Showing posts with label fly fishing the leech. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fly fishing the leech. Show all posts

Sunday, January 1, 2023

Fly Fishing Streamers

One of my New Year Resolutions for the coming year is to fish the streamer more on days when the top action has slowed. Fly fishing involves seeing a fish break the water surface and take a dry fly or popper which is the norm for most fly fishermen. Sub-surface flies are not the top choice for fly fishermen, because the visual aspect of seeing a bass, bluegill, or trout hit the fly or popper is missing. 

After watching a number of streamer videos I'm convinced I can land fish in the middle of the day when a lot of fish are less active. Patience and trying different retrieves is the key to getting a hit from a fish that has gone deep during mid-morning or mid-afternoon. 

Streamer fishing is not new to me, but as stated earlier in the intro of this post I can be lumped in with most fly fishermen who like to see the fish explode on a surface fly. Fish explode on sub-surface flies as well but we don't see it but we certainly feel the take. 

The largest Spotted Bass I have ever caught was taken using a Wooly Bugger streamer in November of 2021 fishing Ryan Creek on Smith Lake. You would think that fish would have convinced me to fish more streamers, but I was hooked on the surface poppers instead. All my fishing buddies are into the surface action, but I am slowly convincing them that we need to give the streamers a try for the coming season. 

I want to share some of the streamers I will be using for the coming season and I hope to report back in the Spring on their success. 

All these buggers are in sizes 6 and 8 with rubber legs which I feel will attract a hit more than the traditional bugger pattern. The size 8 is a great size to use for the trout on the tailrace. 
The Little Fort Leech in size 6 and the Near Nuff Crayfish size 6 top two flies would add some variety when the bugger slows. The last three are the Clouser Marabou Minnow size 6 is something I would try for the bass and the crappie. All these flies would be fished with a sink-tip poly leader. I was using this leader when I landed the big female Spotted Bass in November. I ordered all these streamers from Big Y Fly Shop for .89 a piece. I have ordered from this company before and was impressed with their quality and shipping.