flies. When I started using jig hooks for my fly boxes stayed full longer. When I finally added the Bankrobber-style weight it helped even more. I like to have a few Bankrobbers around for brush-lined rivers. It really does make a difference.
Sometimes BB, before Bandrobbers, when I got a hot streak going I could splash Woolly Buggers or Yuk Bugs within a half inch of the branches every time, often fishing for hours without losing a fly. When I was really hot, I'd get brave and start throwing loops and squiggles into my line, snaking the fly over and through the branches, right back into Mr. Brown Trout's living room. Just as quickly, though, I started snagging my flis. Many is the time I've drifted the last few hours of a long float without any big flies lett to cast.
Friends and relatives have been a problem for me too, because I'm always giving my flies away. "Here, try this one," I'd say, but when it was my time to fish and all of the best flies were gone, I could get pretty crabby.
The Bank Robber has been a lifesaver because you can cast it into the bushes all day long and it keeps coming back at you. You can even afford to get a little careless with your casting. If you combine a Bank Robber with a monofilament-loop weedguard, you can really stir up a lot of trouble.
On a trip down the Upper Jefferson last spring, my friend Mark, who is a commercial tyer, said "those flies had better not catch on around here because they'll put me out of business".