Articles in the Category Streamers

Building the Troutbitten Mono Rig – Reels, Lines, Materials, Connections and Knots (VIDEO)

For over a decade, I’ve written and talked about fishing a Mono Rig for all underwater presentations — nymphs with and without an indicator, with and without split shot, dry dropper, streamers of all shapes and sizes and even pure dry flies.

I’ve detailed the formulas for my favorite leaders in many places, but I’ve never put everything together from the ground up. This video answers the most frequent questions about reels, fly lines, leader connections, materials and knots. No matter what tight line leader you choose to build, the principles shown here apply.

Fishing With Visible Flies — Learning From What You Can See (VIDEO)

Seeing the fly is one of the most enjoyable aspects of fishing. But there’s a world of education inherent, too. Watch the fly dance and fall as it mixes with the currents. Notice how it responds to rod tip animation and line strips. Then see a trout materialize around the fly and judge its reaction. Visible flies are teachers. Whether dries, wets, nymphs or streamers, watching the fly helps us refine the techniques that catch fish.

Streamer Anglers — Be Like the Drift Boat

Keep moving. That’s the key to streamer fishing. And moving downstream with the currents makes it possible for hours at a time. Wade down and fish up . . .

Fishing the Edges (VIDEO)

Here are specific strategies for targeting edge water, with footage from two trips — one on small water and one on a larger river. I fish nymphs and streamers, changing frequently to suit the conditions.

Streamer Presentations — The Cross-Current Strip

May 3, 2020 | Streamers, Tactics

There are a lot of ways to retrieve a long fly after the cast. And that’s really what’s so much fun about the streamer game. Fly anglers might spend hours fretting over the imperfection of a drag free drift on a dry fly or twice as long considering the depth and drift of a nymph, but when the streamer is tied on, it’s a chance to let loose. Nothing else in fly fishing allows for such freedom of presentation. “Everything works sometimes.” No other fly type fits that tenant so well.

But what will trout respond to most? That’s the question. And on many days — most perhaps — the answer is a cross-current strip. Here’s why . . .

When the First Cast Matters Most: Part One — Streamers

Mar 25, 2020 | Fly Fishing Strategies, Streamers, Tactics

While fishing the long flies, accuracy is paramount. In a recent conversation with my friend, Bill Dell, he made an excellent point that changed the way I fished streamers again. Bill’s thoughts forced me to rethink the habits I’d fallen into. And that hammered me back into shape.

Bill told me he doesn’t make a cast until he’s in the ideal position, until he can deliver the streamer to that sunken log near the bank with exactly the angle he considers best. He refrains from any lead-up casts. Rather, Bill saves the initial cast for when he can deliver the knockout blow — no jabbing on the way in. Here’s why . . .

Streamer Presentations: Land With Contact

Feb 2, 2020 | Streamers, Tactics

Streamer fishing provides limited opportunities to put fish in the net. There are fewer takes on a long fly than we expect with smaller flies like nymphs or dries. So we cannot afford to miss these chances. Lack of contact with the streamer is a common error, but it’s easily corrected . . .

Streamer Presentations — The DEATH Drift

Oct 27, 2019 | Streamers, Tactics, The Mono Rig

What happens to a fish when it dies? It usually sinks to the bottom. And I’ve seen enough trout carcasses or half-eaten and decomposing fish on the riverbed to believe this as a first-hand fact. But what happens to a fish as it’s dying? What of the small trout, sculpins, dace and other baitfish that reach the end of life because of injury or old age? For all the thousands of baitfish that inhabit your favorite stretch of river, how do they meet their end?

Surely, most of them simply sink to the streambed and surrender to the circle of life, becoming sustenance for smaller aquatic critters. But sometimes, a dying fish floats and struggles for a bit. And that seems like a pretty good opportunity for a hungry trout.

Enter, the DEATH drift . . .

Streamer Presentations — The Crossover Technique

Oct 6, 2019 | Streamers, Tactics, The Mono Rig

. . . The crossover is a targeted approach to fishing streamers. Instead of spraying casts and hoping, we bring the streamer right to the trout, with control.

. . . If you’re experienced with streamers — if you’ve spent a lot of time chucking meat — it will take discipline to perform the crossover correctly. Refrain from stripping, jerking and reverting back to the more common retrieves. Our average motions with streamers are usually large. We move the fly fast and far. Again, think small. Imagine a dying or disoriented baitfish bumbling along the riverbed and trying to get its bearings. Move your streamer that way.

. . . With the crossover style, I work the streamer through river lanes while focusing on structure: rocks, logs, gravel bars or color changes in the riverbed. All of these are excellent targets, and the animations available with the crossover style are a perfect way to maximize the fly’s time in these hot zones . . .

Streamers as an Easy Meal — The Old School Streamer Thing

Jan 18, 2017 | Streamers, Tactics, The Mono Rig | 29 Comments

The modern streamer approach asks trout to get up and chase something down, to kill it and eat it, while the old school streamer game presents an easily available chunk of protein to the trout. It doesn’t ask the fish to chase very much. In essence, old school streamers come to the trout, and modern streamers flee from the trout . . .

Modern Streamers: Too much motion? And are we moving them too fast?

Dec 15, 2016 | Big Trout, Streamers, Tactics | 16 Comments

Is a big, articulated streamer with marabou, flashabou, rubber legs, polar chenille, rabbit strip, hen hackle and a lazer dub collar actually moving too much? Are there too many elements in motion for a trout to reject? And might we do better with streamers that...