A few good browns--starting the season off right!

[yungun]

My first year of winter fishing has turned out to be pretty decent. Haven't been skunked on a single outing yet, and its definitely not the fastest fishing but every trip seems to be just as enjoyable as a nice summer day. My highlights have been sight fishing nymphs, 3 browns around 18 inches, and a warmer February day of about 15 fish all caught on streamers! That was very unexpected and man was it a blast! Anyways, here's some pictures of the fish.
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[gstott]

Those are some awesome fish. I need to get back into streamers for river trout. I used to fish them quite a bit, but I've gotten kind of stuck in a dry/dropper rut the past few years. Thanks for the post, you've got me inspired to start throwing them again this year.
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[yungun]

I haven't fished them until this year, i did a lot of studying and have been throwing them a lot, trying different techniques. It seems to me that its either hit or miss with them, i'll do amazing one day and get absolutely nothing on another day. Two of my best days ever have been strictly streamers. It has become my favorite way to fish, not much can compare to how aggressively hard those browns slam a streamer, and its even better when you watch them fly out of their hiding spot to do so. And what makes it even better is my average size fish has increased, the big ones love a big meal! I promise you wont regret throwing them a little more this year!
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[gstott]

When I first moved to Utah back in the mid 90s, I had mostly fished for warmwater species with spinning gear. Fishing streamers for browns was kind of like bass fishing in that you were often invoking an act of aggression. As a result, I found myself using them a lot then. I did catch some pretty nice fish, I'm not really sure why I drifted away from them. I'm going to give this little guy a try soon,
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see if a big hook jaw will munch him.
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[yungun]

That fly should do well, nice big head to get to the bottom of the deep pools. It looks really similar to one i like a lot called a sculpzilla. Articulated and same colors, has done pretty well for me. I also would love to get into tying some streamers looks really fun, a LOT you can do with them! Only problem is supplies are a bit more expensive...
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[CoyoteSpinner]

Oh - it's so cute and fluffy! I'm sure my daughter could find a way to integrate it into her American Girl Doll world! haha

How do you make the head on something like that? I need to visit a fly shop and learn about adding beads and eyes. With any luck I'm getting me a hand-me-down fly tying kit today to go with the other hodge-podge pieces.

Those are some nice browns indeed. Almost looks like you'll need a bigger net! Keep that up!
You didn't say where you were fishing, and I fully respect that. Just curious in a general sense - what part of the state you're working.

I poked around some rivers pitching some spinners mostly. Did hook up a nice fiesty brown out on the west side of the Valley - in the Logan. Yesterday I hit first dam, and there was LOTS of activity. Had a few chases on my spinner, but barely a knock. Tried a few other options - some joe's flies, even salmon eggs. The bows there were busy slurp-slurping something. Maybe it's high time I bust out a fly rod and do it "right"!

So - do you tie you own streamers?

[flygoddess]

I tied streamers in that stuff. This was a streamer I tied for a swap a year or two ago:



Then this one about five years ago:



Think I caught one trout out of Scofield on it.

I like that Sculpin head though. I like the idea that the hook is up, and how heavy it is. Looks like you made yours articulate?

Here is a couple of mine:




They worked killer at Rockport.
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[gstott]

I actually learned about the sculpin heads from your post a while back when we were talking about bass flies. I did make it articulate using those Fish Skulls shanks. I'm hoping that the bright colors will be good with the murkier water that will likely be coming soon. If not, maybe spawning fish will take a whack at it, and smallmouth are especially fond of bright colors in the spring. I want to throw it on the Oneida Narrows since there are big trout, smallmouth and walleye all together there. I like not knowing what's at the end of my line. I like the two toned and barred strips, I think I'm going to see if I can find some in more drab colors too. I also made some sculpin up that are non articulated, and I tried my hand at an articulated popper for bass and pike. [inline "bass et pike flies small.JPG"]

Coyote, I used a Fish Skulls Sculpin Head and one of their articulated shanks to make it. The head is quite heavy and it's made to scoot around the bottom like a natural sculpin. I have a few places around the valley that I'm thinking of throwing it. Beads and the like are definitely important for fly tying. Especially if you start fly fishing the rivers, tungsten bead head nymphs are my bread and butter. They get down fast and deep where the fish are.

And yungun, the materials are a bit more expensive, and all this Fish Skulls stuff is especially so. I've been recommending it to all the guys who like expensive Japanese lures, but ebay is a great place for fishing gear, tying materials included.
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