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| Tiger Trout caught on the Double Bugger |
Streamers, kind of a taboo word when it comes to fly fishing. They are getting more and more popular but still, I have been asked if I am just going to use streamers why not use gear instead of a fly rod. After all fly fishing should be done with flies (bugs) right? For some people definitely, “Dry or die!” for me though I will “Stream until I scream!”
There are a lot of different things when
fishing streamers to consider. It is a lot more than, if nothing is hatching
tying on the old faithful wooly bugger and swinging it across the river. Trout
are predators. I know casting a big marabou chenille rabbit fur concoction all
tied on not one but two large hooks with an odd name like “the incredible trout
pounder” sounds horrible and potentially painful, but I like to catch trout
that can eat your trout.
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| Isn’t the top trout cute? |
Just like with
the bug side of fly fishing, for streamers you have to know what is going on in
the water and be as realistic with your presentation as you can be with whatever
you are trying to imitate. You don’t just blindly pick out something big and
gaudy and throw it in the water, then strip like a girl trying to pay for
college back to you. You have to understand type of prey these river monsters
are going to try to destroy. Mostly this is any fish smaller than what you are
trying to catch. Other times it could be crayfish, lizards, snakes or even a
mouse. Fun Fact: Trout can and will eat fish that are half their size.
Some things to
consider while on the water, how do the smaller fish act in the water you are
fishing? Where can they be found at certain times of the day? As you’re wading
or walking the river try to see where you can find concentrations of bait fish.
What colors and sizes are they? What kind of structure is nearby? I am always
looking for the spot where a larger fish can retreat after eating or, where
food will be delivered to them. Deeper water with some current nearby, cut
banks, boulders, log jams etc. Any place that looks like I wouldn’t want to be
there if I were a small fish late at night. Brown town has a high crime rate.
While streamer
fishing you have to remember you are not fishing for a lot of fish you are
fishing for big fish. It almost becomes more like a trophy hunt. There is a lot of movement involved, if you
are going to do it well. Take your time and look over the river. Think about
how you’re going to get your fly into the spot you want to fish before casting.
If you’re not getting any interest try to figure out why. Is it presentation?
Depth? Or are the fish just being assholes. I still have not figured out how to
catch fish on those days.
Most of the time
though it is something small you are doing, especially in some of the blue
ribbon waters in Utah. Last year I was fishing the Green river walking upstream
from Little Hole and I could see fish everywhere but could not seem to be able
to get anything to commit. It was so bad, had I walked into a fish market to
buy a fish I would have been laughed at. After taking a break I noticed that
the fish were all so close to the bank that the difference between myself and
the people catching fish in the drift boats that kept cruising by was, even
though we were fishing virtually the same water the fish were far enough away
from the drift boats that they couldn’t see the anglers. I changed my approach
and got ninja stealthy hiding behind boulders and bushes. The casting was ugly, but the fish were now getting an
unexpected lip piercing.
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| Green River, slow stripped a streamer from shallow water into a deep pool while hiding behind a bush. Ninja Stealthy |
Usually a fish will show interest within
the first few casts when tossing meat. I usually will take a small section of
river and make a mental grid, start at one end and work my way through each
part of the grid. I try to work in a few casts with different depths and strip
speeds to make sure I am covering most of the water. I always start with the most likely area to
hold a larger fish and work through the rest from there. If you can’t find any players it is time to
move on. No matter how fishy the spot may
look. It is hard but you have to do it. I personally will covers miles of river
when I fish. There are definitely spots where I get stubborn and cast, and cast,
scratch my head look around and say I know there is a fish there and cast
again. It almost never works out. If I gambled like I fished on those days I would
be homeless, it hardly ever pays off.
For retrieves I will usually always start with
a cast getting as close to the opposite bank as I and begin a fast erratic
retrieve utilizing the Kelly Galloup jerk strip. I do this because I want my streamer
to look like a panicking bait fish that has gotten flushed out of shallow water
into the dangerous deep. If there is a
fish that is ready to feed, or even in the area my streamer will usually get
crushed. If this isn’t working I will slow it down some or even dead drift
through some of the water. Twitching the streamer as I am drifting it trying to
make it appear like a wounded or dying fish. When out there vary your retrieve.
The same thing will not always work, sometimes long fast strips will get it
done but other times you will need to slow things down. Another trick I like to
use is just before I get to the last 25% of my retrieve I will throw a mend in
the line if I am using floating line and change the direction the streamer is
moving. This can at times be what makes a fish that has been following commit. At
some log jams and cut banks I will even let my streamer swing to just in front
of it and leave it basically knocking at the door for up to a minute twitching
the streamer every 5 to 10 seconds to make it look like a small fish that is
feeding in the current. It is exciting to watch a huge shadow seem to
materialize from under the bank or out of the log jam and make the streamer
disappear. There is no perfect way to retrieve a streamer, on the other side
there is no wrong way to do it either. Experimentation and time on the water is
the name of the game. You will start to develop a game plan that works for you
the longer you stick with it.
The best times
to fish streamers by far are, early morning, before dark and on cloudy days. As
the day gets brighter and the fish get harder to entice into a feeding bite, I
will change tactics and try to get a bite out of aggression or territorial
response. To do this I will use a larger streamer aggressively cast and strip
through areas likely to hold fish. I will also use this technique in winter
when the fish are less likely to move after a streamer.
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| Small Brown Trout that took a shot at a Circus Peanut, likely defending its territory |
The general rule when going through the
streamer box and picking one out to use is dark day dark color, bright day
bright color. This is also true for water clarity. The darker streamers will
show a clearer silhouette in dark weather or cloudy water. I get excited for the
cloudy dark days even a slight drizzle.
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| Brown trout caught on a cold cloudy day. |
When the river is blown out a dark streamer
that is a little bulky is the ticket. The fish should be pushed up near the
banks and the bulk of the streamer will help them locate it with their lateral
line by picking up the water displaced by the streamer during your retrieve,
when they get close enough they will see the dark silhouette, and whamo! You
have now caught something on a day most people walk away from the river in
disgust at high water and poor visibility.
The last thing I am going to touch base on
is, what size rod to use. Leave your little 3wt at home your tossing meat. I
use a 6wt mostly a 5wt for some of the smaller streamers is good also. Some
people will go as high and an 8wt if they are throwing really big streamers.
Floating line or sinking line depends on the
water you are fishing. People each have their own preferences. I usually make
my decision when I get to the water and will carry a spool of sinking line with
me. I also carry a variety of sinking leaders to put on my floating line just
in case I don’t want to commit to the fun of a full sink line. I am not a
minimalist by any means I would rather have it, than want it. My personal combo
is a Loop Evotec 6 wt medium fast action with a Shadow fly fishing reel.
There is so much to get into on streamer
fishing, this article has barely scratched the surface but I hope it helps. I
am constantly learning and the game is evolving so quickly not too long ago a 3
inch wooly bugger was considered huge! Guys are now throwing 12 inch streamers
to chase after 30 inch brown trout with all sorts of strange names for the
flies. A couple books that are great resources and will go in depth a lot more
are Kelly Galloups “Modern Streamers for
Trophy Trout” and George Daniels “ Strip Set”
A list of flies that I like to use:
Barely legal
Sex dungeon
Old fashioned wooly bugger
Bunny leech
Double bugger
James (Utah US)
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