Streamer questions

[LongLineRelease]

Im been working on my streamer game the last year or so. I have a couple of questions for you guys.

What do you consider the best conditions to fish streamers. For me it’s only been truly good immediately after a big rain storm. Are there any other magic times I’m missing?

The second question is what retrieves do you do best on in each water type? Meaning what retrieve style and speed do you use in riffles, runs, pools, flats, and pockets? Also which cast direction to you prefer in each situation? Upstream, across, or down?

 

[Dave_W]

LongLineRelease wrote:
Im been working on my streamer game the last year or so. I have a couple of questions for you guys.

What do you consider the best conditions to fish streamers. For me it’s only been truly good immediately after a big rain storm. Are there any other magic times I’m missing?

The second question is what retrieves do you do best on in each water type? Meaning what retrieve style and speed do you use in riffles, runs, pools, flats, and pockets? Also which cast direction to you prefer in each situation? Upstream, across, or down?

High water conditions are indeed a great time to fish streamers and for many of us, these conditions are when we tend to reach for them. The other magic time is low light conditions - dark days and late evening - and at night.

For higher water levels, I tend more frequently to cast up and across and fish the streamer in hops downstream. For lower levels, or at night, I tend to fish down and across more often. There can, of course, be a lot of variation here. But these are my general tendencies.

 

[Nymph-wristed]

The only thing I can add to what Dave said about conditions is that besides low light and stained water, heavier water also cuts visibility and makes fish react quickly to an easy meal. In the summer, at the base of plunge pools or tight to structure in white water where they only have a second to react, then a streamer can be your friend.

In answer to your second questions: yes. Use them all. When approaching a fishy looking spot (or a spot I know holds a big fish from a previous sighting) I give them the quick retrieve looking for an aggressor, followed by a high stick to get it deeper tight to the same cover, followed by a swing, and so on. Use it like a lure than you control instead of just swinging it. Upstream can be great too, especially when the fish are deeper. Cast upstream let it sink, then use the bow in the line or simply hop it back on a tighter line. Sculpin, crayfish, big stones, hellgrammites, they don't just swing or even swim. Keep in mind that what worked today,may not work tomorrow....

 

[jifigz]

I think that there are no bad times to fish streamers. Depending upon species being targeted, type and size of stream, and water flows they can be effective nearly all of the time fished in different ways. I will generally cast streamers upstream in most trout waters and generally never cast upstream when fishing larger flowing waters for bass. Target all pockets, seams, pools, fallen Timbers etc and see how it goes. Sometimes strip them fast and sometimes dead drift along the bottom. Ultimately more experience is your best friend. There are some trout streams, given these streams nature, that I reach for streamers almost always and they are all I fish in these streams.

 

[Prospector]

I use streamers a lot. 80% of the days I fly fish for trout, I’ll have one tied on for at least 1 pass of a good stretch. Many times I start the day or end the day with a streamer. Even if ending occurs at high noon in bright sun. There are 2 stretches where I fish dries and when things slow down I head out for lunch, I’ll clip the tippet and tie on a streamer and generally get 10-30 strikes where the fish just stopped rising.

Streamers work best in streams with Browns, but I catch a decent amount of rainbows. Brook trout tend to take them best in the hour before dark which just might coincide when they get naturally active.

Another technique I use in long stretches of water that has similar depth and features, where holding water doesn’t stick out like a sore thumb. I’ll fish a streamer through this long stretch 1-2 hours before the spinner fall starts. I’ll catch a few fish but more importantly I note the area where the most fish showed themselves and I’ll setup for the spinnerfall in that location.

To me streamers are so much fun. My mentors 40 years ago taught me to fish streamers on the move. I walk slowly down the creek as I fish. All casts are about 30 degrees downstream and as close to the far bank as you can get. A foot away is perfect, but 10 feet away works too. During the retrieve I probably end up 4-6 steps downstream from where I stood at the cast. I’m always moving. You will run into clusters of fish as you go. Stop there and make several casts especially in locations where several trout are fighting over it. Don’t waste more than 10 casts in one spot, keep moving. You are targeting aggressive fish. I strip most times at medium speed.

Hookups are tough sometimes but the strikes are great.