Fishing Streamers

[Albatros33]

Hey whats up,

Been fly fishing for near 20 years, in this time i haven't fished streamers much at all but have a little. I want to but don't feel confident in my knowledge of fishing them how, when, what kind of? etc. I tie as well and want to tie some up but because i fish streamers so little im not sure what to tie up or use out there, lets assume Im fishing the bow Ive only ever fished 1 streamer at a time, is fishing 2 or 3 unheard of or unethical? Not that i will, the older I get the more simple Im trying to keep things? Just trying to get a grasp on whats hot or what people are using for streamers setups and how to fish them these days. Thanks in advance.

[J D]

Streamers are usually my go to and dries my secondary. Even though I know nymphs and indicator can be really productive it just never felt right to me.

It is just imitating a different food items then the other styles nothing more really. Basically baitfish, crayfish, leeches, and attractor patterns when you're looking at trout.

They can be worked on a swing, stripped, and some can be used under an indicator. What ever it takes to imitate the action of the prey item you are imitating.

It is definitely the way to go when the fish want a large prey item. Also when running baitfish style patterns it is a food source that is available year round. Just like any fly selection streamers have their time and species where they are superior and other times there are better options

I have never tried running more than 1 streamer at a time and could see it being problematic when stripping or swinging streamers.

It is just another tool to use fly fishing and a worth while thing to have in your bag of tricks.

[jeprli]

Leeches(plain bugger, zonker strips, marabou...)
Muddlers(with zonker strip work good for me)
Minnows(clousers and such, hairwings work as well)
Really there are countless patterns and imitations you can use.
How you swing it is up to you, takes time to figure things out with different streamers and setups. Don't think i ever tied more than one streamer to my line, people use double streamer rigs as well but i dont for some reason. It takes more patience since you're blind casting but it does give you better chance at a big fish.

My favorite streamer has to be a leech, tied just like a bugger but with CDC feather and single marabou for tail. Size 8-6 medium length shank.

[Albatros33]

I hear you on the nymph thing. Thats how I learned and because of how productive it is its hard not to fish that way. Im older now and dont want to have to rely on a nymph set up to catch fish eh last year i found a very productive soft hackle pattern and fished it on its own for about 3 months, it was killer and a lot of fun. Liesenrings lift works very awesomely !!!! Anyways thanks man.

[J D]

Bugger style patterns
Sculpin patterns
double bunny patterns
Mickey fin

Lots of other opinions as well but these 4 are worth having in the fly box. Different weights are a good idea. I have had good luck pulling big browns out of deep or fast water with heavy flies

Common bow trout streamers for me are tied on a #6-#2.

[grinr]

Qu JD/"Streamers are usually my go to and dries my secondary. Even though I know nymphs and indicator can be really productive it just never felt right to me."/qu
This^^ looks like I wrote it myself,lol.

I rarely indi-bobber nymph fish,usually only out of frustration when Bow hands me my azz too many consecutive days swinging streamers,esp winter fishing when fish are lethargic and not so prone to chase.

On streamers,I often fish 2 at a time,usually a larger,weighted pattern with a non-weighted bugger trailing 3' behind.I don't find this setup to be very problematic at all,less tangles then fishing 2-3 fly indi-rigs for certain,esp with Skagit/waterbourne anchor.....SH/OH casting I generally have to open up my loops some/slow things down etc,not really any different then if I was casting just the single heavy fly,be aware of that as 80mph coneheads hurt like hell bonked off the back of your head.
I pretty much just cast/swing/step/repeat thru promising looking water to cover it all,as often as not takes will occur on the strip/retreive when setting up for next cast.....this is when that lil bugger dancing behind the darting/diving conehead really shines.
Clousers are about the only pattern that I fish upstream,cast tight to undercut bank w/deep run tight to shore,strip/bounce it back can be deadly.

The bonus thing I've noticed on Bow at least is that the average size of streamer caught fish is much better than nymphing.....I rarely ever catch <14" fish on Streamers for some reason,even though I've been slaying pan size Brookies on these same buggers all of my life.....go figger??
Wutever,I'll take quality over quantity anytime,leave the lil dinks alone for the harrassment of numbers obsessed bobber nymphers.That said,if you actually want to eat a Bow sewer trout...good luck catching a legal fish on streamers,I would best guess only 1:50 or so that I catch on streamers are <14"??
Admitted,I don't catch anywheres near as many as the nymphers do,but for me it's more about the "how" than the "how many."

[greylynx]

Originally Posted by grinr

Qu JD/"Streamers are usually my go to and dries my secondary. Even though I know nymphs and indicator can be really productive it just never felt right to me."/qu
This^^ looks like I wrote it myself,lol.

I rarely indi-bobber nymph fish,usually only out of frustration when Bow hands me my azz too many consecutive days swinging streamers,esp winter fishing when fish are lethargic and not so prone to chase.

On streamers,I often fish 2 at a time,usually a larger,weighted pattern with a non-weighted bugger trailing 3' behind.I don't find this setup to be very problematic at all,less tangles then fishing 2-3 fly indi-rigs for certain,esp with Skagit/waterbourne anchor.....SH/OH casting I generally have to open up my loops some/slow things down etc,not really any different then if I was casting just the single heavy fly,be aware of that as 80mph coneheads hurt like hell bonked off the back of your head.
I pretty much just cast/swing/step/repeat thru promising looking water to cover it all,as often as not takes will occur on the strip/retreive when setting up for next cast.....this is when that lil bugger dancing behind the darting/diving conehead really shines.
Clousers are about the only pattern that I fish upstream,cast tight to undercut bank w/deep run tight to shore,strip/bounce it back can be deadly.

The bonus thing I've noticed on Bow at least is that the average size of streamer caught fish is much better than nymphing.....I rarely ever catch <14" fish on Streamers for some reason,even though I've been slaying pan size Brookies on these same buggers all of my life.....go figger??
Wutever,I'll take quality over quantity anytime,leave the lil dinks alone for the harrassment of numbers obsessed bobber nymphers.That said,if you actually want to eat a Bow sewer trout...good luck catching a legal fish on streamers,I would best guess only 1:50 or so that I catch on streamers are <14"??
Admitted,I don't catch anywheres near as many as the nymphers do,but for me it's more about the "how" than the "how many."

How small have you tied your clousers down to?

Just trying to find more information on the pattern.

Thanks

[grinr]

Originally Posted by greylynx

How small have you tied your clousers down to?

Just trying to find more information on the pattern.

Thanks

I have Clousers as small as 1.5"-2" long that I copied from one I received here last year on AO thru a swap.Most Clouser patterns utilize a shorter shanked/wide gape/straight eye hook,but these are tied on a 3x long down-eyed streamer hook,sz 8 iirc??(your typical bugger hook)
That said I don't think hook size/style is so critical with Clousers unless you insist on staying true to the original saltwater pattern,which my larger Clousers are.Suffice to say I have Clousers tied as small as 1.5" OAL on 3xL #8,up to 3.5-4" long Clousers tied on the more standard shank/straight eye stainless Clouser hooks from #2-6.
Typically I tie them in Chartreuse/white,black/white,brown/white,blue/white,pretty much any buck tail combination you can think of with/white I spose would work,always with a few strands of KF mixed in and always a red throat on mine,but I add a red throat to almost every and all streamer patterns that I tie.

[greylynx]

Thank you very much Grinr.

Thanks for taking the time for the essay.

[michaelmicallef]

Night time on the Bow with streamers. A ton of fun and easy because the fish are pretty much around your ankles.

[Jayhad]

Here is the system i find most effective.


I was shown this three seasons ago, and like I said I have used it most drifts over the last three season it works if you have the distances right


from the sink tip you run a maximum of 3' of 15lb Floroucarbon to the first fly tie a loop knot and you want to have the bigger fly up front something like a sex dungeon or a circus peanut, but something articulated. I don't use weighted front flies, I want the fly to swim over the fish not drop in front of then. Then you loop knot 36"-40" of 12lb Floroucarbon. shorter it won't work, longer it won't work. loop knot the next smaller flashy fly, some bait fish pattern maybe a bullet head Coffey Sparkle minnow.



Reasons for the specific lengths;



A) most people will strip around 3', if fish sees your bigger fly go by when you strip, the smaller fly it will appear in front of the fish on the pause, triggering the eat if the fish hadn't choosen to eat the first fly.

B ) the way the flys are loop knotted eye to eye and the specific length of leader somehow makes the lead fly visably zig and zag up and down stream while you strip the flys back from the bank. YOU MUST HARD STRIP, that's different than fast.....

[Albatros33]

Thanks for all the goods on streamers and fishing them.

[dwo]

Can someone explain the term 'hard' strip for me???

[lannie]

Originally Posted by dwo

Can someone explain the term 'hard' strip for me???

It's what curlers do when they flyfish of course.

[Albatros33]

Originally Posted by Jayhad

Here is the system i find most effective.


I was shown this three seasons ago, and like I said I have used it most drifts over the last three season it works if you have the distances right


from the sink tip you run a maximum of 3' of 15lb Floroucarbon to the first fly tie a loop knot and you want to have the bigger fly up front something like a sex dungeon or a circus peanut, but something articulated. I don't use weighted front flies, I want the fly to swim over the fish not drop in front of then. Then you loop knot 36"-40" of 12lb Floroucarbon. shorter it won't work, longer it won't work. loop knot the next smaller flashy fly, some bait fish pattern maybe a bullet head Coffey Sparkle minnow.



Reasons for the specific lengths;



A) most people will strip around 3', if fish sees your bigger fly go by when you strip, the smaller fly it will appear in front of the fish on the pause, triggering the eat if the fish hadn't choosen to eat the first fly.

B ) the way the flys are loop knotted eye to eye and the specific length of leader somehow makes the lead fly visably zig and zag up and down stream while you strip the flys back from the bank. YOU MUST HARD STRIP, that's different than fast.....

Hey man, great detail and info!! Thanks a lot is it safe to say that its the same procedure if you are casting from shore or wading as opposed to casting towards it from a boat?

[Jayhad]

Originally Posted by dwo

Can someone explain the term 'hard' strip for me???

It's much harder to describe rather than show. A hard strip starts out at full speed, the velocity should stay the same through out the strip. I find that when I have anglers new to this system in me boat, they strip fast. meaning the strip will excelerate, full speed at the end of the strip, with this system thats wrong.

You can hit something hard or you can hit something fast, without getting into physics the two are not mutually inclusive.

When you strip "hard" and use this system (illustrated above) the fly jerks violently from side to side. If you strip fast it doesn't.

Albatros

The system will work from shore.... just not as well. The way this system is rigged the flys will actually follow the shoreline drop off as it is stripped to the boat. make sure you make 3 casts per sector and then take three steps down stream.

[Albatros33]

thanks man, I cant wait for winter to end.

[bigdirt]

winter is a great time for swinging and slow striping streamers!!

[pipco]

Originally Posted by bigdirt

winter is a great time for swinging and slow striping streamers!!

I think you meant "stripping" ?


I've tried it on the lake and only caught snow!

I received a lot of strange looks from the ice fishermen and definitely looked much dumber than usual but it was good practice.

Up in icy Edmonchuk we aren't fortunate enough to have the Bow to do that sort of thing in Winter.

[dwo]

Jayhad

Thank you for the explanation. This old dog just learned a new trick.

[Bhflyfisher]

Jays method doesn't work..... I out fish him in his boat all the time.....

[Bjay]

Here are my patterns for the Oldman River and Waterton river systems
Dan Bailey Muddler #10, #8 and #6 3x long 9672 mustad or equialent

Royal Caochman streamer #10,8,6 3x long with Kip tail wing or better yet a polar bear wing with 6 pieces of gold crystal flash under the wing.

Dirty stone fly dry Recipe is, Golden Pheasent tipet tail 8 to 10 fibres, dirty gold body, (dubbing or wool ) brown hackle tied wet at the front of the hook under a deer wing. Wing no longer than tail on fly. No head on the dirty stone. Size same as above. A very simple 50 year old pattern. You will need lots of these.

I float all of the above down like a dry fly then just before they get to the bottom of the drift I work them back like a streamer. I do this on a shallow run or hole. On a deep run or hole I will do the above through the run or hole then add some split shot 2 ft up the line and go through the run or hole again.

Bjay