Streamer fishing for spooky fish

[tmohler]

Simple question, curious to hear thoughts about it: how do you use streamers in water that is super clear and the fish are spooky? Was thinking about making an inaugural trip to Big Spring this Saturday, and I understand streamers are one method of catching fish there, but it seems like it'd be rather difficult to use them without spooking fish the streamer plopping into the water or the fly line. Thanks.

 

[tomgamber]

if you can stay low and out of sight, you can get above them you can cast across the stream and drift the fly down to them and then swing it across or just strip it back in front of them. Most hits I get on streamers are on the swing.

 

[gulfgreyhound]

Good advise. You could dead drift a Bugger and strip it at the end of the drift.GG

 

[just_jon]

A technique I use on BS is to toss a streamer on to the edge of a weed bed and tug it off and let it dead drift through the channel between beds. Not sure why it works, but I’ve caught a lot of fish this way using a Shenk’s sculpin and white minnow.

 

[sarce]

just_jon wrote:

A technique I use on BS is to toss a streamer on to the edge of a weed bed and tug it off and let it dead drift through the channel between beds. Not sure why it works, but I’ve caught a lot of fish this way using a Shenk’s sculpin and white minnow.

This exactly describes how I caught my largest brook trout ever, a 17" beast from BS. Highly recommend this technique.

BS is mostly too flat to allow you to sneak upstream of a spot and swing a fly down to it. There are also too many smaller fish in there in the shallows that will spook and may in turn put down other fish.

But if you carefully drop a streamer over the edge of a dark hiding spot, you might be tempting a fish that isn't aware of you yet.

 

[Maurice]

I will probably take some heat for this but the two people I know who rack up big fish numbers on BS Creek and the LeTort use short rods(6’-ish) and big bulky streamers. The technique resembles the bass fishing style known as “Jig and Pig flipping”. Not really fly fishing.

But they have good success yanking those hogs outta the salad.

SUHN! Now that’s a betta feesch!

:-D int: :hammer:

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

The above comments are good techniques and ones I use myself to catch plenty of fish out of BS and the Letort.

Another thing to consider is they will move for your streamer a very good distance. I have shown people that fish in Big Spring will swim upstream a good 20 yards to take a streamer. That water is very clear and the fish can see a very good distance.

Your best bet is to toss the streamer to the far edge of the creek, well away from any fish you are targeting, then pull it slowly into the zone that is in "line" with the fish, jig it and release line out slowly to get it closer, let it sink to the bottom then lift and let it drift down closer, over and over, if the fish starts to move for it then strip strip strip.

A sculpin pattern is great for this because they lack a swim bladder and it mimics them pretty well.

they will come.

 

[Dave_W]

salvelinusfontinalis wrote:
I have shown people that fish in Big Spring will swim upstream a good 20 yards to take a streamer. That water is very clear and the fish can see a very good distance.

I'd respectfully suggest that this is optimistic and by no means typical ^

Just making a point for folks who are new to streams like BS and Letort. I've been fishing sculpins on these streams for 35 years and have never had a trout travel 20 feet, much less 20 yards, to eat a streamer. Sure, they'll cover distance and can be very aggressive when they see a sculpin, pushing a wake and often making multiple swipes at the fly. However, there are very few places where these fish are going to see that sort of distance to move to a fly. A new guy fishing Cumberland Valley streams should not expect fish to move 20 yards to eat a fly. This would be highly unusual.

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

Yards was supposed to be feet.
That was my bad.

Even still I showed a pretty regular guide to the area just that.
They will move a great distance for a streamer.

Note: I mostly fish 5" streamers on those creeks. Much bigger than most people.

 

[krayfish2]

Little shocked that this hasn't even been mentioned..... LOW LIGHT

Many of the big predators hunt around dusk or at first light. You must know the water and big fish holding lies as they aren't as easy to pick out in low light conditions.

 

[Hook_Jaw]

I like to fish up stream stay out of the water stay low and make long casts up stream and strip down stream.

 

[allan_s]

If not fishing in low light situation then I would nymph first.

sight fishing true French Style. No indicator - not even colored mono - long leader down to 6-7x fishing 18-20ft plus leaders. With small barely weighted nymphs to keep them in the zone. Fished quartering down stream or across. A small twitch or two if the dead drift isn't getting them to bite.

If you aren't sight fishing then i would opt for a small yarn indicator fished on long leader. White is a good color and make the indicator tall not wide. Less disturbance on the water.

that doesn't work then give them a meal they can't refuse with a streamer tickling their nose.

if none of that works then purple haze em because sometimes trout do crazy things.