First Time Streamer Fishing

[Mikey2006]

Partially motivated by a thread on here I had been reading about targeting big brown trout, and also just looking for a chance to break in my new 9ft 5wt that hasn’t seen much use, as I never made a trip up to central pa this year to fish Penns and Spring creeks, I finally decided to spend an entire afternoon throwing only streamers on a stream I know has lots of browns with a few very large ones mixed in.

I fished for about 3 hours and moved 3 fish, landed only one but it was a very nice 14.5 inch brown that hit it so hard I almost had a heart attack. Now I see what I have been missing.


A few questions about fishing streamers, is there a right or wrong way to set the hook? I had one fish eat four casts in a row, yes I am not joking the same 10 Incher came back for it that many times, and I missed him each time. I also missed one other fish and it felt extremely awkward trying to set the hook without pulling it away from them too fast.

Also are they supposed to be worked near the bottom or near the surface? Whenever I retrieved it through fast water I felt like it wasn’t getting deep enough for the fish to even see it and even in the slower pools it was hard to get my streamer to sink at all unless I literally let it fall on a slack line

 

[Kgregor12]

Partially motivated by a thread on here I had been reading about targeting big brown trout, and also just looking for a chance to break in my new 9ft 5wt that hasn’t seen much use, as I never made a trip up to central pa this year to fish Penns and Spring creeks, I finally decided to spend an entire afternoon throwing only streamers on a stream I know has lots of browns with a few very large ones mixed in.

I fished for about 3 hours and moved 3 fish, landed only one but it was a very nice 14.5 inch brown that hit it so hard I almost had a heart attack. Now I see what I have been missing.

View attachment 1641238911View attachment 1641238912
A few questions about fishing streamers, is there a right or wrong way to set the hook? I had one fish eat four casts in a row, yes I am not joking the same 10 Incher came back for it that many times, and I missed him each time. I also missed one other fish and it felt extremely awkward trying to set the hook without pulling it away from them too fast.

Also are they supposed to be worked near the bottom or near the surface? Whenever I retrieved it through fast water I felt like it wasn’t getting deep enough for the fish to even see it and even in the slower pools it was hard to get my streamer to sink at all unless I literally let it fall on a slack line

If your tight lining jig streamers set like a nymph if your not upstream tight lining then strip set. If fish eats at your feet train your self to set towards tail not the opposite direction that would yank out of his mouth. Streamers can be fished infinite number of ways but on the coldest days dead drift with twitches is killer but stripping a really big one can move big fish in harsh conditions too if their hungry especially spawned out and skinny

 

[5footfenwick]

My advice for setting the hook is strip set when possible. Try to have a controlled rod lift instead of a flailing big swing. It can be very exciting getting that streamer slammed, but you wanna maintain some sort of control in the hook set. If possible 🙂

Also it sounds like you were able to see some of these fish. It’s easy to pull a fly away from a fish when sight fishing. Sometimes they are just nipping at the tail and all over it, but aren’t actually committing. If I’m having the problem you said. I will try to mentally make sure I’m actually feeling something before I pull the trigger. Almost pretend like I can’t see them. However keep this in mind. Sometimes a nice fish will charge and overtake the streamer coming directly at you so fast that it will actually put slack in the line. Sometimes these takes are next to impossible to feel until your next strip. If you feel anything weird set. If you see your fly disappear, definitely set. Hook sets are free.

One last thing, don’t be too discouraged about missing fish. If you start streamer fishing more regularly you will see that the days you swing 100% are sometimes few and far between. 2 for 6, 3 for 8 etc….1 for 3 while not always feeling great, are perfectly normal at least for me. Some fish are gonna just miss the hook. Some are gonna come unbuttoned as soon as they are hooked. It’s just part of it. Good luck! Keep us posted on how your next attempt goes!

~5footfenwick

 

[Broodstock]

Lots of good info already, and I can add a few points. I fish streamers on a tight line setup for most of my streamer fishing. I vary the weight for conditions and depth, from lightweight or neutrally buoyant flies, up to super heavy 5.5 beads with lead wrap underbody to get way down. Most of my streamers are setup as single hook, jig style flies. Sometimes I do well on articulated flies, but I find that almost all my fish, including ones over 20" will eat a 2" streamer. Am I missing even bigger fish by not throwing a 4" steamer? Perhaps, but I would rather catch 10 fish 14-18" in a day, with a shot at a larger one, than only one or no fish.

In terms of hook set, I agree with what has been said. Some days the fish seem to want to commit to eating more than others, and some days they will swipe at the fly. It depends on water color, speed, sun, and other factors I have yet to find a pattern around. I get my best success casting upstream quartering and letting the fly drift down, varying the retrieve and then letting it swing, hang. I work every piece of structure, and seam that I think holds fish. I also make sure to cast to water that I assume is too shallow, since I have caught fish on steamers in unlikely places.

I use 8 or 10 lb maxima, and about 4 feet of 4x sighter. I streamer fish on 4x cortland and have not had issues landing large fish on that quickly. Keep track of eats, and landed fish, since you will likely not be batting 100% on streamers as has been said. Make sure to change color and size until you find a pattern that works. Cover water quickly. One last tip - if you move a really good fish on a streamer but it does not eat - you know it is there and unlikely to move around a lot. Take off the steamer and run some nymphs (or an egg this time of year) through that run for a while, chances are you will get that fish.

 

[Wild_Trouter]

Partially motivated by a thread on here I had been reading about targeting big brown trout, and also just looking for a chance to break in my new 9ft 5wt that hasn’t seen much use, as I never made a trip up to central pa this year to fish Penns and Spring creeks, I finally decided to spend an entire afternoon throwing only streamers on a stream I know has lots of browns with a few very large ones mixed in.

I fished for about 3 hours and moved 3 fish, landed only one but it was a very nice 14.5 inch brown that hit it so hard I almost had a heart attack. Now I see what I have been missing.

View attachment 1641238911View attachment 1641238912
A few questions about fishing streamers, is there a right or wrong way to set the hook? I had one fish eat four casts in a row, yes I am not joking the same 10 Incher came back for it that many times, and I missed him each time. I also missed one other fish and it felt extremely awkward trying to set the hook without pulling it away from them too fast.

Also are they supposed to be worked near the bottom or near the surface? Whenever I retrieved it through fast water I felt like it wasn’t getting deep enough for the fish to even see it and even in the slower pools it was hard to get my streamer to sink at all unless I literally let it fall on a slack line

I know EXACTLY where you are 😉 They really like these in there (Meat Whistle):

 

[HopBack]

I know EXACTLY where you are 😉 They really like these in there (Meat Whistle): View attachment 1641238923

I believe in know where as well. I’ve gotten a couple of dandies out of there before. In my experience if i find that or see a trout is nipping at the fly I stop the retrieve and simply jig the streamer along pulling it up through the water column and this will often induce a proper strike.

Have Fun!