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.

VIDEO: Crossover Style – Streamer X Nymph

Oct 9, 2025 | Streamers, Tactics

Crossover Technique is streamers on a tight line. It’s part streamer concept and part nymphing. There’s always a streamer on the point, and sometimes a nymph is added as a second fly.

The Crossover is all about taking a streamer to the fish. Instead of stripping our fly away from the trout, asking it to get up and chase, the Crossover style makes it easier for a lazy trout to say yes to the presentation.

Crossover techniques are subtle but attractive. We’re trying to inspire the trout to eat a bigger food form, while having precise control over exactly where the fly is and how it moves, all because we’re fishing it on a tight line, Mono Rig system.

PODCAST: The Blue Liner’s Bible — Questions and Stories (S16, Ep6)

Sep 1, 2025 | Announcements, Small Streams, Streamers, The Troutbitten Podcast

I think we ended up right where we started, realizing that small stream fishing leads us into everything there is to love about fishing, and maybe helping to teach us some of the most important lessons of all. Wherever you are, wherever you fish, take some time to hike upstream into a narrow, shaded valley. You just might fall in love.

PODCAST: The Blue Liner’s Bible — Bigger Trout, and Streamers on Small Streams (S16, Ep5)

Aug 24, 2025 | Announcements, Small Streams, Streamers, The Troutbitten Podcast

This one’s about using streamers to find the biggest trout in the smallest waters. Our job for this episode is to highlight the changes we make, or the different strategies we might have, for fishing streamers in small waters vs the bigger ones.

Troutbitten Shop Spring Sale ’25 — All Leaders, Hats, Stickers and Apparel In Stock

May 22, 2025 | Announcements, Nymphing, Streamers, Tactics, The Mono Rig

The Troutbitten Shop Spring Sale ’25 is here, with all leaders, hats, stickers and apparel back in stock.

The HV Thin Crossover Leader

May 7, 2025 | Streamers, Tactics

This leader is perfectly built for subtle streamer presentations, at longer distances, with less leader sag and more feel. I’ve been working on the Crossover technique for half a decade or more. But in the last year, after the addition of the Super Pause and the slight downsizing of flies, a different leader build has made all the difference.

PODCAST: Streamer Presentations #9 — The Tight Line Dance (S14, Ep9)

Mar 23, 2025 | Announcements, Streamers, The Troutbitten Podcast | 1 Comment

We use a visible streamer for the tight line dance. We watch the streamer dip and swoon around rocks, tree parts and the river bank. Wherever there’s good structure, that’s the next target. The concept of the tight line dance allows us to hold the streamer around structure for longer, animating the streamer in every way imaginable to convince the trout.

PODCAST: Streamer Presentations #8 — The Crossover Technique (S14, Ep8)

Mar 16, 2025 | Announcements, Streamers, The Troutbitten Podcast | 3 Comments

The Crossover is a group of animations brought into a system, a mindset, or a framework for fishing your streamer.

The Crossover technique is all about getting the streamer low — in the strike zone — and then animating it within a narrow range, being careful not to move the fly out of the strike zone or move it too far.

PODCAST: Streamer Presentations #7 — Speed Leads and Lane Changes (S14, Ep7)

Mar 9, 2025 | Announcements, Streamers, The Troutbitten Podcast | 0 Comments

Speed leads happen mostly in one lane, and they go faster than their parent current. Lane changes are exactly what they sound like — the fly is traveling in one lane, and then we deliberately bring the fly over to a nearby lane and travel down that one.

The speed lead is a term coined by our friend, Josh Stewart. Way back in 2017, I published a few articles about low-riding streamer presentations, with streamers tied on lead ball jigs. I’d gotten the idea from Rich Strolis, and it was a bit of an underground thing at the time. I remember that Stewey got in touch after reading my article, and we started sharing ideas and presentation styles with some of these flies. When I described leading low but faster than the current, Josh said he called it a speed lead, and it was one of his best tactics for stirring up big trout . . .

PODCAST: Streamer Presentations #6 — Jigging Styles – Slack, Contact and Pendulum (S14, Ep6)

Mar 2, 2025 | Announcements, Streamers, The Troutbitten Podcast | 6 Comments

We’re here to talk about one of the most basic movements performed on any fly, lure or bait — jigging.

Moving the fly up and then letting it drop is a simple motion with complex options. And in this podcast, we break down the differences between slack jigging, contact jigging and pendulum jigging.

Q&A: When Do You Change the Streamer? (with VIDEO)

Feb 27, 2025 | Questions & Answers, Streamers, Videos | 4 Comments

Everyone has their own method. And as long as you have a plan and a reason to change, then it’s probably just as good as mine. But I have a lot more to change about how I present the streamer before I actually clip off and change the fly . . .

PODCAST: Streamer Presentations #5 — Give Swings a Chance (S14, Ep5)

Feb 23, 2025 | Announcements, Streamers, The Troutbitten Podcast | 4 Comments

Swinging is arguably the easiest presentation on a streamer. That also might make it the most relaxing. It’s a great way to cover a lot of water, and it’s an easy way to stay in rhythm. But there are some downsides too.