Why Fish Streamers

In the hands of a novice fisherman, streamers can get you into the fish.  The learning curve for the basics of streamer fishing isn’t as steep as dry fly or nymph fishing.  Since you are doing this for fun it doesn’t hurt to catch a few fish right?  If you are fishing new waters or you don’t know what the fish are eating, streamer fishing can get you on the bite faster.  Streamer fisherman can cover more water.

For the intermediate fisherman, it’s another tool to have in the box.  There are those days when nothing else works…you could spend all day trying to coax them into taking a dry fly, or you can change tactics and catch some fish. 

When you move beyond looking for a 20 fish day and begin looking for those 2 or 3 specific fish, this is where streamers truly come into their element.  You can walk up to a hole that another fisherman has worked for a few hours and with a few casts of a properly presented streamer you can pull a fish that they didn’t even dream was there.

What are Streamer Fly Patterns

Streamer patterns are larger flies fished on an active retrieve.  There are 2 basic types of streamer fly pattern, the imitator and the attractor. 
The imitator streamer fly represents a food that trout prey upon.  Baitfish such as juvenile trout, whitefish and chubs are common as are bottom dwellers such as sculpins and crayfish.  Since you are imitating a natural food source, you need to also imitate the behavior of that food source in your presentation.
Attractor streamer patterns don’t represent a natural food source.  They are designed to entice a trout’s natural strike instincts rather through hunger or anger.  Attractors are often brightly colored with lots of flash.

In the hands of a novice fisherman, streamers can get you into the fish.  The learning curve for the basics of streamer fishing isn’t as steep as dry fly or nymph fishing.  Since you are doing this for fun it doesn’t hurt to catch a few fish right?  If you are fishing new waters or you don’t know what the fish are eating, streamer fishing can get you on the bite faster.  Streamer fisherman can cover more water.

For the intermediate fisherman, it’s another tool to have in the box.  There are those days when nothing else works…you could spend all day trying to coax them into taking a dry fly, or you can change tactics and catch some fish. 

When you move beyond looking for a 20 fish day and begin looking for those 2 or 3 specific fish, this is where streamers truly come into their element.  You can walk up to a hole that another fisherman has worked for a few hours and with a few casts of a properly presented streamer you can pull a fish that they didn’t even dream was there.