Fishing The Fly Scotland
Index => Main Discussion Area => Topic started by: James Laraway on 04/01/2018 at 13:31
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Ive decided that this year im going to take a leaf out of our American cousin's book and go after the brownies with streamers. I've cerainly been inspired by watching some cracking youtube videos.
so 2018 , for me, will be the year of the streamer
1st off the production line..
(https://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/gallery/11649-040118133101.jpeg) (https://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=4738)
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Back of the queue lol...
Quite a few of us have been fishing streamers for a while now. Tend to stick with a single hook these days. Have had a couple of fish deep(ish) hooked on tandems.
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ive only really fished big lures before for the brownies, never articulated flies....From the looks of the flies used in the US the bigger the better....
i do have some shanks that need using up so i will do some 'single hook' atrictulated ones too...
have you tried them on lochs as well as rivers Rob ?
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ive only really fished big lures before for the brownies, never articulated flies....From the looks of the flies used in the US the bigger the better....
i do have some shanks that need using up so i will do some 'single hook' atrictulated ones too...
have you tried them on lochs as well as rivers Rob ?
Yip....in the way of Pike flies being hammered by trout!!
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Yuck! :X2 Derek Roxborough
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Word of caution, tempting though it is to use some of the big heavy tungsten heads etc I find less is more.... and much easier/pleasant to cast :z13
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That " fly" smacks of Desperation, :z12 Derek Roxborough
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Word of caution, tempting though it is to use some of the big heavy tungsten heads etc I find less is more.... and much easier/pleasant to cast :z13
Indeed, and go get an OPST Commando head skagit line with a full set of the three tips rated for your chosen rod. If you have difficulty choosing a weight then contact OPST (OPskagit.com) and tell them your rod weight and intended targets.
OPST Commandos can be had from www.francnsnaelda.com, which is Sean Stanton the Deeside ghillies website. He has some really cool tying materials there too.
Also check out Youtube for the OPST videos - it is not just Steelhead! :z16
:z1
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Surely you can just use a normal sinking line, say on a #7 or #8 to fish one of these streamers? :z8
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Surely you can just use a normal sinking line, say on a #7 or #8 to fish one of these streamers? :z8
Much depends on the properties of the line so up to a certain size and weight of streamer a conventional line will do the job. Thereafter it's a question of using something fit for purpose, single handed Skagit is one option and a good one.
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I use the Orvis Bankshot and the Rio Streamer lines for the heavy streamers, and an SLX for the more normal Wooley Buggers and so on.
However, I will be using a Skagit this year (if I can find the one I want).
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That " fly" smacks of Desperation, :z12 Derek Roxborough
Can't agree with that. Big browns are predatory. Its matching the hatch and a very valid method.
Desperation is the plethora of people using "mop" flies and blobs on the river!
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Much depends on the properties of the line so up to a certain size and weight of streamer a conventional line will do the job. Thereafter it's a question of using something fit for purpose, single handed Skagit is one option and a good one.
i thought ( probably wrongly) that you werent meant to overhead cast a skagit as it would break your rod ?
last year i did buy a Teeny T300 line to try out, just not wet it yet...
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I use the Orvis Bankshot and the Rio Streamer lines for the heavy streamers, and an SLX for the more normal Wooley Buggers and so on.
However, I will be using a Skagit this year (if I can find the one I want).
i do have SLX's for my 7wt and recently got one for my #6 switch ...so all tooled up as they say :-)
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i thought ( probably wrongly) that you werent meant to overhead cast a skagit as it would break your rod ?
A single handed skagit is still "spey" cast, not over head.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGaTcPI_HMU
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i do have SLX's for my 7wt and recently got one for my #6 switch ...so all tooled up as they say :-)
I actually use lightly weighted Woolly Buggers on a 4 weight SLX. Size 6 probably the biggest.
On the 7 weight its easy to chuck a long shank size 2 with several wraps of lead :)
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Can't agree with that. Big browns are predatory. Its matching the hatch and a very valid method.
Desperation is the plethora of people using "mop" flies and blobs on the river!
Oh Yeah? what hatch? Derek Roxborough
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A single handed skagit is still "spey" cast, not over head.
Looks impressive right enough but good casters can make anything look good . Also I see they use mono running line so no wonder they fly !!!
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Oh Yeah? what hatch? Derek Roxborough
Derek you strike me as being very old school in your methods and opinions. There have been a lot of advances in fly fishing in recent times. At the forefront of this would be nymphing techniques and all that goes with it but that’s off topic.
Secondary to nymphing would be, yup you guessed it streamer fishing. I think most would agree, that the yanks are mostly responsible for pioneering the modern day techniques. Kelly Galloup is regarded as the godfather of the streamer and is the one most have heard of. Look him up for a masterclass in the method and your opinions will maybe change.
As for matching the hatch, once these fish reach a certain size, it requires high return meals to maintain its condition. In order to do this it will change its feeding habits. Instead of intercepting thousands of drifting nymphs or emergers trapped in the film it will chose to feed on bigger food items. Less effort for a higher calorie return. Minnows, stickleback, juvenile trout and other baitfish will become the bulk of its diet. Therefor using these big profile highly mobile flies is indeed a perfect ‘match of the hatch’. :wink
:z18
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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?
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At 81 I am very old school , you must be about 18 ? I can manage to catch my share with my traditional flies, 6lb WBT on a size 14 Orange Invicta and a 3lb+ WBT on a size 12 Claret bumble, to each his own, I do use modern Equipment and have done since Carbon fibre was introduced , and hope fully I will continue to catch my share, lures aren't every thing :X2 Derek Roxborough
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I’m assuming black with some mobility and some flash?
Pretty much all I fished with streamer wise - essentially a woolly bugger. Wee bit of 'what takes your fancy' flash wise, key thing for me was the fluorescent orange bead.... that just seemed to work. Probably just a confidence thing :z8
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Pretty much all I fished with streamer wise - essentially a woolly bugger. Wee bit of 'what takes your fancy' flash wise, key thing for me was the fluorescent orange bead.... that just seemed to work. Probably just a confidence thing :z8
Fished deep?
Will have to give it a go, some of those slow moving deep pools at Fintray might be worth a bash. Not sure about chucking out a 15cm tandem but will make up some singles.
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I found a predominantly black humongous with orange dumbbell eyes did well for me on the don...
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At 81 I am very old school , you must be about 18 ? I can manage to catch my share with my traditional flies, 6lb WBT on a size 14 Orange Invicta and a 3lb+ WBT on a size 12 Claret bumble, to each his own, I do use modern Equipment and have done since Carbon fibre was introduced , and hope fully I will continue to catch my share, lures aren't every thing :X2 Derek Roxborough
81 and still fishing, good on you! I’m early 20s myself. There is no denying that wets catch fish. I totally agree streamers have a time and a place. I’ve had a few chats with a mate and we both reckon a full season on only streamers would produce some of the biggest fish. It’s also have a hell of a lot of fishless days. :z16
I’m a fan of what I call Ben’s Wooly bugger (black with Orange conehead) and some of the bigger articulated stuff such a Barely Legals, Butt Monkeys and the Drunk and Disorderly.
:z18
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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 :z18 Derek Roxborough
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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 :z4)
This was my favourite one last year a great match the hatch fly :z16
https://youtu.be/hH7NUF_wePQ
Sandy
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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 :wink
H
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This about sums up OPST.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=16vZivxM8u8
Can't be cast overhead or fish dries my arse! :z4
Another one for the bucket list.
:z1
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Awesome Vid , Wow Derek Roxborough
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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.
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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 , :z13 Derek Roxborough
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Strictly speaking, would using a plastic maggot be considered as matching the hatch?
After all you are imitating a fly larva......
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what ever floats yer boat, I use neither, plenty happy with Traditional flies, :X2 Derek Roxborough
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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.
:z1
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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 !
(https://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/gallery/11649-090118085521.jpeg) (https://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=4739)
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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 !
(https://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/gallery/11649-090118085521.jpeg) (https://www.fishingthefly.co.uk/forum/index.php?action=gallery;sa=view&id=4739)
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
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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 :X1
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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, :z12 Derek Roxborough
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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..... :z4
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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 :z16
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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, :X1 Derek Roxborough
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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.
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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.
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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).