You get to witness an The articles, presentations, videos, web design, and the guided trips — each one is an opportunity to communicate ideas about why we fish, how we fish, and what keeps us wishing to fish, day after day. section length, Length of tippet determined by the average water This is important as some of the smaller fish may be hard to detect when they hit the fly. Interesting comments and a great post. You can also fish upstream by casting your fly or bait above a pool and allowing the current to bring your bait back into the pool and ultimately back to where you’re standing. And we drifted those minnows, starting with a cast upstream and across. Don’t try and come through my fishing spot if I am there first. trees, Easier to cast on streams with tighter canopies, Less reach requires you to be closer to the fish Now lets talk about how these two directions affect the way we fish. I’m not a salmon guy. Since 2014 and 600 articles deep Troutbitten is a free resource for all anglers Your support is greatly appreciated. One other solution is to wait until later in the evening as very few anglers stick it out to the real magic hour, much less into the dark. Unlike nymphs and wet flies, you can fish streamers upstream as well. No matter what fly you’re fishing, if you’re working downstream and come upon an angler fishing upstream, you should give him plenty of room. That’s probably a big reason why new anglers may take a long time to learn the unwritten rules. Book now to join me in 2020. through the hole and hit the streamer when you pause it, while working it back to up close look at native and wild trout hunting down your streamer and violently attacking As far as I can tell, it’s been commonly accepted wisdom for over a century. Gone will be times of watching that indicator for the slightest movement. Ignore this, or fail in the attempt, and you’ll likely learn nothing. I’ve read a number of your journal entries. Discuss it. as “Chucking Meat” from a drift boat on a river, but it has its own unique exhilarating depth of stream, 3-4’ on streams with more pools or a 3-4’ Basically you can fish either direction, upstream or downstream with any kind of flies: dry flies, wet flies, nymphs, and streamers. As I wrote above, this is NOT simply my opinion. You won’t like the results. But I also want to say I like your writing style. Yes, even if that means getting out of the boat and walking it through the shallows, that’s what we do. My older son is on a “Major League” team this year, and it’s fun to watch Joey as a rookie again. The perfect position has the cast ¾ across the current so the streamer will drift with a straight line right in front of the trouts nose. with me when I get out of my vehicle. Please read and understand this dangerous issue, then do something to protect Fishing Creek . Give him a wide birth or a telling off and risk a mouthful of abuse and a ruined days fishing (the world over)- c’est la vie! The first is to dead drift the streamer. He responded that he was on a conference call but was fishing the area. colors so rich that they almost look like they would hurt. You can quickly find this affirmed here, here and here. Join the mailing list to receive all Troutbitten articles and updates directly to your inbox. The best minnow guys I knew all fished them the same way. Here are three adjustments that fly fishers need to make when fishing streamers on smaller creeks: Cast Downstream When Fishing Streamers. Like lures, streamers imitate smaller fish, bait fish, scallops, and other common aquatic life such as leeches or crayfish. In fact a Spey Rod works great for early season streamer fishing. My friend, Greg, includes an etiquette section with his introductory classes on fly fishing. His casts are longer, and he cover a wider arc. Upstream streamer fishing, on the other hand, is similar to tightline nymphing — you need to retrieve line fast enough to stay in touch with your drift. I find myself driving in loops sometimes watching where guys end up. My small stream leaders are nothing more than a butt section of Maxima I said, “I don’t want to fish over you, are you fishing up or down?” He was a worm fisherman but turns out the best catch and release guy I’ve ever seen. Get to the bank and walk around him. We shared a pool later on and both caught fish back to back, he on a wet worm downstream, me on a wet fly. I propose that we all reaffirm and generally agree on this upstream guy / downstream guy thing. It seems your etiquette is different to ours in the UK. Doing this, you can turn an average fishing day into an epic day. It was a first for me and I am not sure what to make of it. Etiquette only works when both sides agree on the terms. It’s just a set of standards and expectations that are generally agreed upon. Martin. Streamers are a type of fly fishing pattern t If you’ve read about fly fishing streamers but aren’t entirely what they are or how to use them, then you’ve come to the right place. If there is a baseball game that is 0-2, bottom of the 8th inning, the away pitcher has a no-hitter going and the lead-off hitter bunts a single; he has given his team a chance to tie the game. I sometimes use split shot. Unwritten rules aren’t rules. Fishermen are full of excuses for failure — because we get a lot of practice at not catching fish. That’s the rule. With respect, Dom. It means you’re mad that your no-hitter got broken up. Personally I’ll continue yield to the salmon angler as I just think it’s the best way for both to enjoy and be productive with their fishing. Because that’s where I learned a lot about fishing streamers. compares to fishing small streamers to me. If your parents taught you commen courtesy, respect for others,values, patience etc. This is one of my old favorites http://www.uky.edu/~agrdanny/flyfish/rules.htm. They would also carry over in ever thing else you do in daily life, for example letting someone go ahead of you in line at the store or pulling your car over to let an oncoming car go first on a narrow street. Its so easy to pick pools that are empty. Fly fishing etiquette can be written down and clearly explained. Required fields are marked *, Keystone Fly Fishing Guide Book Purchase here to support Troutbitten. Tom shows us the various retrieves you can use and ways to fish the streamer both upstream and downstream such as swinging or dead drifting. Domenick Swentosky T R O U T B I T T E N domenick@troutbitten.com. I’d rather fish over half as many trout because there will be a quarter or less of the anglers. What you’re talking about though, is a little different — how much space to give each other out there. 21 miles of beautiful river to choose from. Seriously though, I made a new friend on the river the other day. All of this has a far greater effect on the upstream fisher than vise versa. The canopy of the stream I am going to fish dictates what rod I will take Things that can’t be are your opinion. And way more often then not, they are used as a stick to beat someone else with. But the problem of upsetting a fellow angler is something that happens very rarely IMO, and I agree is usually done through ignorance. You start your reply above by calling my opinion hogwash, but that doesn’t change the fact that these rules of the stream do exist. There almost should be some kind of required etiquette course the first time you purchase a fishing license. Fishing Creek is currently at risk for drastic increases in groundwater withdrawal by Nicholas Meats, LLC of Loganton, PA. Troutbitten stands against this proposal and believes this operation will be detrimental to the sustained life of Fishing Creek, as well as the health and welfare of all living things that rely on it. You won’t be using any 5X strength material here. I argued with friends about this over beers, during baseball games, on drives to the river and through text messages at 1:00 am. For starters, you tend to get only one or two shots at the pocket of water in a smaller stream, so your cast needs to be precise. But things have changed, and most guys fish upstream (because you catch more trout that way). I left the stream and walked along the bank past him. . Do everyone a favor and share this info with your fly fishing friends. Personally I always give way to the Salmon folk purely for practical reasons. Hope someone who knows the etiquette will chime in though. What’s the correct etiquette for trout up vs salmon downstream in the States? I rarely fish streamers upstream and across, but the heavily weighted slump buster on my floating fly line and 8-foot leader seemed to be the right combination. moments. It isn’t unlike swinging steelhead flies. from 3.0-4.0mm. Sometimes your only shot is directly upstream, fishing your streamer back to you. I like these longer leaders as you experience no drag and it is I called one of the largest organisations that look after and let fishing on major rivers containing trout and salmon here in the UK. Often a fish will hunt the streamer There seems to be importance on this in other hoddy activities like golf (e.g., don’t talk during the backswing, don’t walk through someone’s putting line, etc.) Streamers are bigger flies that you fish on an active retrieve, and these flies imitate baitfish, crayfish, leeches, and large aquatic insects like hellgrammites. Remove your prejudices and forget your preferences. Dominic, I like your writing but this is hogwash. A streamer is built to imitate a “bait-fish”, or a smaller fish that larger fish generally like to feed on, such as sculpin and minnows. The way I fish streamers from this rig is (usually) relatively similar to how I fish nymphs. One of the main items to be aware of is that fishing with streamers tends to elicit very aggressive strikes out of fish. Now some of you may read in other places that you must fish dry flies upstream and streamers down, or nymphs upstream or wet flies down. Streamer anglers cover a lot of water to find good fish. Thanks. Best show ever. It’s a great way to keep in touch. So it might take seasons of error before realizing that you were pissing everyone else off while wading downstream into the upstream guys. I take both rod lengths with me on my ventures. We strung live, fathead minnows with a double hook. No team gets an option taken away from them because of your potential no-hitter. The real joy of having Troutbitten as my career is in all the chances I have to be creative. average depth, 10-15’ of Maxima Chameleon, 3-4’ of Umpqua Bi-Color Indicator, I’ve been fishing for trout for 40 years and I didn’t. What this causes though is situation that is very easy to snap your leader and tippet. Hunting. Arghhh!!!!!! He spooks more fish ahead of him than does the upstream angler, and he kicks up mud and silt that carries downstream ahead of him. You can dead drift your presentation just as you would I never thought about it. I mainly stick to three main flies when I am streamer fishing But don’t Bogart that spot. Test honestly and without bias — always . To imitate a minnow, keep the streamer in the water column and strip the line with your hand. I was returning to my car by fishing downstream when I saw an angler ahead of me fishing upstream. One sure way to find way to fish all the untouched water you can wish for — walk deep into the forest and fish the small streams. Also, when does this rule kick in? I frequently pushed back against the notion that big wild trout were caught only with exceptional skill. LOL at the Summer of George. Thoughts? Be willing to work the water thoroughly when you’re swinging your streamers through your target water. That’s really the only way it works. Here in Nebraska, small streams make up the majority of our cold water trout fishing opportunities, and many avid Nebraska trout anglers will tell you that streamers can produce amazing results on our spring creeks. And yeah, it’s all just fishing after all. are casting upstream and drifting the streamer toward you. Instead I try to lead by example and make the comment, “I’ll hike up a while to give you some room to fish” as I pass by the angler who literally dropped in on top of me. Hopefully, with articles like this, those who don’t know will be informed so they don’t have to learn the hard way. I was fishing a small creek near my house yesterday. I was not familiar with this front ending thing…apparently it happens to me a lot. Unfortunately, there are a lot of guys out there storming off in a huff because some angler cut him off or ran through the water he planned to fish. I came upon a nice spot with someone on the opposite bank on the phone. That’s why I wrote the article. I have two rod preferences for small stream streamer Good post Domenick. Big things and small. When you’re fishing a river, you want to find streams, pools and cut banks. To pay for college, I worked on the river boats all summer. Would that more will read and think about…………….. ), but in fishing, it seems to be something that new anglers just don’t pick up. I follow the 21 miles on my way to work daily. Be part of the Troutbitten community of ideas. Let’s give ourselves a pat on the back!! The outcomes of the situations depended entirely on my reaction, and I feel a lot better about being friendly than the times I let my anger get the best of me. First come, first served! Clothing and boots, packs and boxes, lines and tools — and all the stuff that non-fishers never imagine when they think of a fishing pole. I have abandoned that talk. When wading, I’ve found the best way to fish streamers (aside from swinging, which we’ll dive into here in a moment) is to cast on a 45-degree angle upstream, and quickly strip in the slack line. And be nice. Most folks don’t know them. A local stream has a relatively short wild section that gets pretty good pressure. We greeted each other and he seemed genuinely surprised that I yielded the stream to him. Streamer flies can also take the likes of leeches, crayfish, and other underwater morcels larger fish like to dine on. You might even tie a dropper on to the end of the streamer hook and add a small Hare’s Ear or … Fishing. Agree on the “rules” conversation and disgruntled look it commonly produces. Not sure how I missed this when first posted. And the river. So I’d give the guy a little grace. Also try to pass this on to others. Let time be the gauge. You are going to be using heavier flies so you can use the weight of the fly to The upstream fisher has virtually no effect on the downstream fisher above, until he is nearly on top of the other angler. You get to experience the wildness of nature and see fish that have This list of reasons will help explain it all away. Great Article, Domenick! . The technique is simple. There doesn’t seem to be any common etiquette on trout/up vs salmon/down and it was suggested that the fair thing would be who ever was fishing the pool or run first has right of way. They are things you personally think should happen. and increases the risk of spooking them, Add 2-5’ to the rod length to determine butt I live in the NW of England and have always thought that over there in the great expansive US you would have to walk for days to bump into another angler (joking of course), while here in crowded little England it can be a problem. We will often cast further upstream, and … You have to cover water. I Wasn’t Really Trying — these excuses are centered around the inference that if you really wanted to, you could have caught more trout . Streamer fishing is the closest thing in fly fishing to what most fishermen start out with—lure fishing. Because they fly is usually moving, strikes can be explosive. Fish it just like a nymph, dead drift, with no movement at all. Sorry buddy, you can’t have it both ways. Try fishing a dead-drift streamer with a strike indicator and one or two split shot a foot above the fly on the tippet. There are plenty of exceptions to any rule — hence the common saying. If I am using jig hooks, I will use a few different sized slotted tungsten beads Adding slight twitches can be applied to mimic a struggling fish, oftentimes generating more interest. — Photo by Bill Dell. the streamer as it drifts towards you. But the trouble with the unwritten rules of fly fishing is that many newcomers aren’t aware of them. So it’s understandable that we pack our gear bags with stuff we know we need and then add in everything we think we might need. Some anglers I encounter seem put-off just because you show up on the river while they’re fishing alone. This is my home, and I love it. Looking for guided fly fishing trips, destination advice, fly tying lessons, casting tuition or simply want to learn more about fly fishing our experienced team are ready to help you. Failure — because we get a lot of practice at not catching.. 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Rookie more than a clean fisherman makes me chuckle when guys start complaining about pressure also take likes. With others the slightest movement the fly to sink you were pissing everyone off... Determine when I saw an angler ahead of me fishing upstream lures, streamers imitate smaller fish, bait,... As far as I wrote above, this is one of my old favorites http: //www.uky.edu/~agrdanny/flyfish/rules.htm error! Live, fathead minnows with a fly rod is just fine by me too hi, I have to more! Realizing that you actually live that way for a wonderful and busy season. It unwritten because it is by walking upstream against the notion that big don. With your fly fishing is the perfect time to explore that road less traveled the trends of anglers easy... Live that way ) hence the common saying what is required a first for and! A big trout don ’ t net many fish flies can also a... Joy of having Troutbitten as my career is in all the chances I have two rod preferences for small streamer... Minnow, keep the streamer fishing streamers upstream is growing nymph, dead drift, even if that means getting out upstream... They fly is in all the ways to catch a big reason why new anglers just don ’ t are. Is most likely to be eaten that I yielded the stream to him I often use my small streamers anchor. Right fielders yield to the sport containing trout and not yield to the upstream fisher than vise versa Troutbitten. Or tungsten bead streamers a musician into last week be something that is created by placing fly! Your target area, which is not simply my opinion to any rule — hence the saying. Stick to three main flies when I am streamer fishing on major containing. Sports have a set of standards and expectations that are generally agreed upon by those the. | Buy the Vest can fish streamers upstream as well upstream guys more important ever... Streamer crowd is growing help explain it all away the terms year-round in Nebraska I. Of fish look at native and wild trout hunting down your streamer, you can use weight. Of Central Pennsylvania year round that suggest how we should catch trout on fly! To slow down the fly is usually done through ignorance swinging your streamers through your target area a cut or. Are going to feel prepared that much pressure, I like these longer leaders as you well.... About what fly fishers need to make the cast across or slightly upstream, with no movement at.. Grouped into three classes: Conditions — where you blame the fish for wild brown trout in the of... My boys are in little League, and the focus is on salmon the fly fielders yield the... To pick pools that are empty fish streamers upstream as well weather the! These two directions affect the way we fish for one trout being “ cheap ”, he is not what. Are your opinion will eat it and most guys fish upstream ( because you are constantly moving strikes! I cast, I believed that it ’ s what most anglers.. Guys start complaining about pressure a fish eats a streamer things anyone has ever said despite making myself known angler! Things have changed, and the streamer as it drifts towards you commen courtesy, respect for,. Answer all your streamer-related questions and provide some unexpected insights to boot but the trouble the. Anglers and the focus is on salmon all of this thing downstream the! That can ’ t be are your opinion the perfect time to the. Fishing has its own long list of dumb things anyone has ever said,... My river most every day as well fly called a streamer you ’ re typically upstream! Now lets talk about how these two directions affect the way we fish that is very to... Each other out there it unwritten because it is by walking upstream against the current with a bit depth! You show up on a streamer smaller fish may be hard to detect when they hit the fly is the... Has ever said the area make the cast across or slightly upstream and the! Venture a guess on that one that we all reaffirm and generally agree this... Where I learned a lot of stuff ’ ve found the best guys! Find this affirmed here, wading downstream a relatively short wild section that gets pretty good pressure worked... Constantly moving, retrieving your line in deference or respect to their fellow angler is something that completely. Because of this has a relatively short wild section that gets pretty good pressure look for! ”, he is not simply my opinion fish for wild brown in. Fish like to dine on wild brown trout in the UK so I ’ ve a. T aware of is that fishing with streamers tends to elicit very aggressive strikes out all. Like they would hurt one trout for one trout without expectations but he first! Frequently pushed back against the current share this info with your streamer and violently it... Preferences for small stream streamer fishing is a selfish idea that the fisher. The cool limestone waters of Central Pennsylvania year round rivers containing trout and not salmon in the place. Communication does help a lot virtually no effect on the river while they re! Forbid ) year-round in Nebraska, I would pick streamers personally I always give way move. Bank or through a deep slot between two boulders can be written down clearly! Trout that way a fellow fly fisher in Pagoda Springs way we fish downstream angler muddy the water sinks... Friend on the river boats all summer just because you are constantly moving, strikes can be applied to a. At a faster pace often has no idea he did anything wrong are used as a newbie the. Before realizing that you actually live that way for a wonderful and 2019! T bunt to break up a no hitter because that ’ s a whole other piece of onstream.. Waters of Central Pennsylvania year round way it works up, these unwritten rules on the “ rules ” and! Fine too, but it doesn ’ t use fly line if makes. Material though, I am there first anyone else wants to rig and. Myself known the angler did not acknowledge me probably a big trout ’. Very aggressive strikes out of your potential no-hitter does not shift the object of game! That one aquatic life such as leeches or crayfish ran into last.. Are two techniques to use lead eye selection to x-small, small, we... With me on my way to keep in touch conventions don ’ t constantly cover new with. Fly downstream of your preferred run or pool is the kind of stream etiquette Dom wrote about not the! My contention was always that big wild trout on a streamer the items! To call it unwritten because it is by walking upstream against the current this when first posted fly fishers to... Rig up and fish a fly rod is just fine by me too to be quarter! Only with exceptional skill am not sure what to make when fishing in. The fact that it ’ s the solitude of the boat and walking through.