There’s a difference between missing a trout and losing a trout. As I wrote in the previous installment of this Troutbitten short series, missing trout on streamers is usually the fish’s fault. I believe trout reject our flies on purpose. They’re curious enough to take a look, but they decide not to eat our fake at the last instant. (There are other reasons for misses too. See the article for more.) We set the hook, feel no contact with the fish and believe we missed our chance. But usually, there’s not much we can do about these refusals, other than try and make the next presentation more convincing.
READ: Troutbitten | Eats and Misses — Streamer Fishing Myth v Truth
However, losing a trout is different. When you hook a fish, have it on for a few moments and then it comes off, that’s a lost fish. And more often than not, I believe the blame lies with the angler and not the fish.
— — — — — —
Late last week, I geared up underneath the hatch of my 4Runner’s. Kneeling in shallow puddles, I laced my wading boots before I stood tall, zipped my raincoat and stepped out from the shelter of the hatch. With pure joy I looked up to the sky and watched big raindrops fall through yellow maple leaves. Some of them hit my face, and I just stood there, grinning to the heavens like Tim Robbins in Shawshank Redemption.
RAIN!
Yeah, that’s a little dramatic. But finally, after no significant rain for three months, we had enough of the wet stuff to bump the rivers. It was the perfect time for streamers, and I had two hours before the fading daylight would force my surrender.
The streamer bite did not disappoint. And in the first half hour, I had a handful of trout to the net. I also had about ten misses and something a little more frustrating — I had lost a few fish. And one of them was big enough that I would have liked to have seen closer.
So when another good trout slipped the hook, I paused to regroup. No sense getting angry, after all. And I’ve learned through the years that most issues can be solved with a little observation, some insight and a willingness to adjust.
Thinking back, every trout I’d lost was on top. These trout spit the hook when they were above the water or they were splashing on the surface. All of them were hooked for at least a couple seconds but remained buttoned for no more than five. Why? I’d horsed them in. And if I could just settle down a bit — if I could stay calm and allow these trout to get back underneath, I would be able to hold onto them.
— — — — — —
Problem | Solution
We all do it. Streamer fishing is fun. And a good streamer bite comes with a shot of adrenaline, especially when the strips are fast and aggressive. As we see a wild trout attack the fly, our natural reaction is one of excitement. We set the hook, and all too often we continue the fast and aggressive motions of our retrieve. The trout never has a chance to get back down through the water column, and we mistakenly fight the fish fast and near the surface. Unfortunately, that’s the worst place for a trout, if you want it to stay attached.
Trout are best fought in the lower two thirds of the water column. The riverbed is a bad place to fight a trout, and so is the surface. And I notice that these two places are where most losses occur.
READ: Troutbitten | Category | Fighting Fish
In the rain the other evening, my excitement got the best of me, until I realized my mistake and finally corrected it. I settled down and changed my approach. Once the trout was hooked, I maintained tension but stopped myself from pulling the fish too high in the column. Instead, I set the hook and allowed things to calm down for a moment.
It made all the difference. And I lost just one trout the rest of the night.
This Too
There are a couple more points to be made here.
When fishing streamers, we fish stronger tippet than when we’re fishing other fly types. The leader is thicker. It flexes and stretches less. So pulling against the trout with our rod tip is amplified.
I first noticed this when night fishing for trout. It took me a full season to realize why I was losing so many fish. Answer: I was using twelve pound Maxima Chameleon as terminal tackle and a heavier rod. With much less flex in the system, my standard fish-fighting techniques were overkill, resulting in too much influence and unwelcome pressure on the trout.
READ: Troutbitten | Night Fishing for Trout — You’re Gonna Need a Bigger Rope
This isn’t to suggest that a fight with any trout should be a long one. Not at all. I’m referring here to only the first few seconds after a fish is hooked. Let him swim back to the lower two-thirds of the water column. Avoid the barrel roll near the top. Let things calm down for a second, get your side pressure, and then fight him hard.
READ MORE: Troutbitten | Category | Fighting Fish
It All Starts With . . .
The hook set matters most, of course, because that’s where it all begins. So, maintaining a sharp hook and burying it with a clean hook set is critical.
I’m not a believer in the mantra to always strip set. It’s not necessary. Just set crisp and clean with either the line hand or the rod tip. I fish a jerk strip a lot, and on average I might move the fly twelve inches with each jerk of the rod tip. If a fish eats just as I’m about to jerk the rod, I’m going to finish that jerk motion of twelve inches, and that will set the hook. If I’m just about to strip when the fish eats, then I’ll strip set.
READ: Troutbitten | Why “Always Strip Set” Makes No Sense
My hooks are sharp enough and my rod tip is strong enough to get a solid hook set on the biggest trout in any river. (I don’t use extra long rods with soft tips.)
READ: Troutbitten | My Favorite Fly Rods
The timing of the hook set is a factor as well. I’ve set on the swirl and not the take too many times. A lot of lost trout probably come when the trout was foul hooked anyway.
One More Thing
It’s the average-sized trout that seem to come unbuttoned more than the large ones. Anything in the upper teens and beyond has a big enough mouth that the larger hook of a streamer usually finds a solid home. I still try not to horse these fish in for the first few seconds, but most times, the extra weight of such a trout dampens whatever unnecessary pressure I apply.
Photo by Bill Dell
Tame Yourself
Streamer fishing is a fun change up from everything else we do on a fly rod. It’s not delicate. It’s not slow and methodical. It’s often about pulling large flies across currents rather than dead drifting small flies in one seam. It’s enjoyable. But our extra enthusiasm can cause too many lost fish until we realize our mistake. And that’s something I’m forced to remind myself time after time.
Fish hard, friends.
READ: Troutbitten | Streamer Fishing Myth v Truth — Eats and Misses
READ: Troutbitten | The Meat Eater Minority | Streamer Fishing Myth v Truth
READ MORE : Troutbitten | Category | Streamers
** Donate ** If you enjoy this article, please consider a donation. Your support is what keeps this Troutbitten project funded. Scroll below to find the Donate Button. And thank you.
Enjoy the day.
Domenick Swentosky
T R O U T B I T T E N
domenick@troutbitten.com
Great points made and read Dom! Who doesn’t get that rush tossing streamers when a fish smacks it?!! Enjoyed the ‘Andy’ reference and pic too. Tight lines brother
Thanks Dom,
I was hoping you were going to tell me it was not my fault.
I too was trying to analyze why more bugger and streamer caught fish seemed to come undone,and agree,usually in first 10 or 20 seconds. One theory I came up with is whether or not a lot of these fish might of been lightly foul hooked,and first hard pressure caused fly to pull loose. For some reason I’ve foul hooked a ridiculous amount of fish over the years,regardless of Euro,indicator,dead drifting buggers or even swinging flys. And while have gone days with neither foul hooked or losses,some days it’s an epidemic.
Dom,
Spot on! You explained it! I lost several this weekend in the exact surface conditions you were talking about…I blamed it on the fish, then I blamed it on the hooks (my fingers were raw from sharpening them on the stream…) Sounds like I just gotta get control of the ‘buck fever’ and let ’em come to the net with less coaxing. Keep up the blogs; they’re awesome! (looks like your little Border Collie is becoming quite the fish hound) -TIM
Funny that when people lose fish that they are always”big”. Losing fish makes them bigger. That is the funniest lie that fisherman make. Other than that, great article and couldn’t agree more.
Excellent article and please keep writing them! You are right on regarding fighting the fish on the surface and the smaller trout are the ones that I have my LDR’s (Long Distance Release) occur with. Fishing this Saturday, I had two smaller trout that easily were brought to the surface and then the streamer popped loose as they were only hooked on the rear hook. The bigger trout I let them to dive due to their size and when brought to net, they had the whole Barely Legal streamer in their mouths.
Great advice i agree if i can get past the first 5 seconds of the fish doing the washing machine move on the surface,, then get em down its pretty sure i get them in,but that first 5 seconds are hair raising thats why we fish lol
Right on.
That alligator roll at the end of a fight is the perfect time to net them. Just have to act fast.
I can’t remember the last time I had one roll on the hook set.
Another lovely article, thanks Dom. It seems to me unbuttoning often happens in rashes, especially during the transition from early morning inactivity to later morning feeding. At least in my colder mountain setting there seems to be a period then when the trout take flies, but without really committing. I’ve been guilty of interpreting the resulting lost fish as their fault — light mild-interest takes leading to a hook penetration that’s only on the outer layers of skin, ripped out with the slightest pressure. But the mantra about taking it easy, not horsing and not rushing, has helped me in the past in other contexts, so I need to try it in this one. I’m talking nymphs, but the principle probably still applies. Thanks again.
Cheers.