[Derek Roxborough]

all these American flies, you will have all the old tiers turning in their graves, a lot of these flies came over with the Bows, I don't actually fish bows unless my arm is twisted, I do have a go at the pike with some pike budgies, but it has to be a fine day , when I first moved here flies were almost always 8s or 10s , now we go down to  14s but I tried fishing more 10s last year and it didn't make that much difference to the catches,  but it's knowing your venue, some of the lochs here have no other fish but trout, some times  so Dragonfly larva must be as big as they go,  there are lochs with stickle backs, but it doesn't seem to be a major part of the trout   diet  but its as you find it, Orkney trout  seem to prefer the flies I have managed to tie up for them, bumbles and Invictas, pennels and Zulus     Derek Roxborough

[Sandy Nelson]

So those that have been fishing streamers on the Don, what sort of patterns are worth trying?
I’m assuming black with some mobility and some flash?

Not always Dave

When things go quiet i have been known to swim a streamer in the river, one day it will account for my biggest fish, of that i have no doubt, having seen some of the beasts that they can move. But they are not fun to fish for any period of time, i've been casting some of Stuarts flies on a 5wt fast sinking Streamer tip line with my 8ft3" Bamboo with no issues, it just requires a wee bit of adjustment to timing (and made them more fun to fish than the 7wt did).
But for me its playing , not serious fishing, although i reckon if you hit 2 or 3 of the Don monsters with it, it could become an addiction (but i have enough of those already )

This was my favourite one last year a great match the hatch fly

https://youtu.be/hH7NUF_wePQ

Sandy

[Hamish Young]

Fished deep?

Sort of. Super fast sinking line, but fished super fast too..... a silver Humungous and a Butt Monkey have also served me well all over the place, not just the Don.... aside from rivers in my locale each has produced results on lochs all over the Highlands in everything from flat calms to howling gales too 
H

[Euan Innes]

This about sums up OPST.



Can't be cast overhead or fish dries my arse!
Another one for the bucket list.
 

[Derek Roxborough]

Awesome  Vid , Wow Derek Roxborough

[Rob Brownfield]

  Oh Yeah? what hatch? Derek Roxborough

I have had big river Don Browns hit fish I have been playing. One of those fish as a 9" Brownie and the fish that hit it was a good 8 or 9 lbs...so I am "matching the hatch" by fishing a streamer that has been tied to represent a Brownie or minnow.

I would also suggest that fishing a streamer properly requires thought and skill and far more understanding than just swinging a wet and taking a step downstream.

On top of all that, there is the pleasure of tying imitative patterns that also require different skill sets and very often, lots of imagination, to get something to swim and fish properly for a given pool, run or location.

Streamer fishing is not about catching trout, it is about catching big fish and being selective.

[Derek Roxborough]

 sounds like  self justification Rob, I just fish and go fishing , if in the way of things I catch a fish then that's my bonus,I do use Lures for Pike and sea fish , but I prefer to catch trout on more Traditional flies, but that's me ,    Derek Roxborough

[Kerry Jordan]

Strictly speaking, would using a plastic maggot be considered as matching the hatch?
After all you are imitating a fly larva......

[Derek Roxborough]

 what ever floats  yer boat, I use neither, plenty happy with Traditional flies,  Derek Roxborough

[Euan Innes]

Derek,
Imagine drinking Whyte & McKay for all your life and never sampling the finer points of an original Glendronnach 12yr old sherry cask. Sure it is hard to come by and costs more but, oh, the quality!
If it is a Highland loch that you frequent, try a big streamer near a burn mouth or a drop off and see what happens. Make it move like a fish that is trying not to get eaten, get it down and hang on.
Seriously, you need to try this streamer mularky. I love to drag wets from a boat as much as the next man but thanks to a certain bloke up by Beauly, I am now a skagit addict, on any size of rod and line weight. It opens up a whole new world of big flies on lighter lines which in turn leads to big fish on appropriate tackle that puts grins on faces.
 

[James Laraway]

tried tying an articulated wooley bugger last night. I think i'll be doing some more in a variety of colours. Finally i have some use for all those materials i bought but seldom use !

[Rob Brownfield]

tried tying an articulated wooley bugger last night. I think i'll be doing some more in a variety of colours. Finally i have some use for all those materials i bought but seldom use !

Also worth tying up some "Intruder" type flies.  I am not saying they will work...but...they work!!   I fish mine on a Switch and Skagit setup.

http://globalflyfisher.com/tie-better/intruder-introduction

[James Laraway]

dont get me started on intruders....i got into them a few years ago and am now drowning in lady aherhurst pheasant, rhea, coloured shanks,  , stinger hooks and beadalon wire 

[Derek Roxborough]

 Ah Now you are getting subjective, I don't drink Whyte& Mackay, or the other yin, I do like Old Poulteney and Highland park , Auchentoshen , Ard more, Laophroig, and many many more Probably too many, at my age I want to do what I have done and enjoyed for many many years, if you like that fair enough but it's not for me, Derek Roxborough

[Terry Coging]

We all go through phases in our fishing lives just as we do in everyday life.  As youngsters we look at the horizon and don't see what is in front of us. We learn how to cast a fly and during those formative years we turn every visit to a reservoir into a distance casting competition.  I's a manly thing to do. We are keen and looking for new ways at the expense of not learning our craft from scratch and sod the old fuddy- duddies.
Looking back over 50 years; as a younger man I would have been quite excited about this Skagit mallarkey.  I used shooting heads when they first  came into use. We had to make our own from from the unworn end of a used DT line.  The problem I see with the Skagit set up is that it requires a decent level of skill and newcomers, having watched the videos and parted with lots of dosh will be very disappointed. The video's, of course only show the good bits. Sales, sales, sales.....

[Hamish Young]

The problem I see with the Skagit set up is that it requires a decent level of skill and newcomers, having watched the videos and parted with lots of dosh will be very disappointed.

A very fair point, well made 

[Derek Roxborough]

 Aye Terry you hit the nail on the head , as soon as I saw the Rio box,, nothing wrong with guys casting  I thought another sales pitch , I have enough lines now , I tried the commando spey cast with my Airflo 40+ and it has possibilities, as the weather improves I will give it more practice,I roll cast every time I fish it gets my Intermediate line to the surface , and then I can deal with it  normally, but again that's me it may not be right for everyone,  Derek Roxborough

[Rob Brownfield]

The problem I see with the Skagit set up is that it requires a decent level of skill and newcomers,

Now that's interesting.

I had my cousins partner up the end of last year for his first ever Salmon fishing trip.  With standard integrated shooting head style lines he struggled but with a Skagit (Intermediate tip, not a heavy T tip)  his casting was transformed and he was actually putting out a really decent line.

Maybe a one off, although on the days my casting is going a bit..well..."meh"...I reach for the Skagit.

[Terry Coging]

Two things....
I might try a Skagit on the reservoir mainly because I don't like wading, don't like heavy lines and because I am still open to ideas.
The streamer flies that are shown look overdressed to me. Mind you, I think most flies are overdressed anyway.
The streamer don't look as articulate as the traditional and more simple leach. I'll try to post my version when I find the camera.

[Hamish Young]

Now that's interesting.

I had my cousins partner up the end of last year for his first ever Salmon fishing trip.  With standard integrated shooting head style lines he struggled but with a Skagit (Intermediate tip, not a heavy T tip)  his casting was transformed and he was actually putting out a really decent line.

Maybe a one off, although on the days my casting is going a bit..well..."meh"...I reach for the Skagit.

It's pretty easy to get an absolute beginner started (or I have found it to be so) with a double hander and a Skagit line, but equally it is an awful lot harder to take someone used to using conventional lines on their single handers (even to a moderate ability) and get them used to the idea of a Skagit type line on a single hander.  A competent single handed caster will adapt because they (knowingly or not) understand the mechanics, a less able caster or a novice without guidance will struggle (as Terry suggests).