ONE OF THE MOST VERSATILE FLIES OF ALL TIME
I have saved my favorite for last, STREAMER fishing!!!!! I love tying and fishing streamers more than anything. I am a confirmed streamerholic, thanks to Joseph D. Bates’ book “Streamers and Bucktails the Big Fish Flies”.
Without a doubt a book worth reading if you can find a copy. So far my best producing streamers are the DDH Leech, DDH Minnow, SRT Stickleback, Stu’s Sculpin, Mallard SB, and some Miniature Erickson’s Clouser Minnows. All these flies have worked well in every trout lake I fish.
TYED AND TRUE
Recipes for all these flies can be found in my book “Tyed and True”. I do tend to fish streamers a little differently than everyone else. In early spring I will fish these minnow imitations from deep water to shallow while most people will fish from shallow to deep water.
Stop to think of the natural movement of baitfish in the spring, they are moving from deep water to the shallow warm water so why fish your imitation in the opposite direction of the natural movement? After the first week of June, I do the opposite from shallow to deep, once again this is the natural movement of the forage fish whether it’s Stickleback, Chubs, or Daces they all do the same thing.
In the heat of summer, you can take trout on streamers if you get the fly down. Remember one thing, though, the water is warmer and well above the trout’s preferred water temperature which will put a great amount of stress on the fish and the ensuing fight could kill it. Not worth doing!
In the fall I fish streamer patterns the same way as the spring and get the same results. Now here is a tip that I learned from Trout and Salmon magazine back in 1976, and boy do the Brits know what they are talking about.
ORANGE IS THE GO-TO COLOUR!
I read an article about a gentleman who fishes nothing but flies with orange in them and he was hammering Browns and Rainbows. Being a young lad of 21 I thought if he can do it why not me. Since that time, 46 years’ worth, I have fished flies with orange in them during autumn and I can attest to the effectiveness of these patterns.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention what time of day that I fish during spring, summer, and fall. In spring and fall I tend to sleep in a bit and I’m happy to be on the water at 9:00 A.M. I know that a lot of people will say why not get there earlier. Remember the temperature of the water and how cold it gets. Well, the water starts to warm up at 9 and will continue to do so until 1 or 2:00 P.M. As the water warms the fish become more active and start feeding late morning to early afternoon.
NAP TIME
My day is usually finished at 4:00 P.M. For the summer months the opposite is true, I start at 4:00 A.M. and fish until 9:00 A.M. I then take a nap (after all us old guys need sleep) for a couple of hours, tie some more flies for a couple of hours, and then sit and tell tall tales with friends until the evening fish. I will fish from 8:00 P.M. until ½ hour after dark, which in Manitoba is about 10:00 to 10:45 P.M. during the summer months.
Tackle:
Most times a 5 or 6 weight will suffice for trout but in these lakes the trout could exceed 30 inches or approximately 10 – 15 pounds so I use a Streamside Tranquility 10 foot 7 weight for my trout fishing. This rod enables the angler to cast further if required and to land the fish more quickly which reduces the lactic acid build up in the fish enabling it to have a better chance at survival. I use a Prestige fly reel that has a capacity for 150 yards of backing (better to be safe than sorry) plus the fly line. It also has a smooth drag system which will not fail if the reel gets a dunk in the water.
LEADER CHOICE
Leaders are a personal choice and there are numerous types for sale, but this is what I do. Midge fishing, I will use a tapered leader and add some tippet material to acquire the length I need to fish in the depth required. For all my other fishing situations I will use whatever length of fluorocarbon I need, in other words a level leader. For nymphs I will use 8 lb. test and for streamers and the predacious diving beetle fly I will use 10 or 12 pound, the length is anywhere from 3 ft. to 10 ft.
Hopefully I have given some food for thought and enjoy your fishing adventures.