What’s size leader and tippet should I use?

This varies depending on which rivers and streams you’re fishing. For most water in the Smokies we use a 7 1/2′ leader tapered to 5X. This is probably the best overall leader for the Smokies. We’ll sometimes use longer 9′ leaders on larger streams like Little River. Ultra short leaders of 6′ and sometimes smaller are best for the tightest, brush choked brook trout streams.

We don’t use anything shorter than 9′ long when fishing nymphs or dry flies on the tailwaters. 6X is pretty standard on the tailwaters, but most anglers are surprised to see that 5X will work most of the time.

Any time we’re fishing with streamers we use a short and stout leader. We consider 3X to be light tippet and only use it on patterns smaller than #8. If we’re using a floating fly line we generally fish a 7 1/2′ leader that’s tapered to 1X or 2X. When we fish big streamers with a sink tip fly line we’re more likely to use a 4′-6′ leader. Those are usually hand tied with two segments: a butt of 20 lb mono tied to a 12 lb piece of mono.

When should I consider using a streamer?

Very few of the anglers we take fishing use streamers very often. Most are unfamiliar with the techniques and tend to steer clear of the method.

Streamers are most effective on the mountain streams when water conditions are high and/or stained. Not only is this the best time to fish with streamers in the creeks, it is sometimes the best way to fish under those conditions.

Spring and early summer are among the most critical times to consider using a streamer. Spring rains and summer thunderstorms create high are dirty water conditions. Most anglers reel up and leave when this happens, but we’ll often toss the tackle bag in the car and head for the stream. This is the best time to have a chance to catch a big brown trout in the Smokies.

While bigger pools and long runs are prime targets for large brown trout, don’t ignore the same pocket water that you typically fish with dry flies or nymphs. Brown trout and rainbows will both take streamers in these spots.

Keep your streamers relatively small to catch more trout, but fish large flies to attract bigger fish. A #10 Black Woolly Bugger is the most basic pattern that attracts the most fish. Bulkier patterns like Zuddlers and Double Bunnies attract few strikes, but the fish that do tackle these large flies are generally pretty big.

I’m not catching any trout in a pool. Should I change flies or move to a new spot?

This depends on the situation. If there is nothing going on and you’ve fished the pool thoroughly then we suggest you move on. Unfortunately the situation is rarely this clear cut.

Most anglers asking this question are wondering about fish they can see but can’t catch. If the fish are actively feeding you should keep changing flies until something works. Sometimes the same fly won’t catch all the fish in a pool. Some trout may eat a bushy fly pattern while others are only fooled by sparsely dressed imitations. We usually keep several imitations on hand for a hatch.

In the spring we use parachutes, Haystacks, and standard Catskill style dry flies for a variety of patterns to imitate the same insects. This way when a fish refuses one fly we still have other patterns to fall back on. If a really nice fish rises to a fly but doesn’t eat it, we never cast that fly right back to him. The fish made peace with the idea that the fly would drift away and never come back; just like anything else in the stream. If you cast the same fly back multiple times you stand a good chance of arousing the trout’s suspicion. Change the fly immediately to something similar yet different. The chances are very good that the fish will eat the new fly.

It’s not uncommon to fish over actively feeding trout and get a few dragging drifts. The more bad drifts you put over a fish, the less likely he is to eat that particular fly. The fish has seen the fly acting unnaturally multiple times so he is less likely to believe it’s real once it does drift properly.

Trout rarely resume feeding after you nicked them with a missed strike. However, if a hatch is particularly strong a fish may start to rise again, but expect the fish to be more discriminating in the future.

The more you fish a pool the more difficult the fish will become. There ia a point that even though fish are rising, you may do better to move to a new location with fish you haven’t already educated.

Fishing in the Smokies has been best in the afternoons and water levels are workable. Nymphs are the way to go in the mornings, but hatches have been coming off after lunch. Yesterday Charity got into a good olive hatch around 2:00 and fishing rose enthusiastically after that.

The caddis hatch on the Holston has been about as good as the weather. The nicer the weather is the better the bugs hatch and the better the fish rise. It’s been mainly a nymphing affair with some spotty dry fly fishing. One of Tim’s anglers, Brian Beech, landed a 16″ brown on a streamer from the drift boat yesterday.

Fortunately we’re looking at sunny, warm and dry conditions over the next few days. Early next week looks wet though.

Charity helps our daughter Willow get the drift over a pod of risers

The weather has been pretty good and while the fishing hasn’t been drop dead awesome, it’s still been pretty good. We hitched up the drift boat yesterday and headed to the river. Fish were up midging almost everywhere. We can sometimes catch them on a variety of small dries, but not this time. A small midge pupa was the way to go and we caught most of our fish on that. We hung it under a #14 Parachute Adams so we didn’t feel like we were nymphing. A few fish did eat the Parachute. Most of the fish were about 10″ with a few smaller and a few larger. There were a couple around 14″.

Our three year old daughter Willow got in on the act too! She caught her first few trout last fall on our Yellowstone trip and wanted a few tries yesterday after watching Mom and Dad catch fish. She did about as well as some of our customers. (Not you! All the other customers.) We helped her cast to fish and set the hook. When she hooked one she immediately began to reel the wrong way. I got her to stop that and handed her the line to strip in the fish. She hung on for a second, then dropped the line and started reeling backwards again. Fortunately the fish was hooked solidly and we managed to finally get it in the net.

Daaaaad! Don't take your picture with my fish!

Later in the afternoon Charity and I decided to switch over to streamers. We turned a good number of fish and caught several, although none were exceptionally large. At one point I had hooked four or five fish and Charity asked when she could quit rowing and get to fish again. I told her that I kept holding on for a big one since she has this magical way of catching the fish of the day (or the year) within the first few casts of her turn.

True to form she caught a 18″ rainbow on the sixth cast. It shot up at the fly and rolled at it, then turned around and inhaled it. It was a beautiful fish with such a girth Charity couldn’t get two hands around it. She held it up for a picture, the fish squirmed and kicked itself into the air and went right back in the river. No picture this time, but we’ll get more next time!

We’re anxiously awaiting the first spring hatches in the Smokies. It was in the 60’s today and we’ve got some rain on the way. A warm rain might be what it takes to kick things in gear, but we’ve got some cool weather forecast for the early part of the week. We’ll let you know when the bugs show up.

Fishing with streamers is not only the best way to hook a big trout on a fly rod, it’s the most exciting way. Ian & Charity Rutter eliminate any confusion by presenting clear instruction in this book. Fly fishing artist Paul Puckett contributes beautiful drawn diagrams to illustrate the concepts. Big rivers, meadow streams, and tumbling creeks are all places where streamers catch trout and they’re all included in this book. Strategies for fishing from drift boats are covered as well as strategies to use when wading.

You’ll learn when trout hit streamers best plus you’ll learn where to cast the fly to catch the big ones. Strategy is the biggest component to success with streamers. You’ll learn the best ways to fish streamers and understand why they work. You’ll learn what type of rods, fly lines, and leaders work best. Various  streamer fly patterns are covered along with the best methods to fish them.

Fishing with streamers is about more than a few fly patterns and rod sizes. It’s a whole strategy. This book will tell you how to present your fly and fish it with a lifelike quality that consistently fools big trout. You’ll even learn how to handle the fish once they’re hooked.

88 pages, 4 1/2″x 6″, Full Color  $10.00

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Trip summary in a nutshell: Big sky, big fish, big smiles  LaDawn Ostmann with a nice Madison River brown trout.

The Madison River is a tailwater below Hebgen Dam just outside of West Yellowstone, Montana. Western tailwaters are far different than those we have in the Southeast. While we’re used to water levels fluctuating on a daily level, most western dams run at a fairly even pace and flows generally mirror natural flows with the highest flows during early summer snow melt and the lowest flows in the fall and winter.

Less than two weeks before we arrived on the Madison there was a problem with Hebgen Dam that allowed far more water to flow than should have. Typical September flows on the Madison are 800 – 900 cfs. We arrived to find something like 3200 cfs flowing. We knew this in advance and weren’t worried since guides we have used for years were catching some nice fish. However, dry fly fishing was practically non-existent and nymphing was tough. The best method for catching trout would be fly fishing with streamers. Fortunately, most of the anglers on our trip were die hard streamer fly fishers.

Streamer fanatic Peter Petruzzi shows off a nice Madison brown near Ennis

To quote one of the guides, “The streamer fishing is off the hook!” Matt Smargiasso floated with guide Steve Mock one day and had his best day ever on the Madison. They covered about 20 miles of river that day; a long float but it only took about 8 hours with the high flows. Steve estimated that Matt moved 4-6 fish per mile. You do the math. Matt’s best fish with 21 1/2″ with a few more around 20″. They figured the average fish was around 16-17″.

Flows began to fall mid-week and wading and nymphing became an option, but most of our anglers hung in there with the streamers. There were some floats up on the Jefferson and lower Madison below Bear Trap Canyon, but the main section of the Madison upstream of Ennis was the best place all week.

Guide John McClure rows John Milner and Peter Petruzzi from Varney Bridge to Ennis

Not all of our anglers were experienced with streamers. Julie Tallman was somewhat new to the tactic of throwing large articulated flies with a sinking line but was a quick study. She hooked what would have been Slide Inn’s largest fish of the season but it managed to run under the boat and oar when her guide tried to net it and it popped off. The guide estimated the brown trout to be around 8 pounds and 24 -26″ long.

Julie Tallman and her guide John can’t help but grin after a big day on the Madison

Wading became an option later in the week and fishing with small nymphs was the best method. Most flies were in the #18 range to imitate the baetis that were sporadically hatching. However, the streamer bite continued for those who wanted to cover lots of water and throw big streamers.

It was easier to nymph spots by wading when the water got low enough for it to be effective

While brown trout tag streamers the most, we still picked up some nice rainbows

As always, chef Trey Braasch kept us eating well. Evening meals consisted of champagne chicken and mushrooms, shrimp scampi, bacon wrapped pork loin, and other great entrees. Desserts included white chocolate raspberry cheese cake, molten chocolate lava cake, and apple pie a la mode. We’ve become pretty good friends with Trey since we’ve been going to Slide Inn and try to fish with him at least once while we’re there. He’s an absolute streamer nut and enjoys splitting time on the oars to float the best streamer water on the river.

He can fish almost as well as he cooks

We can’t wait to get back to the Madison next year.

Head into the back country for the best summer fishing

Smoky Mountain Streams

Summer always sees us migrating to the higher elevations in the summer to pursue trout. While there are plenty of fish around Metcalf Bottoms on Little River, these fish are always somewhat sluggish in the hot months. We generally go upstream of Elkmont or fish other streams at elevation such as the West Prong of the Little Pigeon River, the Oconaluftee River, and Porters Creek. While all of these streams are often harder to wade than Little River, there is always much more action.

Brook trout are often one of our main summer time targets in the Smokies. There are found in streams that always flow cold plus their aggressive strikes make for a great day on the water. Again, these streams can be rought to wade in many places, but it’s well worth the effort for anyone who wants to catch some beautiful trout in an incredible setting.

Head to the high country to find brook trout…

…and rainbows too!

General attractor patterns work well in secluded mountain streams, but be sure to bring some terrestrial fly patterns along as well. Ants, beetles, and inch worms are all extremely effective in the hot summer months and will often out fish commonly used attractors in more pressured streams.

Be sure to get out after thunderstorms as well. These short but intense periods of rain, common during the summer months in the Smokies, provide some superb fishing. Nymphs are often the best fly patterns. We like Prince and Tellico Nymphs in #10-12. Be sure to try some streamers as well. Black or Brown Woolly Buggers in #8-10 are great but tie on a #2-6 Zuddler for big pools on larger streams like Little River, Deep Creek, and the Oconaluftee River.

Tailwater Rivers

Floats for trout are generally less productive in the summer than the spring on the Clinch and Holston Rivers. However, we still catch some fish. Flows are often less predictable in the summer than they are in the spring so we will usually finalize plans for a float the night before. Most of the fishing is done with small nymphs, but there are often some dry fly opportunities. Stripping streamers with a sink tip or full sink fly line is one of our favorite methods on the tailwaters. This is always more work for the angler, but the average trout is always larger.

We’ll still see a few caddis on the Holston and midges are a constant on the Clinch. Be sure to keep tabs on generation schedules for the Hiwassee, South Holston, and Watauga. All of these tailwaters continue to fish well through the summer. Some of the best Sulphur hatches in the nation take place on the South Holston. Summer is an excellent time for beetles on the Watauga. Anglers can usually wade the Hiwassee in the morning before the generators come on. Fish midges, small caddis, and bead heads to stay in fish.

There are still some nice trout yet to be caught from the drift boat this summer

Fly Fishing for Smallmouth Bass

We’ve already cast some streamers and poppers for smallmouth bass on the rivers.  The Holston, Pigeon, and Little River are all places we frequent when we’re looking for bronze backs. Smallies are the red-headed step child of the fly fishing world, but we’re trying to change that. Last summer we introduced a number of our customers to fly fishing for smallmouth bass and everyone loved it. While conditions for trout are often less than favorable in the summer they can be perfect for river smallies. We prefer to fish on the surface with poppers, but will often cast streamers as well. The fish we catch are generally as long or longer than the trout we catch, but heavier and usually fight harder. The rivers we float are every bit as scenic as the rivers we float for trout and most of the fishing is visual so you see the strike.

If you’re heading out on your own you can probably find any number of quality rivers and streams to catch smallies. In Western North Carolina be sure to check out the French Broad, Tuckaseegee, Little Tennessee, and Cheoah Rivers. In East Tennessee look at the Pigeon, Little Pigeon, Nolichucky, Holston, Powell, and lower Tellico Rivers.

Our favorite flies are “chugger” style poppers that make lots of racket in #6-8 as well as Sneaky Petes. If you can’t get the bass to look up, try a basic Woolly Bugger in #6-10. Brown and orange Clouser Minnows fish extremely well in riffles and pockets.

We started the week in the Smokies. Greg and Frank Norris walked into the back country of the Smokies with me and we had a great day of fly fishing. We started the day fishing nymphs but made the switch to dries by lunch time. The weather was beautiful and the fishing was excellent. We caught more rainbows than anything, but saw a few browns.

Frank caught this nice Smoky Mtn rainbow on a Bead Head Pheasant Tail

But, that’s not all the fishing we’ve done. I floated the Holston yesterday with Jim Petty from Michigan. Nymphing was slow but steady, picking up a trout every so often. I switched Jim to a streamer and the uptick in action was immediate. He even caught a pretty decent smallmouth bass on the streamer which got me thinking. about the possibilities there.

By lunch caddis were steadily hatching and trout were rising well in the riffles. Jim caught his best rainbow of the day, a 15 1/2″ specimen, on a #18 Elk Caddis. Jim is a real smallmouth nut. In fact, he even inquired about the possibilities when he booked his trip. Early April is a tad early for consistent bass action with a fly rod so I took him to a lower section of the Holston where trout are plentiful but bass are present.

After catching a good number of trout on a dry fly Jim switched to a brown and orange Clouser Minnow. While he was still hooking trout I began choosing promising smallmouth lies for him to cast to. By the end of the day Jim had boated 8 smallies, 2 of which were quite nice. We measured one at 15 3/4″ and another at 15″ long. Most were about 11-12″ long and chunky.

We’ve also heard excellent reports from the Clinch and Hiwassee Rivers. Plenty of trout are being caught on small nymphs on the Clinch; even a few big ones. The Hiwassee has some pretty good dry fly fishing right now and generation schedules are ideal for wading. We’ve heard of some real nice fish downstream of Reliance.

A box of appropriate flies to entice the big one.

Fishing with streamers is perhaps the best way to connect with an oversize fish. However, this is one of the least utilized means of fly fishing. Even when anglers do use streamers they often go about it wrong. This article will explore the best ways to fish for trout with streamers from a drift boat as well as wading.

Fishing Streamers From a Drift Boat
Use of a drift boat will provide a wealth of opportunities for the streamer fisherman. First of all it allows access to lies that are often inaccessible to the wading angler. These spots are often in deep, swift water. Second, floating gives an angler quick access to a number of good spots.

Specialized tackle will increase the odds for success when streamer fishing from a boat. We always recommend a six or seven weight fly rod that’s relatively stiff. This should be coupled with a sink tip or full sink fly line. We prefer sink tips with a rapid sink rate. These lines a little easier to manage than a full sink line. Leaders should be short and stout. Six feet is plenty long and they should taper down to no finer than 2X. A leader that tapers to 0X should not be considered too heavy. It’s important to have a heavy tippet if you hook that brown trout of a life time. In a more practical sense, the short, heavy leader helps turn over bulky flies that draw the most strikes. We consider a #6 streamer fly to be small and focus our attention on flies that are #2, sometimes larger. These flies need to be heavy to get down in the strike zone quickly. Rabbit hair strips, rubber legs, and flashy tinsel add visibility, action, and the illusion of life to these flies.

Watch for three things when casting streamers from a boat: structure, structure, and structure. Big trout use a number of features for cover and a place to stage an ambush on unsuspecting prey. Watch for undercut banks, logs in the river, big rocks, cracks or ledges, and even shadows. All of these have potential to hold a large trout.

Cast your fly to cover then make an action packed retrieve.

Cast the fly upstream of the target so it sinks and the fish has a chance to see it. Do your best to get the fly on target, but don’t obsess about absolute precision. Big fish will often travel to take the fly so if you’re within two feet of the target you’re close enough. Casting a large fly and sinking line is hard enough without doing it two or three times for every lie. We often see anglers drop the fly, pick it up, then drop it within a foot of the original cast, then begin the retrieve. The first cast was just fine, and over the course of the day the angler has made more tiring casts.

Once the fly is in the water the retrieve is of paramount importance. In fact, the retrieve is the key element to success. A perfect cast with a poor retrieve is far less likely to entice a strike than a mediocre cast with a perfect retrieve. The most important thing to do is to keep you rod tip low, even in the water. This keeps the angler tight to the fly and every twitch you make translates directly into action on the fly.

If you’re in the bow of the boat swing the rod across the nose to get tension on the line. This position will also make it easier to use the tip of the rod to enhance the action of the fly with a “jerk strip”. Hook sets are easier in this position as well. An angler in the back of the boat should swing the rod tip toward the rear of the boat for the same reasons.

Charity used a big fly and an aggressive retrieve to fool this nice one on the Madison.

An aggressive retrieve usually works better than a slow retrieve. You can experiment with long strips or short strips, but they should always be fast. If you see a fish following the fly you should never slow the retrieve, but speed it up a little bit. Never stop the retrieve when a fish shows interest. Think about real world predator and prey relationships. Prey will try to run away when pursued. Speeding up your retrieve will excite the fish and reinforce the idea that the fly is prey. You’ve probably heard of “playing possum”, or “playing dead”. This is a successful tactic used by some animals that aren’t fast enough to run away from predators. Stopping your retrieve is the equivalent of playing dead and will turn off a predator’s instinct to attack.

Streamer fishing from a drift boat is fast paced and requires team work between the rower and angler. The angler needs to communicate to the angler how he needs the boat positioned. By the same token, the rower needs to keep one eye on the current situation while keeping an eye on water that’s coming up and advising the angler of opportunities on the horizon.

These tactics work wherever there are trout; East or West.

Fishing Streamers While Wading
Fishing streamers while wading a river or stream isn’t as specialized an endeavor as fishing from a boat, but an angler should watch for the appropriate situation for streamers. The size of the water will dictate the size of the rod. A five weight will suffice on smaller streams and rivers, but a six weight is more appropriate for larger waters with larger trout. The size of the flies and the distance of the casts are the primary considerations.

Flies used on small to medium size waters should be a little smaller than those used on big rivers. The main reason is that there are fewer fish capable of eating a huge fly and a smaller size will get more action.

Streamers seem to perform best on streams when water conditions are high or off color. As a result, this type of fishing might be effective when conditions are blown out for dry fly and nymph fishing. Tight line nymphing skills will certainly help though.

Many anglers tend to cast across the river and let the fly swing before or during the retrieve. This is fine in big holes and long runs, but becomes less effective in broken water. Be sure to look at the water under your feet. Some of our best success has come from flipping a streamer just off the bank, letting it sink, and hopping on a tight line as it drifts downstream. This is usually accomplished with only a few inches of fly line out of the rod tip.

Unlike fishing from a boat you are certainly grounded so you can spend as much or as little time as needed on each spot. After a few retrieves you should change where you’re casting or move on. If you see a fish flash the fly wait a minute before casting back to the same spot. Chances are good the fish will take another swipe if it didn’t get the hook on the first attempt. Keep the fly in the strike zone as long as possible by casting downstream and holding the fly in the current. Give the fly action with the rod tip, letting it fall with some slack, then twitching it back to life. Repeat the process several times before pulling the fly out of the water.

Open, meadow streams often provide the most opportunities for streamers. A fly fisher can proceed quietly along the stream bank and fish both sides of the creek without getting in the water. Again, be sure to give plenty attention to the water under you feet.

This brown tackled a streamer from a weed bed less than ten feet from where I stood on the bank.

The size of the streamer fly you choose will depend on your goals. Pick a smaller size like #8-10 if you want more action. However, the average size trout will be in line with the river’s average size. Pick a larger size if you’re willing to trade action for quality. Most average size trout won’t respond to a larger #2 streamer but a larger fly will often stir larger fish.