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How to Fish a Streamer
by John Krutz
Many fly fishermen understand that if you want to catch
large trout consistently fishing a streamer is the best
method. Streamers are flies that are tied to imitate
baitfish and are normally much larger then dry fly
patterns. Properly fishing streamers often results in
catching much
larger fish then an angler would on a dry fly.
Properly fishing a streamer is much different then
fishing a dry fly or a nymph. Dry fly fishing and nymph
fishing often requires a fly fisherman to get a dead
drift. Meaning the fly floats with the current of the
water with no drag caused by your fly line. In most
cases when streamer fishing you want drag on your line.
Remember you are trying to imitate a swimming baitfish
so you want the action caused by drag.
The most basic way to fish a streamer is downstream and
across. By this I mean you make a downstream cast across
the stream at about a 45 degree angle and let the drag
of your fly line swing the streamer across the current.
This method presents your streamer in the proper way it
was designed to be fished. Streamers are designed to
give a side presentation to fish, so you want the entire
body of the streamer to be perpendicular to the current.
However, there are other ways to achieve the side
presentation of the streamer to fish. One of the other
more common ways to fish a streamer is to cast directly
across the stream and strip in your line so the streamer
swims directly back to you. This method also gives the
streamer the appearance of starting and stopping its
swimming motion.
Finally you can combine the two above methods by casting
downstream and then swinging and stripping your fly.
Often this is a great way to cover the same piece of
water with multiple casts. First, just try swinging your
fly downstream and if that doesn't work try stripping
your fly in on the next cast. Often, I give my fly a few
strips at the end of the swing to try and entice any
fish that may be just following the streamer.
Now there are many things to try when fishing a
streamer, but these are the most common methods to use.
Remember fishing with big streamers often results in
catching large fish so make sure you use a heavier line.
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