[James Laraway]

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..

[Rob Brownfield]

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.

[James Laraway]

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 ?

[Rob Brownfield]

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!!

[Derek Roxborough]

 Yuck! Derek Roxborough

[Hamish Young]

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 

[Derek Roxborough]

 That " fly" smacks of Desperation, Derek Roxborough

[Euan Innes]

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 

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! 

 

[Dave Robb]

Surely you can just use a normal sinking line, say on a #7 or #8 to fish one of these streamers? 

[Hamish Young]

Surely you can just use a normal sinking line, say on a #7 or #8 to fish one of these streamers? 

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.

[Rob Brownfield]

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).

[Rob Brownfield]

That " fly" smacks of Desperation, 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!

[James Laraway]

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...

[James Laraway]

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

[Rob Brownfield]

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.