Fly Fishing Hot Topics

Buying Your Second Fly Rod

by MAngler

You did it. You bought your first fly rod. You stumbled and suffered through the steep learning curve, and you stuck to it. All the knots that failed, all the flies that mysteriously flew off after someone shot a pistol behind you, those days are past…. mostly. You’ve done some very foolish things, most prominent being borrowing a buddy’s rod. And now you have it. Rod envy. We know, it starts small, but then it begins to build and build. There comes a time when you say to yourself, my best fly fishing in Missoula is only going to be found with a new fly rod. One that I want, and depending on how you roll, is SO much better than your buddy’s!

This is all good. Starter rods have definite limitations, and you’re starting to find them. It means you’re growing as an angler, acquiring new skills to be more effective. You know the old rod works, it simply no longer enhances your experience. The die is cast. You’re on the hunt for a new magic wand. That old 5 wt is being relegated to the back of the closet, or a niece. That’s not clear yet. What is clear is it’s time to make the move.

As you go for rod two, you should be aware that there are so many rod manufacturers out there making high quality rods. They all cast really well. In fact, if you spend over $100, it’s very difficult to find a lousy rod in this day and age- a far cry from 35 years ago when most rods weren’t even decent tent poles! That’s a comforting thought, that you can’t really screw this up too badly.

You’ve done research and know that some rods are fast action (don’t bend as deeply, return to straight more rapidly) and some are slow (flex deeply, takes longer to return to straight). Each rod has it’s advantages and disadvantages. That’s a completely different subject. This is not about why you want fast or slow.. This is about you. Because, truth be told, you don’t actually need a fly rod, you just want one. This is about finding what you want.

Now you’re on safari, searching for the elusive white tiger that will transform your time on the water. Your first move is to set a budget. This very important, and not as much for monetary reasons, though those certainly matter! When buying a car, you don’t go test drive Cadillacs, Mercedes and Ferraris, all while really contemplating buying a Ford or a Subaru. Because when you go to drive the car you’re going to buy, you’re going to think it’s terrible. And we know for a fact its not. But in comparison, its not in the same league, and therefore feels lesser. This applies to fly rods as well.

If you enter a shop and say you want to cast rods, you might end up with a $1200 rod in your hand. And yes, it will be phenomenal. And then every rod you look at after won’t be up to snuff. Set a budget and stick to it. If you have an unlimited budget, our address is 802 S. Higgins!! We’ve been in business for over 30 years and we know some things about tackle. Once you hit a certain point, and for rods its about $300, to get 10% better it costs 50% more. That seems to be a pretty good rule of thumb. Here’s another thought about buying fly rods. The longer it takes to find a fly rod, the more you’re going to spend. The longer you spend looking at fly rods, the more satisfied you’ll be down the road. It’s a trade-off.

We’ve seen this done as well at our Missoula fly shop. A customer is looking for a new fly rod, and has the old standard, a 9’ 5wt. They come into the shop looking to upgrade, but they’re not comfortable about duplicating. They’re thinking about spending $500 or more on a 7 ½” 3wt, or a 9 ½’ 7wt. Both those rods are more specialty sticks when it comes to Montana trout fishing. Why would you spend so much money on an ancillary fly rod, and have your main rod be a less effective tool. Get ready to purchase pretty much the same thing you’ve already got, because it’s your go-to rod. Put your money where you’re going to use it most. It’s why your niece is getting the old one!

When you bought your first rod, you probably had no idea what you were buying. You bought something inexpensive, in case you didn’t like it. You trusted the people who sold it to you, and it worked. You might not have even put it together. This time is different. This time you know what you want. And if you don’t know, you’re going to find out. The only way to find out how a fly rod feels is to cast it. Shaking a fly rod doesn’t get it done. You need to put a line on it and go cast it. That’s the only way to know how its going to perform. If the fly shop doesn’t have a line for you to use, bring your old one.

We’ve seen this happen when traveling or just in other shops. A customer walks in and says they want to buy a fly rod. The salesperson says I know exactly the rod you want, and starts his spiel. Beware! You’re buying this rod because you want to, not because you have to. Sure, the salesperson might be right. But probably not. They haven’t seen you cast, so how can they make a recommendation?  Everyone at the MAngler has their favorite rod, and at some point it’s going to be in your hand. But we’re doing more than handing you rods and saying how good it is. We’re watching you cast, we’re watching your loop, and comparing distance to the other rods you’ve tried. This next bit sounds rude, but it’s not. We don’t care what rod you buy. Our only vested interest is you buy it from us, and you’re happy with your purchase. Many times we sell rods we’re personally not enamored of. Why? Because the customer casts it better than our favorite. We’re not buying the rod, you are! So we watch you cast, and then start matching rods to your preference.

Your Mom always says, don’t fall for the first pretty face that comes by. The same applies to fly rods. Even if the first rod feels like magic in your hands, go cast more. Sure, that rod might be the one, but you’ve got to check. Don’t be swayed by some slick talking salesman or a discount. Do your due diligence. The rod will be there when you go back. And if it’s not, they can order another one! The last thing you want to do is buy the first rod you cast, and then later cast a buddy’s you like much better. That will haunt you every time you use your rod, and the haunting will go up in proportion to how much you spent!

Because you’re doing this to make yourself happy. Its not a chore to go and cast a bunch of rods, it’s a privilege. Go out and enjoy the experience. Have a great time casting each rod. Every time you pick up a new stick, you learn more about your casting. You find out more about likes and dislikes. You hone in on your happy place, and crystalize in your mind exactly what you’re looking for. Because the goal is to find a rod that makes you go “Ooooohhh” every time you fish it. You want a rod that makes you smile when it comes out of the tube, that fills you with confidence every time you take it out to play. Because if it doesn’t, then what’s the point? You have a rod that works- this is about a rod that makes you smile. It will take a little time and a little effort. Trust us, it’s worth it. Having that magic wand, the rod that does it all for you, is such a good feeling on the water. It’s worth the time and effort to make your second rod exactly what you want.

Fly Fishing Hot Topics

Looking At Flies

by MAngler

A fly box is a lot like your underwear drawer. It holds what’s important, it keeps our secret treasures, and we use it as often as possible! There’s nothing so personal in fly fishing as your flies. Say what you want about your rod, reel, waders etc, there are others with the same stuff. We all dip into the same well for our big tackle, we all have access to the same sources. But our flies, that’s a completely different picture. As we move through the fly fishing world, the only thing that truly separates us as anglers is the flies we take with us to the river.

Every fly box is a story.  Open any box and the memories come flooding back. The salmon fly you got from that crazy guy on the river. You said howdy, and next thing he’s giving you flies he tied, and telling you it’s the only fly that works on Rock Creek right now. With his sun faded hat, wispy gray hair and wrap around glasses so dark you can’t see his eyes, he makes you take two, because one isn’t going to be enough to sustain you through the day. If you hadn’t lost one in some overhanging branches, it wouldn’t have been tugged all day, but you’ll never forget the kindness, the joy of his fishing, and the nagging thought about who thought it was a good idea to use a green and red fly during the salmon fly hatch!

You open your nymph box, and see the rows and rows of flies slid into their foam homes. Except the one section that’s bare. You know that means a trip to the fly shop, because of all the flies in that box, those are the ones that work. Why you’ve honed in on the SR Quill Body Bullet, well, you just don’t know. But it works, and all of a sudden, all those other flies feel lost without a fresh supply of the new favorite. It will take its place beside all the old favorites, some so out of favor the rust has stained the foam. But there they stay, because you just never know . . . . . .

Once in a while, we look back and think, what if we just had one fly box, like when we were first starting out fly fishing. We hear rumors of anglers who can do it! Look at those Tenkara people, roaming the river with technology that harkens back to Dame Juliana and maybe a dozen flies. If only we had that intestinal fortitude and certainty in our choices.  But some anglers can’t, and more just won’t! The fly is the one piece of tackle that comes into contact with the fish. Your flies are a beacon of hope, the answers to our fishing prayers, the path that could make us king of the river. What if today is the day a green and red salmon fly is the magic? Can we really leave it at home?  The what ifs start to accumulate. So you rationalize. Do I really need a sandwich in that vest pocket? Just how critical is a pocketful of snacks. And then you go hungry, for flies. And its not the first time, as you think back to the last time you went to the fly shop!!

Ultimately, the fly is the thing you have the most control over on the water. You don’t design rods, you don’t manufacture lines. But if you choose to, you can make your own flies. Or you can haunt the fly shops, looking for the one fly that will turn the ship around. So often, as we work the shop, a customer will enter. Asked if they need help, the answer is no, they just couldn’t pass by a fly shop. Hope springs eternal! We know it’s at least a $20 sale, whether it’s flies or materials. Because they know, they just know, that the secret could be in our fly bins. What the secret is, well they’re not sure as they walk through the door, but they’ll know it when they see it.

We see the best fly fishing guides in Missoula on a daily basis during the season. It’s so much fun watching the different ways they shop for flies. Some will look at every fly they buy, holding it up so they can see it from the bottom, examining each wrap for its placement and balance. Some assiduously count their flies, never buying an even number. Some just reach into a bin and grab what looks like the correct amount, like they’re buying by weight. Some come in groups, discussing the various patterns and what’s hot, what’s not. But always, they’re on the lookout for something new, something fresh, something to guarantee their guests have the best Missoula fly fishing possible. They trust us to have what they need, when they need it.

Because, truth be told, we’re the exact same way. We believe the fly is the answer, the game changer, the key to our happiness. Sure, we mend, we change tippets, we get new line, we look at new rods. But when it comes to flies, we are constant tinkerers. What can we add that makes us better. What fly is so hot it scorches the wooden bins? People marvel at our dollar box. “How can that fly be there?” Every fly in the dollar bin is a hope that wasn’t answered as well as we thought it would be, every fly is there because we thought it was the answer, and then, not so much. But none of those flies that have been relegated to that bin are so silly we wouldn’t try them again at some point, maybe when the scorcher has lost its fire. That’s when we look for the rust spots in our nymph box, hoping that absence has made the trout’s hearts grow fonder.

Because no one cleans out their fly box. The rust? It may work as an attractant. A red and green salmon fly? Funnier things have happened. And what if it turns out you do need a Purple Haze with no hackle? There it is again, what if. That’s what flies are all about. Each one has the potential to change the day. Each one has the ability to be the next big thing. Again, it all boils down to what if. So they stay in the box, in all their glory, some ragged, some rusty and some ridiculous. But all carrying the possibility, all carrying the potential, all with a chance to solve the riddle, charm the snake and make your Montana fly fishing day!

Bitterroot River Fly Fishing Guided Trip
Fly Fishing Hot Topics

In Search Of Big Trout

by MAngler

Slabside. Pig. Brother Two Foot. Doesn’t matter the slang you use, lifetime fly fishing memories are made as you venture on the water, sights set on the size of the result. But how do you find them? What’s the secret for locating that fish of a lifetime? Here’s a couple of hints to get you off the dinks and into the Dawgs!

The first step is to do a little homework, and go where big fish live. For some, it may be higher altitude lakes or a tailwater river. We try not to rub it in, but Montana has a surplus of big trout, and we know how lucky we are. If your home river is a stocked stream that hits 80 degrees in August, then its not going to hold too many large trout. A big fish in that river may be 11 inches! A trophy if you know about the water, but maybe not the photo op you’re looking for. Once you decide to land a big trout, you need to go where you actually have the chance to catch one, whether you’re driving or flying. It might take a bit of planning.

Big trout are a direct application of trout biology. This is the reason you paid attention in seventh grade. While it should go without saying, big fish get big because they have a continuous, abundant food source. They survive because they have protection from predators, and grow because they have a place to live where they don’t need to expend a lot of energy, which uses up those precious calories. These are the three things trout need to attain size. You need to find big fish holding lies, and there are no road maps. Add to the equation that big trout are natural survivors, or they wouldn’t have gotten so big, and you have a pretty good puzzle to solve.

The first thing to do when deciding to target big trout is put away the dry fly. Sure, there are specialized times when big trout will come to the surface, but it’s not something to bank on. Big fish need more calories to sustain themselves and staying near the surface requires more energy, where most often the rewards don’t cover the energy expenditure. Add in large trout are survivors, avoiding exposure to predators, and the smart money goes under water.

Missoula Fly Fishing Guides

One of the best pieces of advice ever is Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity- doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result! In order to start changing your result, you need to start changing your habits. If you always go to the same hole on Rock Creek in Montana, and always catch little fish, something has to change. And don’t count on an earthquake changing the nature of that hole! Take it a step further. If you always nymph with your indicator set at 3’, you might want to add some length. Change your depth. Put on a smaller fly than normally used, or a larger one. If you never use weight, maybe you should try some. Change your game, change your strategy. If it doesn’t work, so what! You’ve learned something, and while you didn’t go big, you weren’t going big before, so nothing ventured, nothing gained.

This might sound a bit contradictory to what was just said, but you still need to be familiar with the water you’re fishing before starting to take big fish. Very few anglers step into a new piece of water and start taking lunkers. You need to have some familiarity with where you’re fishing before the big fish will start to show themselves. And they do show themselves. Sometimes you find them by clumsy or inattentive wading. Who hasn’t walked to the edge of a river and spooked a huge fish from the bank. Remember that! Remember where you spooked that big fish! They’re coming back to that spot, because they were there for a reason. Make a note, and choose a different path next time.

Floating anglers have this built in, but for the wading angler, the best tool they have for finding big fish are their boots! You are NOT a tree- move your feet. Big trout don’t come find you, you go find them. The more territory you cover, the better your chances are of finding a bigger fish. This can prove to be problematic for the wading angler on larger rivers. Often the topography simply doesn’t allow for a wide range of movement. Which is too bad, as larger rivers hold a disproportionate number of big trout.

That’s another aspect of big trout hunting. The bigger the watershed, the bigger the trout. In Missoula, the Clark Fork River holds the largest Brown Trout and Rainbow trout in our area, simply because it’s a our biggest river. Everything is oversized, the currents, the lies, the food supply. You name it, it’s bigger. By comparison, though Rock Creek has the most trout per mile of any Missoula River, the average fish size is less than that of our other local rivers. When you’re on the prowl for Mr. Big, the journey often begins at a larger river, but this isn’t always the case.

Missoula Fly fishing

As you cover more ground, be alert for any motion in the water. Your movement along the river creates sensations that big trout don’t enjoy, and the first time you spot a larger fish may be as it slides back under the bank or sideways  to a downed log. Again, remember that spot! If a big trout is there now, it’s there later. Pay attention as you walk the river. Remember, you’re not on salary! Slow and watchful beats fast and careless 99 times out of 100. Walk like you’re being paid by the hour. Of course, if you’re walking through ankle deep water, you can move at pace, but the moment any decent water presents itself, slow down, put your head on a swivel, and start looking for places of food, shelter and low current speed.

Sid Gordon wrote a book called How To Fish From Top To Bottom. He was paid to go to lakes and ascertain if there were any fish in them, and if so, what were they. When coming to new water, he used a white pie plate on a harness that he lowered into the water. If he had 6 feet of visibility, he would cast his lure out and retrieve. If he had no strikes, he would make his next cast 12 feet from the last. His theory, and its a good one, is that if a fish is out and eating, they can see your lure. Whether the fish eats or not can’t be changed, but why go over old ground. A 12’ casting radius with 6’ of visibility covers the most water efficiently. A good lesson when looking for any fish, but especially big ones.

Let’s go one step farther. Big fish are wary, and the act of draping your fly line across the water is disturbing. Focus on what you’re doing, and make the first cast your best cast. Results diminish with every cast, so make the first one count. Unless you’re euronymphing, and making a very light disturbance on the water, each successive cast is more intrusive and less likely to take fish.

Earlier, we said look for fish sliding out of their feeding lanes and back under cover. Big trout are exceptionally structure oriented. If they’re not feeding, they’re under cover. When you go in search of big trout, have a lot of flies with you, because you’re going to lose some. Our Bitterroot River is known for trees in the water, grounded, stump end facing upstream. The root wad breaks the rivers flow, carving out deep side channels on each side. Those root wads scream big fish. Not surprisingly, they’re also full of roots! Which will snag your fly and keep it. It’s a risk/reward situation. Are you willing to put your bug where it needs to be, knowing you probably won’t get it back? That is a question every big fish fisherman asks before they cast. Is it worth it? Before you set out to chase Big Papa, you need to know the answer to that question.

Clark Fork Rainbow Trout Downtown Missoula

Contrary to what was previously said, there are people who come to new water and catch big fish. They’re your everyday, average streamer junkie. You know that angler! Runs a 7 or 8 wt., doesn’t have a floating line, and the flies they throw are close to the size of a trout taking mayflies. They catch big fish. Because that’s all they’re going to catch. Biologists (back to 7th grade!) will tell you that a trout strikes only if they are at least 3 times the prey’s size. When you’re throwing a 6” streamer, unless you find a kamikaze trout, the smallest fish you’ll take is 18”!  Specialized equipment for a specialized task. They keep score in a different way. A brutal yellow flash that turns aside at the last instant counts! You moved a fish as wide as most fish are long. It’s a different game when you’re hunting big fish, and a flash is almost as good as a strike! Keep this in mind, those big fish chasers remember that spot for the next time!

Big fish require different tactics, and a different level of commitment. You’re going to leave your comfort zone, and venture into a new area. It can be frustrating. Success is not going to come walking down the river to shake your hand. There will be days when fish count is lower than flies lost. Chasing big fish is a mindset. For many anglers, it’s not important. But as with all aspects of fly fishing, when you decide to learn something new, the spillover will up your game in every aspect. Learning to examine the water closely will pay dividends no matter what size fish you catch. Expanding your boundaries will quickly improve your casting. This may sound funny, but losing flies makes your knot tying faster and stronger. So as you bumble about on the water the first few times you target that Hooknose, know that whether you’re successful in the short run or not, expanding your fish size will expand your skill set, and that’s never a bad thing!

Missoula Fly Fishing Guide Chase Harrison
Montana Fly Fishing Guide Matt Robb
Missoula Clark Fork River Fly Fishing
Montana Guided Fly Fishing Float Trip
Montana Brown Trout - Missoulian Angler
Montana Fly Fishing

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Flies and Fly Tying

Fly Fishing Jig Nymphs

by MAngler

Perdigon. Perdigone. Doesn’t matter how you spell it, Perdigons are sweeping the fly fishing world. With euro-nymphing as the buzzword, and effectiveness proven, the Perdigon jig nymph is now the hottest style fly we sell for trout at our Missoula fly shop and work anywhere in the world that trout are found. But where did this design come from? It’s a bit of a journey to get from the bottom of the ocean to the shores of the Blackfoot River, Bitterroot River, Clark Fork River and Rock Creek, but the journey was well worth it!

The jig, and jigging, has been popular in saltwater for many years, and then brought to it’s modern fruition in bass fishing. Using a molded lead head, the hook rides inverted (hook point up) and uses an up and down action to attract fish. The advantages of the jig slowly dawned on fly fishermen, and in the late ’80’s Bob Clouser tied the first Clouser Minnow, using Wapsi lead eyes instead of a molded lead head. The Clouser Minnow may have taken as many species as the Woolly Bugger- it’s that effective.

It took a while for the jig hook to catch on amongst fly fishers, but it’s here to stay now. When bouncing a jig nymph along the bottom, the inverted hook point snags less, saving the angler flies and time on the water. Additionally, in order to invert the hook point, the jig style nymph requires a tungsten bead. The tungsten is heavy enough to turn the hook point “over”, if you will. Tungsten is much heavier than the brass beads that were popularized by Theo Bakelaar back in the ’80’s. Theo is from Holland, and was the first to use gold beads in his flies. The slotted tungsten bead is a direct offshoot of Theo’s original gold bead.

Closely intertwined with the emergence of jig nymphs and Perdigons is Euro-nymphing, or Czech nymphing as it was originally called. Euro-nymphing is a highly sophisticated version of high stick nymphing, and without doubt the most effective method of fly fishing. Most of the World Championships of Fly Fishing have been won by people using Euro-nymph techniques. On hard fished waters these bottom bumping tactics move fish that have seen every fly and lure available. In Montana, Euro-nymphing takes so many fish because of the comparative lack of pressure found here. In the summer of 2019, a euro-nymphing guest who competed for a position on the Italian National Fly Fishing Team had two 100+ fish days with one of our Missoula fly fishing guides. Euro nymphing works!

Because Euro-nymphing relies on getting flies deep quickly, the jig nymph is perfect for the application. While not snagless, they certainly hook the bottom with less frequency. The tungsten bead gets the fly to the bottom faster than other materials used in construction. At the Missoulian Angler, we carry over 75 jig nymph patterns and many of them can be found on our online store, but not all of them are Perdigons. Any nymph can be tied on a jig hook- we carry Hare’s Ears, Pheasant Tails and Princes that are tied inverted on a jig hook. Not going to say they aren’t a bit different, but they’re quite recognizable. Many of our jig nymphs use a CDC collar. (More on that later!) The Perdigon is a style of fly that has specific construction techniques.

Perdigons are specialized jig nymphs, and while they vary in color and size, Perdigons are defined by their construction style. They are tied sparsely, usually with a Coq De Leon fiber tail, and the bodies are coated with either UV resin or epoxy. The coating is critical to the Perdigon, as it allows the fly to sink faster. Not due to additional weight, but because the coating is glass smooth, and almost frictionless in the water. The coating dramatically improves sink rate. Some Perdigons are tied with hot spots, or a bright, contrasting band or collar. The hot spot is used to attract fish to the fly, though they’re not found in all Perdigons.

The first time you look at a Perdigon, you wonder why they work. There doesn’t seem to be much there. There isn’t, and that’s the beauty of this style. Because the Perdigons don’t really imitate anything specific, they pretty much imitate most things. The color and shape could be a caddis pupa, a small stonefly or mayfly nymph. Because it’s a universal shape, the Perdigon is never really the wrong fly to tie on. It’s why it’s so effective. The non-denominational nature of the Perdigon makes it universally accepted by fish. Add that to the rapid sink rate, and you have the perfect storm for a nymph.

While Perdigons are very uniform in their shape, size and color are very important. Think of the dominant colors prevalent in insect life in the river at any given time, and match the color and size. In Spring, the G Kes and SR Olive Bullet are both effective, one imitating the Western March Brown and the other the BWO. As run-off ends, again the G Kes is a winner, imitating a small Golden Stone or a PMD nymph. The SR Bullet Quill is also effective for WMB’s and  BWO’s. The Black SR Bullet is perfect for Nemoura nymphs as well as trico nymphs. As you can see, there’s a Perdigon out there for every hatch, and we carry them!

Here’s a heads up. When you go hopper/dropper with a Perdigon, especially in slower water, be ready for a “bump” when the fly hits the nadir of the drop. They sink so quickly that when the Perdigon gets to depth, it might pull on the back of the dry and make you think you had a strike. Just be ready for that. Additionally, you may want to shorten your dropper length just a bit, as the angle from the dry fly with a Perdigon is much steeper than a standard brass bead nymph. It’s why they work.

The CDC collar can be a very effective nymphing weapon if you choose to utilize it. CDC comes from the preen gland of waterfowl, and is very resistant to matting. It’s so effective with dry flies because it holds air bubbles, which refract light and look very realistic as wings on a dry fly. When you first cast a Jig Nymph collared with CDC collar, it’s dry, and retains air bubbles. Those air bubbles refract as well underwater they do on the surface, and really attract the fish. But after 3-4 dunkings, the feathers will mat and lose their ability to hold air bubbles. If the fish are fussy, you may want to take a little Frog’s Fanny or Shimizaki desiccant and dress the collar again. If you’re using a jig with dubbing, try to keep the desiccant away from the body. With a dressed collar, your jig nymph will become a more effective fly. Just a thought!

Jig nymphs have changed the way we nymph for trout. They sink faster, getting them to “the zone” faster. That alone makes them more effective! Add the inverted hook which snags less, and now you’re more willing to get to the zone! You become a better nympher when you use a jig nymph. The best fly fishing guides in Missoula have been using tungsten bead join nymphs for at least 6 years. We think they will change the way you approach your nymphing, and make you a more successful angler.

Some Of Our Favorites

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PT Hot Spot Orange

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Fly Fishing Hot Topics

Beginner’s Guide To Streamer Fishing

by MAngler

Intimidation Factor

For novice fly fishers, learning how to fish streamer’s can feel very intimidating. Which is strange, because as a technique streamer fishing is the easiest to master. Nymphs and dry flies demand a drag free drift, which is not always easy to obtain. Because a streamer imitates a minnow or leech- creatures which can control their movements in the water- they do not require the subtleties of the dead drift. They can be tugged and pulled through the water in any desired direction. Instead of searching for no drag, you’re creating drag that will entice the fish.

Choosing Streamers

The number of streamers available to the angler is absolutely mind-boggling. They’re found in every color under the sun, and range in size anywhere from 1” in length to 7”. Start to add variables like weighted v. weightless, articulated v. single hook and other variations, and it’s enough to send you back to the nymph section!

Choosing streamers is not as difficult as it looks. There are considerations to take when choosing your streamers. The first is the size of the streamer. It needs to be compatible with the line weight you’re using. The lighter the line weight, the smaller the streamer should be. Think of it this way. If you attached a fly to a Ping Pong ball and threw it, it would go a certain distance, and land fairly lightly. In comparison, if you attached a fly to a baseball, you could throw it much farther, and land with much more disturbance. The Ping Pong ball will carry less weight and travel less distance than the baseball. In a nutshell, that’s how fly lines work for streamer fishing.

If your main rod for trout is a 4 wt., you’ll need to choose flies small enough to be controlled by such a light line. However, if you’re using a 7 wt. for trout, you will have access to much larger streamers. The 7 wt. is a much heavier line, and will be able to control a much larger fly. If your fly line falls between, adjust your fly size accordingly.

The leader also plays a critical role in streamer fishing. With nymphs and dry flies, anglers try to use the lightest tippet possible for a better drift. In streamer fishing, a light tippet is counterproductive. Trout taking streamers are not leader shy- they are slashing at a moving target with very little concern for tippet size. If you decide to fish streamers, a spool of 1X tippet, or a 7.5’ 1X tapered leader will prove to be very helpful. The thicker leader will transfer more of the casting energy to the fly, allowing you to straighten line and leader with less difficulty. The thicker tippet also resists abrasion, which is important, as larger trout often live in some pretty gnarly spots!

Once you know the correct and approximate streamer size, you need to decide what colors you’re going to carry. To simplify matters, we’re going to fall back on some classic thoughts on streamers from the 40’s and 50’. Dark day, dark fly- light day, light fly- bright day, bright fly. Which means on a cloudy day, or in stained water, a black fly will provide the best silhouette. On a lighter day, try a tan or white fly. On a sunny day, try a fly with a lot of flash. So as you choose your streamers, choose with that in mind. The other thing to keep in mind is size. Have a big and small fly in light dark and bright, always remembering the limitations in size as defined by the line size you’re using. Now you have your flies, it’s time to go fishing!

Streamer Tactics

If you’re floating the river, tactics for streamer fishing are quite easy. Since 80% of the fish are found within 10’ of the shoreline, you will be casting your streamer to the edge of the bank, and moving your streamer away from shore. Correct streamer technique has the angler pointing the rod tip directly at the fly, and manipulating the fly with your line hand by pulling on the line. If you use the rod tip to move the fly, the tip is moving backwards, and if the trout strikes near the end of your rod’s backward swing, the rod tip will not be able to move further back far or fast enough to set the hook. The streamer is a large hook, and it takes a lot of force to set it it. Additionally, the trout is slashing at the fly, and the time you have to set the hook is very brief. Having the ability to sweep the rod its entire length while yanking on the line gives the angler a better chance to hook the fish in that brief moment.

A wading angler has a different approach. You will be fishing your streamer across the river, casting at approximately a 30 degree angle downstream. The fly will swing down downstream through an arc. Allow the fly to extend almost straight out below you. The line should extend for two reasons. One, if you’ve attracted a fish from mid river, the extension of the cast allows the fly to stay in the water longer, allowing the trout a longer time to decide to eat. Second, since most fish live next to the bank, the full extension allows the trout by the shore to get a look at the shore.

Once you’ve completed a cast, take a step downstream and do it again. Streamer fishing is about covering water. You want to give as many fish as you can a chance to see your fly. Standing in the same spot limits how many fish will see the fly. As you cast downstream, again, you will be manipulating the fly with your line hand as you follow the path of the fly with your rod tip. The manipulation should be arrhythmic, imitating a wounded or injured baitfish. As a strategy for manipulation, start with small, slower movements, and as you progress, make the movements bigger and more forceful. Don’t worry, you can’t move the streamer so fast a trout can’t catch it if it wants your fly. Let the trout tell you how they want the streamer moved, so make sure you vary your retrieve throughout the day.

Streamer fishing is never the “wrong” way to fish, though the results will vary widely from day to day. At any given time in a body of water, there are smaller fish available for larger fish. So the streamer is never wrong. However, biologists say a trout needs to be at least 3 times larger than its intended prey. That means if you use a 3’ fly, the smallest trout that will eat that fly is 9”, and will probably be larger than that. When you fish a streamer, you are removing approximately 60% of the trout population from eating your fly. It’s too big for those trout to eat/attack. Which means streamer fishing can be slower than other types of fishing, but the rewards can be very big!

Final Thoughts

A last thought on steamer fishing. When thinking of dry flies, nymphs and streamers, the least intrusive type of fishing is dry fly fishing. Since dry fly fishing only disturbs the surface, it affects the least amount of water. Nymphing, because it’s underwater, disturbs the stream a bit more. Streamer fishing is the most intrusive style of fly fishing, as the streamer is subsurface, and pulled vigorously through the water over a longer distance. So if you’re planning on fishing a section of river for an extended period of time, don’t start with streamers. Work the water with a dry, move to nymphs, and then try streamers. Unless you plan to keep moving all day, the streamer may not be your first choice when you approach the river. But when you decide to dedicate some time to the streamer, you’ll find the size of the trout you’re catching will get much larger. Big fish eat little fish!

Additional Streamer Fishing Resources

Streamer Overview
13 Tips For Fly Fishing Streamers
Best Streamer Fly Patterns
Fly Fishing Hot Topics

The Search For Clear Water

by MAngler

When the rivers are high and brown, there’s a feeling that goes through the Missoula fly fishing community. It’s a combination of frustration, annoyance and a little bit of optimism. If only just, if I just did this, I would find clear water. The eternal optimism of the Missoula fly fisher comes through in the month of May. This optimism is always tempered by a trip across any bridge in downtown Missoula. Before they re-did the Russell Street Bridge, you could feel the bridge vibrate as the brown water raced under it. Not the first thing you look for in a place to fish!

But there is clear water, you simply have to decide you’re going to find it. Lets start at the wrong end of the spectrum, and move forward from there.

The worst place to find clear water in Missoula in May is below Kelly Island. Within 26 miles of Kelly Island, the Blackfoot River, Rock Creek and the Bitterroot River all pour into the Clark Fork River. The entire sum total of all the mud, logs, trees, and anything else that found its way to the edge of the river is coming downstream, and the lower Clark Fork is the catch all for everything. The lower Clark is pretty much the last place to search for clear water.

And from there, we start to follow the general wisdom of clear water in rivers. The further upstream you go, the clearer the water gets. It only makes sense. The higher you go in the water shed, the less chance there is for all the discoloration attendant to run-off to enter the water. So with the Clark Fork in mind, the best place to find clear water is the Warm Springs area. It’s as far upriver as you can go, and the water will be as clear as you can find in May. The same holds for all our local rivers. East and west Forks of the Bitterroot, the Upper Blackfoot and Rock Creek- the farther up river you travel, the clearer the water will be.

On the 3rd Saturday in May, the upper reaches of the rivers become so much more accessible as the tributaries open. The same rules apply to the tribs as do the rivers. The further up you go, the clearer they get. But many tribs are higher gradient, and high gradient streams hold less silt, and run clearer. Tribs are also smaller (Duh) and they have less junk floating down them. The higher sections of the tributaries offer instantaneous access to clearer water.

You’ve had to read this far to get to the easiest answers. If you’re looking for clear running water, the Missouri River is the answer. With the dam at Wolf Creek, the Missouri River is a tailwater. The bottom release water is almost completely unaffected by the mud pouring into the water behind the dam. Comes in dirty, comes out clear! There are two things to take into consideration when thinking of the Missouri. The first is its size. The water may be clear, but the dam can only hold so much water. The water levels in the Missouri go up during run-off, just as if it was a freestone river. The wading access isn’t always ideal. Given an option, the Missouri is a river better floated in May. Additionally, while the Missouri itself isn’t affected by runoff, the larger tributaries to the Missouri are. At the peak of run-off, the Missouri is really only fishable from the dam to where the Dearborn comes in. The Dearborn will be brown and high, and as soon as it enters the Missouri, the entire river clouds up and the fishing slows way down. Keep that in mind as you head to the Missouri in May.

In such a river-centric city, it’s easy to overlook the still water fly fishing around Missoula. It’s good all year round, but most anglers are focusing on the rivers most of the time. In May, many of the higher altitude lakes are icing off, and the fish are looking to feed after a long, cold winter. The ice out can be an amazing time in Missoula, with Brown’s Lake, Beavertail reservoir and Harpers’ Lake coming rapidly to mind as some of the best Missoula still water fisheries in May. And those are just the lakes we talk about. The mountains around Missoula are full of lakes- pick up a gazetteer and you’ll find hundreds. A nice hike in the mountains, and the possibilities of wild WestSlope Cutthroats- it’s a great spring day.

And we’re going to say it, but kind of in a whisper. There are bass in Montana. Big ones. Feisty and ready to eat in the lakes around Missoula. As the Spring warms the waters, the bass start looking to the surface. There’s very little more exciting than watching a Largemouth bass crush a surface popper as you rip it through cover. The blowup is something to be seen. And where you find bass you often find pike, which are also on the move as the warm weather starts to heat up the water. Some fine bass fishing is found in Upsata Lake, Nine Pipes Reservoir and Kicking Horse Reservoir. Remember that Nine Pipes and kicking Horse are on the Flathead reservation, so a separate license is needed to fish those waters. Nine Pipes is also a Migratory Bird Sanctuary, so there are specific rules that apply to fishing there. Consult the regulations before heading up there to fish.

We know, every time you cross the Clark Fork River in Missoula the brown gets you down. But the rivers aren’t off color everywhere. Nor are the abundant high mountain lakes and lower reservoirs. The tribs will soon be open, and the fishing is going to be better than our limited city vision will lead us to believe. It’s just like our local ski slope. The crafty veterans can’t wait for the snow to melt in town, because many skiers think, “Oh well, no snow.” Not in the mountains, and the crowds go way down. Same with the brown Clark Fork, we see off color and think no fishing. But with a little thought, you can find fish through the month of May and the first two weeks of June. The fishing is there, you just have to widen your gaze just a bit.