Stinger Hooks

[larkmark]

Prospecter, A lot has to do with thinking about where fish is facing. The main thing that increased hookups for me when fishing down and across is strip setting rather than lifting the rod tip like you might do when fishing a dry. Rod tip low to water pointed at streamer and fish and set by stripping line hard. I know what you mean about swinging streamers and rod angle. That is a little different situation. I'm sure others on here might weigh in with a better description.

 

[Prospector]

larkmark wrote:
Prospecter, A lot has to do with thinking about where fish is facing. The main thing that increased hookups for me when fishing down and across is strip setting rather than lifting the rod tip like you might do when fishing a dry. Rod tip low to water pointed at streamer and fish and set by stripping line hard. I know what you mean about swinging streamers and rod angle. That is a little different situation. I'm sure others on here might weigh in with a better description.

Thanks for that. On the retrieve I usually have my rod angled downstream with tip low to the water. Upon a strike I pull across the current. I know how to set the hook via a strip but that has not been my tendency. I’ll try to be more consistent with that and see how it works.

Something else I’ve noticed is that many trout attack like a shark straight up from the bottom. Those fish many times go airborne. There is one hole that has had a sunken log at the bottom, 5-7 foot deep (I never walked in to find out). The browns must lay right along that log. It’s usually good for 7-10 strikes. That’s the exception though. I miss many of these strikes.

More common is a fish in 3-4 feet of water that dart out when it crosses their face. The trout is more level here and I believe they usually attack the head. I don’t fish the streamer that many call a Joe Fly but it is tied with a short shank hook anticipating that somewhere near the eye ball is the strike point. Most of the time I use a 3XL 2XH size 6. To me there is nothing better than a day when streamers are being eaten as the fly of choice. . Great strikes and generally nicer fish.

 

[SurfCowboyXX]

The easiest way to determine whether or not to use a stinger hook is to look closely at the fish you are attempting to catch. If the fish has curved teeth (like a trout), they are made to grab their prey, often from behind. This is why stinger hooks work so well on streamers. Browns like to grab critters from behind or sideways, then chow down. Bass, on the other hand, have negligible teeth. They need to eat critters head-first, otherwise the fins will stick in their gullet if they go down the wrong way. This is why bass flies should have prominent eyes, and why Bob Popovics calls his flies "Fleyes"--the importance of the eye target. The reason folks put a stinger hook on a bass spinnerbait is because the nature of a spinnerbait makes it harder to hook a fish, even if the fish strikes the head-the same properties that make a spinnerbait weedless also make it harder to hook fish.

 

[sandfly]

joe's flies are tied as wet flies with a stinger on most. they are not used as a streamer.

 

[foxfire]

McSneek wrote:
Geebus. Why don’t you just toss a rooster tail?

LOL!!!!

 

[SlowMutants]

From casual observation and input from those with more streamer fishing experience then myself I'm a believer trout eat their prey head first.

I've caught a handful of fish which have had half digested fish visible/sticking out of their mouths. In all occasions the fish was eaten head first.

In general I chalk up short strikes to the simple fact I invaded the space of a fish with my fly and he hit the streamer as a defense mechanism. Not as a result of a predatory response.

I prefer articulated streamers for their action and put little value on the ability of the trailing hook to catch fish. If in a situation where two hooks on a fly are not allowed I will cut off the trailing hook leaving the front hook.

 

[Dave_W]

SlowMutants wrote:
From casual observation and input from those with more streamer fishing experience then myself I'm a believer trout eat their prey head first.

My observation is that they swallow their prey head first, but they don't seize/inhale smaller fishes head first the way bass do.

Piscivorous trout often attack their prey more like muskies and other esocids - that is they seize the fish mid body, often by overtaking it from the rear and chomping down to immobilize or kill their prey. Next time you're swinging a streamer cross current watch as large trout react to it - they will often come up behind and follow the fly, often taking a swiping nip at the rear, or missing the fly completely.

It's common to see muskies and trout swimming around with a pinned fish crosswise in their mouth, often for many minutes, sometimes it's even a smaller trout. After awhile, the big fish turns the little one around and swallows it head first.

Anyway, observations aside, if you're a skeptic of stinger hooks, try them sometime. You will be surprised how many trout are caught on the trail hook(s). It's usually about 50% for me. These are fish that would almost certainly be missed by a single hook fly.