Streamers for Awesome Trout (Part 2)

First, let me say this right out. The DVD and book I mentioned in Part 1, are by far more complete and authoritative than what you’re about to read here. It is my hope that this short expose’ will merely help youNutcracker: Streamers ought to be 3 to 6 inches long decide whether or not you want to delve further into this streamer tactic.

Let me also warn you, that once you’ve experienced the lightening swift attack, buttery swirl and Richter-7 jolt of a two-foot brown trout . . . there is NO going back!

Galloup and Linsenman have built their streamer tactic on three key principles:

1. Once a stream-bred brownie lives to reach the impressive size of 20+ inches, its behavior starts to exhibit a certain “cockiness”. Other than man, there really are no other threats that it can’t hold its own against. It hunts when it wants to. And, it rests where it wants to. If it’s comfortable under a log jam on a bend of the river, so be it. But, if happens to find a comfortable pocket or back eddy in 24 inches of water, off the main current, out in the open, it could very well decide to take a siesta there. It’s not worried about hawks or minks. It rests pretty much where it wants to.

2. Most of the time, when a BIG brownie eats, it eats BIG. It’s an effective predator and has excellent acceleration. A predator brown can successfully attack and devour bait fish and small trout up to six, seven or even eight inches in length, without batting a fish eye. Naturally, after eating a meal like that, it tends to seek out a comfortable spot to curl up and take a nap. A lot like us after Thanksgiving turkey. Big brownies spend more time napping than they do hunting.

3. By using loud, abrupt and aggressive casting with big streamers, it’s possible to startle a resting brown, and trigger an attack. That’s it!

This is an AGGRESSIVE fishing method. Work downstream. Look for water that’s maybe 20 inches or more in depth, but has almost no current. If its along side an undercut bank, great! Is there an underwater obstruction? Perfect! The drop-off shelf on a deep mid-stream run? Bravo! A deeper back-eddy on the slower inside curve of a bend? Bingo! You’ve found potential resting areas. Will you find a monster brown at each of these locations? Absolutely NOT!

How many monster browns do you think there are in a river? Certainly fewer than 9-inch trout . . . A LOT FEWER. There will be many outings when you come back without a single hook-up. Oh, you’ll pick up the random 14 to 18-inch trout. But that’s not the target. Think of this as hunting, not fishing. Do you get a buck every time to go into the woods? Of course not. But, you are putting yourself in the same territory that you expect to find deer. And, sooner or later, the two of you will be in the same spot at the same time.

Grab your seven-weight rod. Tie a 3-inch to 6-inch streamer, onto a 24 to 30 inch (10 to 12 pound test) leader. Use a full sinking line, or Skinny 20-inch brown: Post-spawn browns attack streamers with a vengeanceone of those long sink tip lines (24 to 30 feet sinking tip). Sneak up on a potential holding lie, and slap down the streamer HARD! Lower your rod tip, and rip, rip, rip the streamer away. Make it look the baitfish is trying to extract itself from a very unpleasant and dangerous situation.

Take a step or two downstream, then SLAP down the streamer again. Lower rod tip, and rip, rip, rip.

Two casts to a holding lie is enough. Look for another lie, sneak up to it and repeat the process. Your casting position should be directly across from the holding lie, or slightly upstream from it. Position yourself close . . . 5 to 10 yards away. Make your first cast accurate and slap it loud! Put it right on top of where you think the brute might be lying.

This is rapid-fire, aggressive fishing. You’ll cover a lot of water, and get very FEW hook-ups. But, when you do, you won’t ever forget it!

Good luck!