STREAMERDOGGIN’ FOR LATE-FALL, EARLY-WINTER TROUT - Bill Herzog

     

Says here in the ol’ trusty Outdoor Writers Handbook that you should begin each article with an anecdote about said activity, it should be to the point, entertaining and if possible, add a smidge of humor. All right… (clears throat).

  

It was way too warm for mid-December, here in the Yakima River lower canyon. You know the spot, pick up any fly-fishing magazine and chances are splendid there is an article—or two—about Washington States only blue-ribbon trout fishery. In the summertime this area is on freaky holiday, with drift boats, rafts, pontoons, if it floats there are dudes buggy-whipping indicators/nymphs up and down the river as far as you can see, daylight to dusk. Beyond popular. Not now, however. Not today, not for the last two months.

   

I’m swinging and slow stripping small sculpin patterns below the Umtaneum access, singing quietly to no one “Little stream-mahhhh…yeah!” to the tune of Van Halen’s “Little Dreamer”. Hadn’t had a grab for a few hours so when 21 inches of wild rainbow decides to remove your swung fly from the food chain, it’s steelheading in miniature with all the feels. Big breath robbing grab, dumping line, barking Islander reel, a jump…another…and one more. One of my biggest fish of this late fall season. A fast pic in the shallows next to the trout Spey rod, off she goes. No one around. Good stuff. I take five, have a sit and a smoke, look up and around at one of the prettiest arid canyons in the West. You will see packs of deer and sheep on the steep hillsides plus 10 different species of ducks on the river. I do think this is darned tootin’ neato, since it’s just fifteen minutes up Highway 821 from my house in Selah. You know, the town that makes Tree Top apple juice.

   

   

   

      

    

     

When the weather begins to turn cold, and believe me, here in the Yakima Canyon it goes from Indian summer to penguins shivering like a fat kid running downhill…it gets here quick and nothing is going to slow it down. Best parts about this time of year, one, all the fair weather and west sider anglers are gone. No one wants to do dicey drives over a snowy frozen pass to fish for a couple hours a day. Two, reservoirs that purge water all summer for irrigation (gotta water all those apples) that keep the Yakima at 3000 cfs that make this river a fishing from a boat only show from May to mid-September, cranks off the spigot around September 15th, to allow Chinook to spawn. The lower water, now commonly 1000 to 1500 cfs, exposes gravel bars and makes wading now a viable—and effective—option.

    

Most other trout streams are also experiencing some of the lowest, coldest flows of the year. Swinging/stripping streamers time. I started doing this just because I live so close to the Yakima Canyon, and I don’t do the indicator thing, I’m a tight liner. So late fall/early winter is my time…and it should be yours. I was telling my now living in Montana transplanted from the OP friend JD Love about my streamer fishing, and how I was doing it. He said, “It sounds like you are streamer-doggin’ the fly!” Ha! “Streamerdoggin’”… I like it. “Streamerdoggin’” it is, and this is how we do it.

  

  

   

I truly have a love affair with the new trout Spey rods. Not because they are hip and trendy, I hate all that mess, but they make our job sooooo much easier and effective. I can cast a single-handed rod for about five minutes until my tendonitis begins to flare up and I’m done, or, I can use two hands on a light, long rod and fish with Jedi effectiveness for the entire day. Seventy-foot casts with ease.

    

I just can’t stop raving about the newer trout Spey two-handed rods. My favorite is the GLoomis 4111-4, 11’,11’ IMX Pro four weight. Makes an average talent caster like me look good, plus it casts like a cannon. I highly recommend this rod or something similar if you become a serious streamer fisherperson.

    

    

   

    

     

    

Your lines are your “working tools” for effective streamer fishing early winter river trout. A full sink is just too much and a floating line won’t get the job done. For my 4wt trout Spey, a 275gr Skagit trout Spey line picks up a short sink tip and lightly weighted fly well and throws it as far as I need with minimal effort. I also have 3wt and 5wt trout Spey two handers but the 4wt just feels best for most trout 13 to 20 inches and medium-sized rivers. Since a 4-weight trout Spey fishes equal to a 6-weight single hander, the newer single-handed trout Spey lines are dandy for those who prefer a single-handed rod, you still want the convenience of being able to cast in tight spaces. Trees are a real bitch to those who need back cast room. Since you will be throwing lightly weighted streamers (more about choices in a bit) a short sink tip will do the job in 95% of target water. Remember, the water to fish is some of the slowest water in the river, so heavy sink tips are not necessary for proper presentations. In most situations, a 7-foot section of light 4 or 5 sink tip is ideal. These get the fly down and won’t overpower your rod. A three-foot section of high-quality fluorocarbon leader material of 10-to 12-pound test to the end of the sink tip will turn over the streamers and absorb the mean-spirited grabs from aggressive large trout. They are not the least line shy. A non-slip loop knot to the fly will give your streamer just a wee bit more action…couldn’t hurt!

   

Use a reel capable of comfortably holding an 8-weight line with backing, and choose one with a decent sealed disc drag or high quality click and pawl. Some of these trout will test your drags!

  

  

  

     

Sculpins, sculpins, and more sculpins. And oh yeah…sculpins. Almost all insect activity has been under 14-day quarantine and the lone watery restaurant open for drive through only are serving small fish. Since baby trout and/or salmon are months away from making an appearance, the only common denominator on the menu are sculpins, which normally feature large populations in all our rivers. I’ve caught big winter trout that have barfed up 7-inch partially digested sculpins, however, using sculpin patterns 3 to 4 inches will not only bring out the largest but all sized trout.

   

Some of the best commercially available sculpin patterns are the Sculpzilla, The One, Woolhead Sculpin, Rainey’s Conehead Wooly Sculpin, Marabou Muddler, Sheila’s Sculpin, the Mini Loop…just a starting point for your searches. Choose any sculpin patterns featuring olive, black and white, in that order of preference. I call my home-grown sculpin patterns The Hellion and The Green Manalishi…if you pay attention to my musical preferences you can guess where those names originat-ed. If you look at a sculpin, it is a mottled fish primarily olive in color.

    

     

    

      

   

     

Hell, a lightly weighted 3-inch strip of black or olive bunny lashed to a hook will work just fine. Presentation and location are most important to early winter streamer success.

    

When I tie my sculpin patterns, I grab a leaf from some of the best streamer fishermen in Montana, who suggest using larger hooks than come on most commercial ties. While you may find most sculpin streamers with #8 up to #4 hooks, I use the Gamakatsu C14 Glo Bug hook in sizes 4 and 2. This hook is 2x, will not straighten on a large trout and you will not miss as many strikes nor lose as many fish when fishing barbless. It won’t easily bend out, compromising the strength of the hook when momentarily snagged. They hold that ultra-needle point longer, too! All of them are weighted, not very much, just enough to help sink them quickly and “jig” their way along as they are swung/stripped. Most have a lightly weighted cone or barbell eyes at the head.

    

  

  

     

     

    

  

Real streamerdogggin is done from the bank but can be executed while floating as well. First let me just say that wading the Yakima Canyon stretch is as tough as woodpecker lips. The runs that have the nice tapered, easy to wade gravel bars are pounded half to death. The best pieces of holding water are usually on the wrong side of the river, where steep banks, drop-offs and irregular sized rocks (that move when you step on them) are the norm. Get a good wading staff and follow me…and put a bag of dry clothes in the truck.

    

Since there are usually enough “easy” places to wade on the standard issue gradually tapering to deeper water bars, let’s assume we will be streamerdoggin’ from there.

   

      

The calendar may say its still autumn, but the weather and conditions say full on winter. Rivers this time of year, especially those on the east side of the big hills drop

below 50 degrees rapidly after Thanksgiving. My home stream, the Yakima, flows around the high 30s when the Christmas trees go up. Colder water means trout activity slows wayyyy down, so should your presentations. Fast swings and rapid-fire retrieves will only get the overly aggressive odd fish. A slowly swung/stripped streamer will get far more looks and grabs in the dark cold flows.

    

Where you throw your streamer is 98% related to your success. Sound familiar, kids? Reading water under current conditions is taken from Page One of the winter steelheaders’ manual. Trout under colder (41 degrees and lower) conditions will pile into slower, deeper edges. Boring water to fish, yes, but that’s where the easy food is and less burned oxygen. Those pretty riffles and drop-offs at the heads of runs that are the target waters of late summer, just skip over ‘em. Find the slower, deeper edges/flats. Trout can get piled up in these winter spots and provide some fabulous action if you hit it right.

     

    

     

  

     

     

    

And sleep in! The best bites come from noon to 4 pm, the warmest part of the day and see the most feeding activity from trout. Getting there at dawn when its freezing just locks up rod guides and reels, freezes feet and hands and bites are rare. Days are short in the early winter; productive hours are counted on one hand.

   

There are no in-stone guidelines for streamer retrieves. Erratic is always better than robotic “strip…strip…strip”, as a wounded fish is never in rhythm. A dead drift, a swing slowly down and across a la steelhead style, a staccato strip/pause/drift/strip all work. Just when water is colder, do it all in first gear. I always find myself getting moderately hypnotized by the flowing water and caffeine wearing off by mid afternoon and slip into that monotonous slow, steady short strip…and still catch fish. When I put in a little more work, my bites go up.

   

Here is my daily program for streamerdoggin’ and following this mode all last late fall/early winter has produced some of the prettiest big wild rainbows I’ve caught for some time.

   

After locating a slow, deep edge off main current, naturally start at the top end of where you would expect the first trout to lay in ambush. First cast goes straight out/slightly downriver from your position and allowed to sink near bottom. Depending on the current, a series (or none) of mends straightens out the fly line until rod tips are pointed as well as they can be directly at your fly. Swing the fly as you would for steelhead, slowly down and across. No bite? Re-cast, don’t move your feet, this time after letting the fly sink begin a slow, short series of erratic strips back to your position, keeping the fly down as close to the deck as you can.

   

   

Now comes the meat of the technique, the carry-out that the “streamerdoggin” moniker comes to fruition. After you have made your first cast and swing, then second presentation with a slow strip/swing, make the same cast straight out. As it begins to sink, carefully take steps slowly down-stream, usually five to ten feet is the norm. Be sure your path is clear, no big rocks/branches there to surprise you as you step down. By doing this, you are giving trout a third and in this angler’s opinion the absolute best presentation, as the streamer drifts along ever so slightly slower than the current, it drops downstream while being slowly stripped. Most of my trout this late fall/early winter were caught streamerdoggin’ like this. It is just flat deadly.

     

  

    

   

   

     

On your first cast, on the swing, keep rod tips six inches to a foot above the water. When stripping, keep the rod tip touching the water. This prevents the line from jumping side to side and pulls more line on each strip.

     

A tip…whether stationary or in full streamerdog mode, after several strips allow some running line to slip through your fingers, allowing the fly to momentarily free-fall backwards. This allows the bunny/marabou to “puff up” and really impart wounded action. Many, many crushing grabs on this move.

     

   

    

    

    

      

   

First place is fairly horn honking, high beams flashing obvious. The Yakima River in Eastern Washington, between Ellensburg and Selah is ground zero for this technique. All the rivers in southwest Montana qualify. All you have to do is find a trout river in your area, could be in New York State, Michigan, Idaho or Northern California. I do seriously recommend a pilgrimage to the Yakima Canyon after mid-September. The scenery and wildlife alone are worth the gas money. I’m just learning all about this really cool new way (to me) to fish for river trout. I don’t have a list of places yet…I’ll leave that up to the readers.

    

So, when the calendar on the wall says October, and all the hatches and insect activity on your chosen trout stream goes on the witness protection program until spring, break out the sculpin patterns, think steelheading in miniature and get your streamerdoggin’ on, kids.

    

 “Little streeee-mahhh, yeahhhh…”

 

 

MORE GREAT ARTICLES FROM STS:

FISH STUFFED MINI-PEPPERS - Tiffany Haugen

MASTERING THE CENTER_PIN SOLUTION TO JOHN DAY'S LATE WINTER RUN STEELHEAD - Terry W. Sheely