Beginning Streamer Questions

[Kabutt]

I've been using generic 8lb. mono for bassin' and carpin'. I tried some type of braid but didn't like it... Would anyone recommend fluoro instead of mono?

 

[salmonoid]

Kabutt wrote:
Bugger-type streamers just seem to do a great job of imitating fish food. One can alter color combinations and fishing techniques to mimic specific food items. Black bugger - it's a sculpin, white bugger - generic minnow, natural/tan bugger - crayfish, etc...

You nailed it in your first sentence; I think its even simpler than having a color match natural prey for why buggers work - no matter what color, to a trout, its a sizeable food-looking thing. We anglers probably give too much credence to the color mattering. Maybe Mr. Trout thinks for a half instant "Why is a green crayfish in my stream, when most of the other [natural] ones I eat are brown?", but they'll hit the bugger nonetheless. About half the fish I caught with a fly rod this year were caught on a bugger, mostly olive colored.

 

[PhilC]

Kabutt wrote:
I've been using generic 8lb. mono for bassin' and carpin'. I tried some type of braid but didn't like it... Would anyone recommend fluoro instead of mono?

I prefer flouro, but its not always necessary.
First advantage is more abrasive than mono so will hold up better against rocks, teeth, etc
Fluoro also reflects light similar to water so it is less visible.

 

[BelAirSteve]

salmonoid wrote:

Kabutt wrote:
Bugger-type streamers just seem to do a great job of imitating fish food. One can alter color combinations and fishing techniques to mimic specific food items. Black bugger - it's a sculpin, white bugger - generic minnow, natural/tan bugger - crayfish, etc...

You nailed it in your first sentence; I think its even simpler than having a color match natural prey for why buggers work - no matter what color, to a trout, its a sizeable food-looking thing. We anglers probably give too much credence to the color mattering. Maybe Mr. Trout thinks for a half instant "Why is a green crayfish in my stream, when most of the other [natural] ones I eat are brown?", but they'll hit the bugger nonetheless. About half the fish I caught with a fly rod this year were caught on a bugger, mostly olive colored.

Trout are optimal foragers, and their "judgment" can be affected by something big and flashy that will allow them to take in a lot of calories. It's the same reason big fish will risk a huge splashy rise to eat a cicada and not worry too much about the tricos.

I agree with you that we tend to over analyze - with streamers in particular, it's the action and the flash that entice the trout to strike, not the imitation of something natural - they're just wired for it. Kind of like why your cat will chase a feather or a string when you dangle it in front of him - he's just wired that way.

Speaking of over analyzing - when I first joined this board a few years ago, there was a long detailed thread about whether or not trout are turned off by the incorrect numbers of tails on a spinner fly. Finally someone chimed in and said "well, the trout don't seem to mind that huge steel hook coming out from between the tails!"

 

[Kabutt]

PhilC wrote:
I prefer flouro, but its not always necessary.
First advantage is more than mono so will hold up better against rocks, teeth, etc
Fluoro also reflects light similar to water so it is less visible.

Cool. I dig the better abrasion resistance.

 

[Kabutt]

Regardless of why streamers catch fish so well, I'm glad I've started using them more. This forum got me into WW fishing for bass, which got me using streamers, which I will now go to much more frequently when trout fishing. I caught many 'bows on the Leh!gh on Monday swinging an olive bugger, then a black Murdich. They were even chasing it... Had a blast.