Put and Take Sverige
Streamer fishing
If you come to an unknown put-and-take water and do not know where the fish stand, tie on a streamer. It is a larger fly that looks like a baitfish or a leech, and it is fished actively with a retrieve. Where a nymph is fished quietly, the streamer provokes reaction takes, and it covers a lot of water in a short time. That makes it your best searching fly.
Why you start with a streamer
With a streamer you quickly cover both surface and depth and can read where the fish are. It is extra effective on freshly stocked rainbow, which often hunts without hesitation. Once you have found the fish you can finesse with a nymph if the takes thin out, but it is the streamer that shows you where to concentrate the fishing.
Streamers to have
The Woolly Bugger in black, size 8 to 10, is the safe start. Zonker and Muddler are alternatives that look more like baitfish, and Booby is a floating streamer fished just above the bottom on a sinking line and hung in the pauses. Colour follows the same logic as for all flies: muted in clear water, signal colour on freshly stocked fish and in coloured water.
Vary the retrieve until the fish answers
- Cast and count the fly down to the depth you want.
- Strip in short twitches with pauses between.
- Change pace. Sometimes the fish wants fast, sometimes a slow even pull.
Stay in contact with the line the whole time. The take often comes in the stop, when the fly sinks after a twitch, and then you want to feel the grab at once and set a firm strike. A common fault is standing with too much slack line, which makes the take barely felt.
Read what the fish wants
Two ways of fishing cover most of it. The first is short, snappy twitches with clear stops, which imitate a fleeing baitfish and light the hunting instinct. The second is a slow, even pull where the fly just creeps forward, which often works best on sluggish or chilled fish. Start active and slow down if you get follows but no takes. If you see a fish follow all the way in without taking, a small stop or a sudden speed-up right at the bank can trigger the take.
Reach the right depth
It is usually the line, not the fly, that decides whether you reach the fish. Have a floating line for shallow fishing and an intermediate or sinking line for deeper water. A Booby fished on a sinking line just above the bottom is a reliable trick when the fish stand deep and will not come up. More patterns and selection in the fly overview.
FAQ
What is a streamer?
A larger fly that looks like a baitfish or a leech and is fished actively with a retrieve. It is the best searching fly when you want to find hunting fish quickly.
Which retrieve should I use?
Vary it. Short twitches with pauses are the base, but also try a slow even pull and fast twitches. Takes often come in the stop, when the fly sinks.
How do I reach fish that stand deep?
Change line instead of fly. An intermediate or sinking line takes the streamer down, and a Booby fished just above the bottom on a sinking line is a classic deep-water trick.
Why do I sometimes not feel the take?
Often because you have too much slack line. Stay in contact with the fly by pointing the rod tip at the line and stripping the slack, so you feel the grab at once and can set the hook.