Swinging Streamers

[reevesr1]

I've been fishing streamers a lot more often lately, and have noticed a couple of things:

I am getting the vast majority of my fish on the swing, and the ones I don't get on the swing I tend to get as I am starting my lift to cast. I get very, very few while stripping. This makes me think I may be doing something wrong when stripping, and hence missing opportunities to catch more.

 

My general method is cast anywhere from 45 to 90 degrees, mend upstream, let it swing out, then strip back. Often, I'll strip while it is swinging, but I don't find that effective at all. I've tried different speeds, pauses, twitches, whatever. I've also noticed that most of the strikes have not been the violent attack type strikes. More like the streamer just stops, or feels like a hang. Fun when the "hang" starts to head shake though!

 

So is it normal for most to hit on the swing? Is it a winter thing, ie, fish are less active and less willing to chase? If so, then why are they hitting on the lift? I would think that the hit on the lift is a reaction strike to the bait "getting away". So that to me would mean the fish is following, yes?

 

Anyway, any help would be appreciated.

[alhuger]

So is it normal for most to hit on the swing? Is it a winter thing, ie, fish are less active and less willing to chase? If so, then why are they hitting on the lift? I would think that the hit on the lift is a reaction strike to the bait "getting away". So that to me would mean the fish is following, yes?

 

Anyway, any help would be appreciated.

 

 

I hit most of mine on the swing also. I agree, I tend to think you are finding them on your pick up because they've followed your fly and are hitting it because on the lift they think it's fleeing. Or maybe they are just tight to the bank and you dropped it in front of them. I also find though that when I fish water with no strikes on the swing I will often get strikes when I strip through the same water. I will cast, swing, cast strip slow and then one more with a fast strip and then step... Works for me but I am hardly an expert. As for for violent takes, most of mine are violent, or so I thought. Could well be I am missing the others...

 

al

[timjorourke]

Rick,

 

I tend to fish my streamers from the bank in the same fashion as you with the same results. However I use a sink tip line and unweighted flies. There are two instances where I strip my line. 1. When my flies start to hang up on the bottom I will strip as slowly as the situation allows to prevent getting hooked on the bottom. 2. I always strip line in various ways as soon as it is on the dangle, hoping to get a strike from anyone who has followed my flies in.

 

When the water is warmer I will cast upstream a little and retrieve my line quickly trying to give the fish a side-on look at my flies. That is sometimes very effective.

 

I find that fish hitting on the swing happens year round.

 

Tim

[agbff]

Most of my streamer hits are in close with short(ish) casts... i think when i have too much line out i lose contact with the fly and miss alot of hits. No sink tip and minimal shots... I try and dangle the fly as long as i can because i think its more about the movement in the current that gets a fish to strike.

[headscan]

I like to mix things up until I find what they like. Usually use a type 3 tip, start by casting perpendicular to the current and either cast further up or down stream to change my depth. Start by letting the fly swing with the current to the dangle, pause for a couple seconds, then start stripping it back and varying between long slow strips and short fast ones and everything in between. If that doesn't work I'll strip during the swing, but the majority of the hits I get on streamers are either on the dangle or the first strip. I always try to have a tight line during the swing to feel any hits. I actually got more hits during the swing this past Saturday than on the dangle or strip though, which is kind of unusual for me.

[Frenchcreek]

Good replies. Also, bear in mind this is winter fishing, verrryyyy cooold water so the fish are more lethargic and not as likely to chase a fly, they may follow it along for a while but I think they are more likely to hang around their favorite rock. Streamer fishing in summer temperatures is very different than winter presentations. Slow and deep seems to work best for me in winter conditions, and I will often pull in and release 6-8 inches of line just to get the fly pulsating and I often do several mends as the swing develops, again to keep the fly deep(er).

[monger]

Fish will often follow the fly for a long ways before deciding to hit it (more so in warmer water). While swinging streamers on a shallow flat on the Bighorn one year I could see the big rainbows following the fly. They would stay about 10" behind the fly sometimes for 30-40ft (water temp about 5C). Sometimes it is the quick strip or the change of angle once the swing is done that gets them to eat. It's especially frustrating when they only chase and don't eat...

[maxwell]

Good replies. Also, bear in mind this is winter fishing, verrryyyy cooold water so the fish are more lethargic and not as likely to chase a fly, they may follow it along for a while but I think they are more likely to hang around their favorite rock. Streamer fishing in summer temperatures is very different than winter presentations. Slow and deep seems to work best for me in winter conditions, and I will often pull in and release 6-8 inches of line just to get the fly pulsating and I often do several mends as the swing develops, again to keep the fly deep(er).

 

 

Fish will often follow the fly for a long ways before deciding to hit it (more so in warmer water). While swinging streamers on a shallow flat on the Bighorn one year I could see the big rainbows following the fly. They would stay about 10" behind the fly sometimes for 30-40ft (water temp about 5C). Sometimes it is the quick strip or the change of angle once the swing is done that gets them to eat. It's especially frustrating when they only chase and don't eat...

 

 

i think u two dudes got it! i find most of my fish taking flies on teh strip are later in the year with warmer water temps...... but not always!!!! i like too strip halfway through teh swing or strip a fwe times keep swinging strip a few etc...... usually right after teh strips i get my hits.. but some days tehy jsut want a motionless swing ........ and sometimes they love the fast strisps!!!!! i find most times people will strip thestreamers too slow.. thing of a injured fish or scared fish.. they move fast !

[SilverDoctor]

Something I like to do is about three quarter through the swing drop back about a foot of line and jerk forward. Kind of like small hops. Learned this technique from my parents who loved wet fly fishing.

 

[Swede]

Most of us swing streamers, its a great technique and covers alot of water. But ive had alot of luck casting upstream and dead drifting a streamer back towards me. Just keeping in touch with the fly and high sticking it by me and feeding line to extend the drift. Than swing it out at the end of the drift

[deeppowder]

I have always been under the impression to cast tight to the bank or feature you spect is holding fish. Hit the water hard with your fly, two or three quick twitches, strips and recast. I agree when cooling waters temps are happening, the movement has to slow down. I am not a big fan of this, but people I fish with like to use an bobber (indicator) when they are dead drifting.

 

When using streamers, what are trying to imitate? Sculpins or other bait fish? Are crayfish a large source of food?

[reevesr1]

I have always been under the impression to cast tight to the bank or feature you spect is holding fish. Hit the water hard with your fly, two or three quick twitches, strips and recast. I agree when cooling waters temps are happening, the movement has to slow down. I am not a big fan of this, but people I fish with like to use an bobber (indicator) when they are dead drifting.

 

When using streamers, what are trying to imitate? Sculpins or other bait fish? Are crayfish a large source of food?

 

When walk and wading, you can also use swingning as a method to cover lots of water quickly. It can be particularly effective in water holding fish, but with no true visual clue as to feeding lanes, holding areas, etc.

 

[deeppowder]

When walk and wading, you can also use swingning as a method to cover lots of water quickly. It can be particularly effective in water holding fish, but with no true visual clue as to feeding lanes, holding areas, etc.

 

When the fish are typically holding tight to the bank, I like to float and get after them. If I am wading during this conditions and the fish are tight to the bank, I try to cast straight up and tight to the bank. Yea, sometimes spooks the fish but most of the time not.

[skearns]

When the fish are typically holding tight to the bank, I like to float and get after them. If I am wading during this conditions and the fish are tight to the bank, I try to cast straight up and tight to the bank. Yea, sometimes spooks the fish but most of the time not.

This is all great info, I am a long time nympher, short time streamer but am adding a second rod to the collection which I want to rig for streamer fishing. Mostly I float with the pontoon. When I do streamer I attach a 10 ft section of sink tip leader to the floating fly line, then 2-3 feet of 0x then the fly. I have also seen buddies double up on the streamer flies. My success with this setup has been limited but when it comes to hits, the violence from streamers is wild...thanks for sharing your insights...sk

[Alinden]

I have a question about the retrieve. When the streamer gets to the end of the swing you start stripping right. But I find that the current always pulls the fly to the surface of the water. How do you prevent this? or am I doing it wrong?

[headscan]

Your fly is always going to rise at the end of the swing. The only thing you can really do is get it down deeper before it reaches the dangle by casting further upstream and mending throughout the swing or using more weight. Just make sure you don't get it too far down or you'll snag constantly. You could also throw a bit of slack in your line to let the streamer sink at the bottom of your swing, but then you risk missing the hits on the dangle or first strip.

[fish432]

I like using a heavy line and moving my fly constantly. I fish fast cover water looking for the big dumb fish. Swinging flies is boring to me. I stopped fishing for wintersteelhead because I could not stand the time it took to cast swing two step and repeat through a run that I can gear fish through in a few minutes. Summer fish though swinging flies just subsurface or ontop is a different game with much more aggressive and reactive fish makes it a lot more fun.