Stripping a streamer

[jbsport36]

I am having a bit of a rough time figuring out the secret to streamer fishing any tips or help would be amazing thanks josh
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[eagleflyfshr]

That is a big question. You haven't stated whether you are fishing still water or stream and river fishing. There is a big difference. Both involve using different techniques to work the water. Technique depends upon depth of water, speed of flow, species of fish you are after, water temperature, structure, etc. A lot of variables. The most important thing is to just work the water, all depths and varied speeds of retrieve. You might be using an intermediate or full sinking line of various sinking speeds or perhaps even floating line in rivers and streams. I'll just give you a synopsis of what I do and I am sure there are others that do it completely different.

In still water, I start slow and deep, unless I see surface action, i.e. fish rising or feeding just subsurface. I usually use a type II full sinking line to start with about 9 to 12 feet of leader and tippet. I start deep - cast my line out and give it a rest to sink. I start a slow, gentle jerky retrieve - one - two - three - four - rest a second - one - three - four - rest a second. If no action, I speed up the retrieve, until its just a straight retrieve with no rests. I try different lengths of retrieve - short (a couple of inches) and work up to continuous long - six inches or so - retrieve. If no action, I allow less sink time before the retrieve and continue to work up the depth of the water. The fish will tell you what depth they are feeding by where they hit in proximity to you before they hit. The closer the hit is to you, the shallower they are feeding and you can adjust your technique accordingly. Work different locations - shore line, shallows, deep water, find a channel etc. If no action after about 25 to 30 minutes, I change the fly or add a dropper and go through the same routine, If I ever see surface action and I am not getting deep action, I change to an Intermediate or a floating line with the same length of leader and tippet. If I have worked the water with little action, I might just cast it out and use a kick troll (I usually fish still water off a pontoon, or if I pack in, a float tube).

Moving water (rivers and streams) are a different animal. You might use steamers the same way as with still water when you are fishing deep pools in rivers, but when you fish faster water you use different techniques. First you try to figure out where you think fish might be holding. You cast your fly to an area where you think you can work the streamer through that area - you get into the whole arena of mending, etc. as well - but to keep it easy, when the fly is just outside the area of the fish, you then strip the line through the area, again adjusting speed of retrieve, etc. This usually involves letting your line drift, mending it, and then when it loops, retrieving the streamer through the curve, doing this several times, at different speeds, at with different streamers. Sometimes, you add weight to slow down the drift and get a fly deeper before you strip, etc. You do the same in still water to get a streamer deeper and add a little action to the fly. You might just cast your streamer down stream and retrieve it slowly upstream - along the bank, or around some structure - short jerky little strips or long fast strips, just see what works. Again, add a small dropper if nothing is hitting the streamer. It is amazing the size of trout that will hit a size 22 dropper off of a streamer, when they won't hit anything else. The best thing to do is just find a pond with clear water and practice - watch your streamer and figure out what it does with different techniques.
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[trophytrout89]

I've learned that streamer presentation depends on the day, weather, and speed of water; if its a river. I usually just keep experimenting with retrieves and mends. Be ready for the swing when fishing rivers though. Fish like that.
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