Cormorants are versatile flies and can be fished in a variety of ways. It can be fished almost static on a floating line to resemble a buzzer or similar aquatic insect; it can be retrieved with a slow figure of eight to allow it to resemble a nymph or fry, or it can be fished on an intermediate or sinking line and pulled back at speed.

Cormorants are usually fished in teams of two or three, often alongside brightly colored attractor patterns such as blobs and boobies.