Streamer techniques

[curtrein]

Hey guys:

I have a question about streamer fishing techniques. I plan on fishing opening day and I know that my best chance will probably be with wooly buggers down deep.
Whenever I fish with buggers though, I feel like I'm not getting my fly down deep enough. I will be fishing a large creek, i.e. Loyalhanna and I really need to get the fly down to the fish.

Does anyone have any suggestions besides using more split shot?

Thanks in advance guys,
Curt

 

[tomgamber]

In a creek like the Loyalhanna I like to cast about 45 degrees upstream and as soon as the fly and line hit the water, mend the line upstream so that you rod tip and fly are in line but the line bellies upstream. Follow the fly as it comes to about even with you, watch your line for any movement.

At this point the line on the water should have caught up to the rod tip and fly and all three should again be in a straight line and your fly at tis deepest point. If it s opening day, thats all the room you're gonna have and you can cast again.

If you actually have some room you can mend again and when the line gets to about 45 degrees downstream from you let it swing back across the water toward you. On the swing of the fly is where you may pick up the most strikes. If you don't get a hit on the swing, cat again.

If this is working well, just cast across and let it swing downstream. I find that that mend after the cast helps get you more depth though so you want to cast past your intended drift because when you mend, the line tends to come back a little. Hope that helps...good luck.

 

[Padraic]

I like to throw a streamer upstream and high stick nymph it through pocket water, or walk along a high cut bank and drop it in at my feet or along structure. If you are tossing it upstream, the current won't pull it up. The tough thing about that presentation in high water is that you won't get much rest. The fly will be washing past you very quickly!

 

[beeber2]

In a recent FF mag the author recommends slipping a conehead on the line ahead of the fly. I haven't tried it yet but I will soon. Supposedly the fish has less chance of getting off because the weight isn't fixed to the hook and slides up during the fight.

beeber

 

[RLeeP]

As simple as it may seem, a lot of the problems involved with getting a bugger or streamer down have as much to do with how far you are trying to cast and how much weight you have on the line/in the fly as they do water levels or current speed.

Keep your rod high to keep as much line as you can out of the water and use enough weight to hang up now and then. Keep your casts as short as possible. This latter is especially important in a stream the size of the Loyalhanna. On these places, the temptation is strong to try and work to an attractive spot that is over across 2 or more tongues of current. You seldom can do so effectively in the flows that are customary on opening day. Perhaps most importantly of all, look for current breaks and work to them. The zone of slightly slacker water off the main flow, in stream structure with enough current going by to make it an attractive holding lie but not enough to make the fish have to work to hold. Doing so will in itself help to minimize the current lifting and otherwise monkeying with your fly. Generally, you'll find the fish (especially the newer stockers..) will prefer to avoid the heavier water anyway.

And everything else everybody else said, too...

 

[afishinado]

Good advice from all. To further the point from RLeeP about getting deep, fish the slack water in high conditions, and heavily weight some wooly buggers or streamers for that purpose. I wrap .020 lead along the entire body of some buggers and use a cone head. Also you can use lead dumbbells for you clousers. They cast (fling) like a roll of quarters, but it gets deep and keeps you on the bottom. During high water and/or low temperatures you need to stay on the bottom with a heavily weighted fly, and use all the fishing techniques mentioned above.

 

[ryanh]

I'm a big fan of the cone head.
In addition to adding weight, it imparts a lot of action as it is stripped. The head will pop up when stripped and will then dive when not, thus making it jig through the water. Good luck on the loyalhanna. I may be there but I got the skunk last 2 times i was there so may try someplace else.