Setting Hooks

[Aiptasia]

I rarely chuck streamers. I think maybe I haven't had as much success in the past and I normally stick to my bread and butter which produces well and I have a good time.

Well, yesterday I made a concerted effort to switch things up and focus on streamers on the Highwood. It was a real blast, as I could normally see the streamer in the water and it was pretty exciting to watch big fish come out and chase that sucker down. I found it interesting that many would just follow it and then turn away last second. More frustratingly I found that many fish would smack (and really hard too!) my streamer and I wouldn't really get a set. I tried not to yank the fly away, and more attempted to set the hook with a strip rather than pulling the rod (admittedly I may have gotten excited and pulled away from a couple before they chomped). All in all, I didn't have problems attracting fish - but I did have problems hooking them.

 

Is there a "trick" to setting the hook properly when streamer fishing?

[ÜberFly]

Where's Hawgstopper when you need him!! He's famous for his Bow River hook set!!

 

Yank it like your pulling teeth!! LoL

 

Google "strip set" which works well if you are swinging streamers. You can always "yank from the bank" if your are "chucking and ducking"!!

 

P

[somereddeerguy]

Everyone seems to have a different style that works for them, I almost always do a down and across and find it I can keep my rod tip pointed at the fly I don't have to do much more than hardly raise my rod. every once in a while I find if I keep my line too tight I will pull the streamer away from the fish. Also a big fan of articulated flies.

[WyomingGeorge]

Some days the fish are lazy or tentative and it's just plain hard to close the deal. Other days a newbie with slack in their line, turning their head away looking at birds, talking and unaware of what a hook-set even is will get huge fish on the line. Sometime if you stop the streamer the fish will lose interest and turn away. Other times a pause in movement induces the strike.

[bighopper]

Sometimes the fish seem to bite the the tail end of a streamer. Adding a small stinger hook (with a short piece of mono) that is flush with the tail end of the streamer might increase your hook up rate.

[SilverDoctor]

You can bring a Streamer to a Trout but you can't make a Trout to bit a Streamer

[Aiptasia]

Thanks everyone. I do really like the stinger hook idea, I was chucking some big streamers with rabbit strips that extend fairly far past the hook. I think they might have been biting the tail (I could definitely feel them when they did) and not bite the hook. Also, need to learn how to tie some articulated streamers as they look fancy.

New goal for the summer is to get good at streamer fishing.

Thanks again for the tips! You guys are rockstars.

[BurningChrome]

Remember to actually fish the fly. If you see a fish following but not taking then vary your strip speed or do something else to change up the movement of the streamer. That's why you get a lot of hits at the bottom of a swing - the fish has been following your streamer during the swing and the change in movement entices it to hit.

[Dangus]

I like to Swing for the moon and yell "there he is!"

like an epoxy, you need parts a and b for it to work successfully.

[TroutPanther]

Just one more thing - don't be afraid to go back at that same fish if you miss it. I had a couple fish slash at the streamer last night, which gave up their spot. I gave it a couple minutes, switched up the casting angle (from snaking downstream to swinging and dangling in the lie from upstream) and whammo. If they don't feel the steel there is a good chance you can still get 'em.

[Aiptasia]

 

Remember to actually fish the fly. If you see a fish following but not taking then vary your strip speed or do something else to change up the movement of the streamer. That's why you get a lot of hits at the bottom of a swing - the fish has been following your streamer during the swing and the change in movement entices it to hit.

 

Makes sense, I will try mixing it up.

 

 

Just one more thing - don't be afraid to go back at that same fish if you miss it. I had a couple fish slash at the streamer last night, which gave up their spot. I gave it a couple minutes, switched up the casting angle (from snaking downstream to swinging and dangling in the lie from upstream) and whammo. If they don't feel the steel there is a good chance you can still get 'em.

 

Would you try changing to a fresh fly right away? I know with dries if I get a miss, I often will swap flies right away. I feel like often if I throw the same fly right back I am more likely to put them down whereas I often get a second look on similar (but slightly different) fly. Ultimately, I do like your idea of just waiting that minute, I think they figure it out pretty quick when the same fly swings past their nose ten seconds later.

 

Also, I tried tying a two hook streamer. I've never done this before, and am pretty new to tying in general - basically I tied the back hook with some flashy material and then used mono to secure the back fly by tying it from the eye up to the front hook. Any feedback on this?

 

[bcubed]

That'll work.. Cut off the front hook, for the fishes gills and eyes sake. Ya you might miss a couple, but at least you'll feel like less of a dick

[Aiptasia]

That'll work.. Cut off the front hook, for the fishes gills and eyes sake. Ya you might miss a couple, but at least you'll feel like less of a dick

 

Good call! Being less of a dick is one of my life goals.

[TroutPanther]

That's a good looking fly Aiptasia.

 

Re: switching flies - I usually don't bother, which might cost me the odd fish, but that's ok with me. I find the strip cadence, depth & angle are bigger factors. If you are less lazy than me, it might not be a bad idea...

 

I've been playing around with some of the techniques in "Strip Set" by George Daniel. I picked it up on Kindle before a long flight a couple months ago. It can be a slow read at times but definitely a wealth of knowledge in there. I'm sure he has more sophisticated streamer advice than me!

[SilverDoctor]

If you use your line hand to add action to the streamer, it's easy to do a quick little strip set when you feel the bump. Takes a bit of practice to get the feel of it but it's a nice way to fish as after the cast I usually can look at the scenery still feel for the fish.

The Tug is the Drug.

[Aiptasia]

So, as an update: I went out again to the highwood, determined to catch more fish with streamers and armed with everyones wonderful tips.

 

 

I'm happy to say that they worked! I hooked into some great fish and even landed a couple bull trout (which I have never before encountered). All in all, it was a lot of fun and got me into some high quality fish. Thanks again!