By Rene J. Hesse
I would like to talk about two things that may help you catch more trout in the cold months. Although there are a lot of methods to pursue trout, such as nymphing and swinging wet flies, my favorite is streamer fishing. All of them have their place. Just like fishing casts, we have to adjust to the situations. Let’s look at the streamer fishing in cold water.
What is a streamer? Generally, it is a fly that has the resemblance of a small minnow, sculpin or fish in general. Wooly Buggers, Rolex’s and sculpins are in that family. With that being said, my favorite way to fish for trout is to swing streamers across and downstream. The hit from a trout is like a shockwave going through your body. There is little guessing if you got a hit.
Try using a ‘tuck’ cast when using a weighted fly. This will get the fly deep faster than any other method I know of, and when the water is cold, the trout tend to hold deeper in the water column. The tuck cast is utilizing a more horizontal back cast, sweeping up in the back, then send the forward cast way above the target. I mean WAY above the target and then stop the rod abruptly. This will make a weighted fly kick over the line and head straight down into the water before the line falls. Put your rod tip in the water and keep it there the whole time you are retrieving the fly.
Now that the fly is lower in the water column, remember the fish are a little slower in the cold. So moving the fly long distances while stripping it in may reduce your chances of getting a hit. Here are a few thought processes. Fish tend to react like a dog. If you set a ball down, a dog may go after it or may not. Throw that ball, and I bet he will chase it. My thinking on a steamer is, a fish will react to a ‘dancing’ fly more than a steady retrieve. So when you ‘strip’ the fly in, use more of a wrist movement like a guitar player on a rock song than a violinist. Short, choppy strokes of an inch, will give the fly a lot of movement without taking it out of the strike zone. Keep your rod tip in the water and hang on.
Don’t forget to bring a complete change of clothes on your fishing trips. Maybe not for you, but someone may need it.