Streamer season has begun. It began on opening day in the Catch and Release section below Bull Shoals Dam. As you know, this section has been closed for the last three months, to accommodate the brown trout spawn. For the first few days, the action is in the Catch and Release section and the adjacent State Park. There is a lot of fishing pressure at this time and as a result the big browns begin to move back downstream. During the spawn, they do not feed and they have not been fished over. As a result, they are susceptible to flies. This is the best time to target them. The most effective technique to target them at this time is to fish for them with large articulated streamers. We are talking about flies that are six inches long or longer. These are much bigger flies than we are used to fishing on our tailwaters. You choose the fly rod that you fish based on the size of the fly that you are fishing. While we usually fish five weight nine foot fly rods with a soft tip, this type of fishing calls for a much stouter fly rod. A nine footer in a seven, eight or nine weight is a good choice. I prefer an eight weight with a pretty stiff action.
The large flies are often articulated and contain two hooks. It is a lot like fishing a lure with multiple hooks. These flies are not usually weighted. Everyone seems to have their favorite color. Olive yellow and white are all popular choices.
In order to present them to the trout at the bottom of the water column (trout feed 90% of the time on the bottom), these flies are fished with sink tip lines. The line of choice is a sink tip with a twenty four to thirty foot sinking section. These come in various weights that are usually measured in grams. You match the weight of the line to the level of generation. I prefer 250 to 300 grain sink tip lines. More water requires more weight. To keep the fly down, you don’t use a leader but just attach the streamer to the fly line with a short (three foot) section of heavy tippet (at least 2X).
The best flow for this type of fishing is about three to four full generators. That is the rough equivalent of 9,000 to 12,000 cubic feet per second. When the water rises, the fish move to the bank to escape the heavy current. Therefore the best technique is to bang the bank with the streamers on the sink tip lines. The trick is to drift downstream parallel to the bank, cast to the bank and strip the line back to the boat. Vary your retrieve until you find the rate that the fish want. To get the fly down deeper, wait a few seconds, for the line to sink before starting your strip.
The distance you drift from the bank will mostly be determined by your casting abilities. The optimal distance would be about fifty feet but not that many fly fishers can consistently bang the bank at that distance. Move closer to the bank, if your casing requires it. This is not an easy way to fish. It requires advanced skills and stamina. Swinging an eight weight rod with a heavy sink tip line is tough work. My brother, Dan says that, if he wants to work this hard, he will dig a ditch.
Despite all this, the rewards can be great. Some very large browns are caught this way. Be advised, that while this can be an effective method, it does not produce numbers of fish. A good day may be one or two takes and many experienced streamer fly fishers can go days without a fish.
If this sounds like something you would be interested in, give it a try.
John Berry is a fly fishing guide in Cotter, Arkansas and has fished our local streams for over thirty years.
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