One Way to Catch a Fish

[JUICE]

All,

I have been fishing for 3 years now, so busy nymphing and dry fly fishing, I have yet to catch a Trout on a streamer.

This isn't for lack of trying, but if you experts were to suggest to a novice an easy way to catch their first trout on a streamer what would you suggest?

What kind of line?
What kind of leader?
What kind of fly?
What kind of presentation?
What kind of strip?

I have caught a bunch of bass on a streamer but don't seem able to catch a trout. I can't even really remember a strike.

I think a suggestion for someone investigating streamer techniques for the first time, is what I am asking for here.

Thanks!

Justin

[Mantis]

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[Walshmiko]

Dont limit yourself to just a traditional swing, mending can add life,make the fly dart and get it under over hangs. Streamer fishing is fun!!

[sholgate]

IMHO and limited experience....

I usually use a streamer after I tried to fish a run or hole with no success with nymphs or other methods. Tonight I had two follows by a trout over 15" in a stream that averages 15-20' across. Anyway, I usually cast downstream and strip it upstream over a "fishy" hole.

Most strikes happen after the first or second pass, rarely after that, at least in my experience. I have to confess, most times, it does not work. But when it does, it is usually the largest fish of the section, and no matter how much I expect a hit, I am always surprised.

I have caught mostly rainbows on brightly colored woolly buggers, and browns and brooks on more natural colors. I have 3-4 woolly buggers in different colors and a few small clouser minnows in light greys, whites, and some in a orange/green/white for those streams that have both browns and brook trout. Large browns seem to enjoy a lunch of a wild brook trout.

[LopatNympher]

This thread hit me with perfect timing. I've been nymphing the Bushkill all season and I've become a little bored with it. So tommorrow I decided I am going to give some streamers a try. I have very limited experience with them and this post is going to help in a big way. thanks guys. BTW, I am going to start out with a black nose dace to see how that works. Although limited by what I have in my box, I do have 4 or five others that I will attempt to lure some fish with. They consist of a couple of clousers (an older gentleman on the monacacy gave them to me in return for getting his line out of a snag), a couple of black ghosts, some woolies and some yellow streamers. Wish me luck.

[AaronJasper]

I am telling you guys... Make some of those Slumpbusters! John Barr didn't give it that name for nothing. I made at least 30 of them today!

[sholgate]

Matching the hatch with streamers...

I was on Hay Creek tonight with my wife from about 230-500. We never fished this stretch in town (Birdsboro). It is fished hard. Within 5 minutes a guy came by to tell us about how a friend pulled out 28 fish in one afternoon in one hole. We told hm that was too bad and that we usually call the authorities on that sort of thing. Anyway, it is an abused stream.

About 320PM I caught my first fish, a creek chub and it gave me an idea. I tied on a sliver and gray mini clouser minnow and pulled out a couple of nice rainbows. I think you can match a little of the food source with streamers.

[Brookie]

[quote author=AaronJasper link=topic=3795.msg29317#msg29317 date=1258931611]
I am telling you guys... Make some of those Slumpbusters! John Barr didn't give it that name for nothing. I made at least 30 of them today!
[/quote]

I concur with Aaron on this one. That is one effective fly. Trout see lots of WBs in heavily pressured streams. This is a perfect situation to use a slumpbuster. Tie them in olive, black and rust. You cannot go wrong.

[LopatNympher]

I probably could have used a few of those Saturday. I struck out with the streamers. Luckily I kept my nymph box in my pack "just in case".

[Magnet]

JUICE,
I used to always just swing streamers and then and strip them in. I learned this year from DW to try dead drifting streamers and then using a hand retrieve kind of like you would a nymph. I use a cone head streamer for this. It worked pretty good too.