casting streamers?

[fishingkidPA]

yesterday on the opening day of trout, i usually never use streamers and i am also new to fly fishing. I usually use drys and nymphs, which are alot lighter than streamers when wet. when i was casting my streamer it was hard because it was so heavy so i couldnt keep my cast going good, and i got a not in my fluorocarbon leader should i just roll cast them or what?
any help is appreciated!


but i did catch a big big brookie on east branch of spring creek with my wooly bugger

 

[pete41]

As an avid streamer fisherman I built my rod collection around the streamers.
2s and 4s both weighted took an 8wt.
6s and 8s weighted 6wt. .this makes for pleasant fishing,not forcing the issue.
You can use a 6wt 9' rod for nymphs but a little much for dries-lol
Big thing is if you are serious about streamer fishing you want to go with sinking line[density depends on water fished]and short leader.
Two feet of taper,3ft of tippet-replace tippet if you get a knot.
what I am babbling on about is streamer fishing is most fun when you equip for it.Easy to do if you carry a spare spool but not a lot of fun if you are under gunned rod wise.
So if you expect streamer fishing will be your approach for the day take a rod geared for the size and wt. of streamers you plan to use-you can always put a floating line on your reel if you change your mind midstream and still have fun with the nymphs or dries but too lite a rod for the streamers can take the fun out of it.good luck..

 

[afishinado]

As Pete said, the streamers you are fishing may be a little too big, heavy, or wind resistant to cast easily with the rod you fish. Fish some smaller streamers if necessary.

When casting streamers, the timing of your cast is very important. Don't rush your forward cast, wait until you feel the line loading the rod on your back cast before making your forward cast. In other words, let the line almost straighten completely. Also, do as little false casting as possible.

Sounds like things are coming together for you. Keep at it!. Good luck fishingkid.

 

[njk3395]

I use my five weight for all of my streamers, mostly without any issue. It's not nearly as comfortable as casting them with a 6 or 7 weight, but I get the job done.

 

[TDB]

Some good advice here. In plain terms - there is no real right or wrong way to "chuck" a streamer. The most effective methods are sometimes the ugliest!... In a lot of cases the harder the splash and more aggressive the cast the better. Try some different stuff and you'll find that different techniques work in varying water conditions/circumstances.

 

[drews]

You can also try the dead drift and strip method which can be done with a roll cast. I fish smaller streams but even when I occasionally get to a somewhat larger creek the roll vast still seems to get the job done.

 

[njk3395]

Options are unlimited with streamers, you can dead drift then strip in, which is the most used method, cast downstream and strip it in, strip it on the swing, twitch it, jig it, whatever you want to do. more than half of the fish i catch on streamers are caught when I differ from the conventional method. As far as casting, you can rollcast it, cast it in the air, as long as it gets where you want it to, however ugly, it will get the job done.

 

[stevehalupka]

I fished the heavy flows of the sw opener with a custom sink tip and even a few shot with size 6 streamers...

a normal roll cast doesn't cut it.

learn how to single spey cast.

if the currents is flowing to the right of you, let all of your line out and dangle... lift the rod across your body bringing the fly to you and lay down the fly line. then, like a spey cast, bring the rod back across your body, making an anchor point where the fly is, and make your normal roll cast.

if the current is opposite, do a snap t cast

google single handed spey techniques... a very graceful way to cast with water tension, and you'll find yourself wanting to do it with not only streamers, but all your flies.

 

[stevehalupka]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsPg45iNd_U&feature=related

the video i learned from... good ol jeff haha

 

[jayL]

Just go tinker around with it. I like to sidearm the cast with a figure 8 motion (like bob clouser mentioned at the FF show ). A haul is usually necessary on the back cast. Do whatever it takes to get the fly out there, and don't worry about how it looks. It ain't gonna be pretty no matter what.