Streamer fishing can be an addicting way to fish, so much so that some anglers become “streamer junkies” and refuse to fish any other way. Streamer fishing is very active, constantly casting and retrieving. When fishing with streamers, you’re typically on the hunt for big, meat-eating fish that are hungry for a big meal. You may sacrifice numbers of fish for quality of fish, but after that first strike on a streamer, you’ll be just fine with that.

With this guide, you’ll learn the basics of what streamer fishing is, equipment and flies to use, and when and how to streamer fish. 

What is Streamer Fishing?

Streamer fishing is throwing larger flies that represent baitfish, crawfish, sculpin, or any other hearty prey that predatory fish consume (Check out the Beginner’s Guide to Flies). Streamer fishing is very similar to throwing stickbaits, crankbaits, and plugs in conventional fishing. Essentially, you’re throwing bigger flies that represent a bigger meal for (hopefully) bigger fish. Big fish need a lot of calories and streamer fishing tempts them with a nutrient dense meal.

Streamer fishing allows you to cover a ton of water and the importance of “dead drifts” and exact presentations is not nearly as paramount as fishing dry flies or nymphs. Contrary to those techniques, with streamers you are often trying to elicit a reactionary, predatory strike in the fish either through natural presentations or aggressive retrieves. These “eats” are often vicious and ferocious and can be an addicting way to fish.

Equipment

Because you’re throwing bigger flies, a beefier setup is required. The weight of the rod is largely dependent on the size and wind resistance of your fly and the size of the fish you’re targeting.

As a note, streamer rods typically have fast actions, meaning they are designed to bend at the tip and rebound quickly. Because many streamers are larger and wind resistant, fly rods need to be able to generate more line speed to get the fly to cast efficiently. Slower actions rods don’t generate the same amount of power, but are able to present flies more delicately. In streamer fishing, we need to have enough power in the rod to cast correctly, and delicate presentations are not nearly as important.

Rods for Streamer Fishing

For the average size streamer you see in most shops (in the 3-5 inch range), a 6 weight is a great tool to use. A 6 weight is actually the rod I prefer to use when streamer fishing for trout and smallmouth, as it provides the versatility to throw smaller flies and medium sized flies that are more wind resistant. Plus, when you hook a big one, it’s a fun fight. Bigger wooly buggers, Dungeons, small to medium sized Gamechangers, medium sized poppers, and Clousers are a few examples of flies that can all be thrown on a 6 weight (plus the all the smaller streamers). Additionally, I’ve found any fly that has any sort of weight to it, either with coneheads or dumbbell eyes, are casted more efficiently with a 6 weight.

Reels for Streamer Fishing

The type of reel you use depends on the size of the fish and the runs they are likely to go on. When streamer fishing targeting larger fish, having a quality reel with a solid drag system can be very important. However, if just beginning your streamer game, I would invest more resources in quality rods and lines and save on the reel. There are many quality reels on the market that don’t break the bank that will be totally sufficient for streamer fishing.

Fly Lines for Streamer Fishing

Floating, sink tip, and full sinking lines all have their times to shine in the streamer game. Which to use will be dependent on the depth of the water you are fishing and how deep you want to get your fly.

For all-around purposes, I would suggest a floating line. I say this mostly because I personally fish creeks and small rivers most the time where I don’t need to get the fly deeper than 2-3 feet. If you need the fly to get deeper or get it to sink at all (some deer hair streamers are very buoyant), add a poly leader (aka versileaders) to the end of your fly line to help get the fly to the depth you want. I’ve found these types of leaders extremely versatile and easy to attach to any floating line. They add the convenience of being able to very quickly change from a floating line to essentially a sink-tip line in a matter of a minute or two and don’t require you to carry around another line.

If you know you’ll be fishing mostly deeper water and need to get the fly to the bottom, a sink tip or full sinking line may be worth having in the arsenal. These types of lines get the fly down very quickly and cast a little bit better than floating lines with poly leaders. If you know you’ll be fishing exclusively subsurface, sink tip or full sinking lines are very helpful.

As a note, for wade fishing, it’s vital that you don’t use a full sinking line. If you cast a full sinking line while wading, the excess fly line will sink around you, will get caught in the debris in the bottom, and you will be frustrated very quickly. When wading, use a sink tip to avoid this problem and if you fish out of a boat, full sinking lines are a very useful piece of gear.

Having a specialized streamer fly line can also be very helpful. Streamer lines are weighted more in the head of the line in order to get the fly to turn over correctly, as opposed to more evenly distributed weight for more delicate presentations. Streamer fishing involves a lot of casting, so getting a line that makes you more efficient can help out tremendously during a day of slingin’ big bugs.

Leaders and Tippet for Streamer Fishing

For leaders and tippet, 3x or about 8 lb is the minimum and goes up from there. My go-to tippet size is 10 or 12 lbs for most of the streamer fishing I do. If I’m going for bigger fish with bigger flies, I’ll bump it up to 20 lb. Streamers are bigger flies and especially when trying to incite a reactionary response, fish are less likely to be leader shy. They’ll be too focused on the juicy meal you’re feeding them to be aware of the tippet.

If fishing a floating line, a standard 9 foot tapered leader will suffice. This not only allows enough distance from the tip of the fly line to the fly, but also allows the fly to sink to the desired depth more efficiently, especially if the fly has weight to it.

If using any sinking line, a shorter 3-4 foot section of straight leader and tippet will get the job done. With any sinking line, full or sink tip, the shorter leader is necessary to get the fly to sink at relatively the same rate as the sinking fly line. Too long a leader with a sinking line and the fly will ride too high and take a longer to sink down to the level of the fly line. 

When to Fish Streamers

Streamers can be fished at any time, though the common advice is to fish streamers on dark, cloudy days and when the water levels are up. Lower light scenarios make it harder for fish to see your fly often bite with less regard. The higher water pushes baitfish out of their holes and forces them into open water, susceptible to the fish we are targeting.

Water clarity also plays a big factor in streamer fishing. If the water is murky, fish aren’t likely to see smaller bits of food but have a much better chance of seeing or sensing a bigger streamer. 

If you’re trout fishing, throw streamers when there’s no hatch going on. If you walk up to a river or stream and don’t see much bug or fish activity, streamers are a great place to start. They’ll allow you to search for fish and if it’s your first time on that body of water, it can be a great way to cover water and get to know it better. 

Another benefit of streamer fishing is that it can trigger fish to eat when they’re not in a feeding mode. When dry fly or nymph fishing for trout for example, you’re jumping in on the conveyer belt of food they’re already eating but with streamer fishing, you can not only take advantage when they’re in the mood to eat but also tempt them with a big meal even if they’re not actively feeding.

Flies for Streamer Fishing

Streamer flies come in all shapes, sizes, and materials and are meant to resemble any larger prey that swims in the water. Streamer flies are meant to mimic various sources of prey, namely baitfish, crawfish, leeches, or sculpin. Additionally, streamers may not mimic anything in particular but rather simply represent “something to be eaten.”

Determining which streamer fly to fish ultimately comes down to preference and what you’re confident in. Because we’re often trying to spark a fish’s reactionary instinct, the specific fly you use or “matching the hatch” is not quite as important. That being said, from personal experience I’ve found that some colors are more productive than others on certain days. In general, use darker flies in darker water or low light conditions and either bright or natural colors on sunny days or clear water. Carry a variety of colors (white, black, and olive are a great start) and don’t be afraid to switch colors up if you aren’t getting bit.

Knowing what your fly represents is helpful in the manner in which you fish them. Baitfish often swim quickly, darting through the water while crawfish often hop along the bottom. This can change how you fish your fly, whether it be fast strips or slow jigging motions. 

One important technical aspect is understanding how a fish detects food in certain types of water. In clear water, they’ll rely mostly on using their eyes to find food and it may be more productive to fish natural colors that more accurately resemble their prey. In dirty water, they use their lateral lines (the line you see on the sides of their bodies) to detect motion when the water isn’t clear enough to see effectively. In dirty water, fishing flies that “push” water that can be sensed with their lateral lines are a more effective method than using a fly that glides through the water seamlessly. 

At the end of the day, streamer fishing is about fishing with confidence. Many seasoned anglers truly believe that the fly you choose isn’t nearly as important as how and when you fish it. For that reason, throw the streamer that you have the most confidence in. 

Streamer Techniques and Where to Find Fish

When streamer fishing, you have two choices: fishing natural presentation or triggering the predatory instinct.

If fishing a slower, more natural presentation, it’s important to choose flies and fish them as closely as you can to how they appear in behave in the water. For example, fishing a fleeing baitfish with this technique requires that first, the fly looks like the actual baitfish in the water and second, that it swims naturally. You may need to vary your retrieval speeds and add pauses to replicate this and it takes a lot of experimenting and trial and error, which is part of the fun of streamer fishing. I like to start off with a steady retrieve and work off of that. Adding pauses of a second or two can often trigger a bite and can make all the difference. Fish often see the pause as an opportunity to strike and we need to give the fish that chance to take a bite. Give a retrieve 15-20 minutes before changing up your speed or pauses.

“Swinging streamers” is a common method that falls under the more natural presentation category. This is when you cast your fly slightly down stream, let it drift, and as the line gets caught in the water and pulls your fly (the “swing”), then begin to retrieve your fly.

Another method to fish streamers in a more natural way is under a bobber. Essentially, you’re replicating prey that is drifting through the current in front of fish. This method can be effective in slower, deeper water with smaller flies such as leeches or wooly buggers. You’re basically nymphing but with a more substantial meal.

While the natural presentation is the most established, triggering the predatory instinct is a more modern approach, made famous by heralded streamer angler Kelly Galloup. With this method, instead of a slower, methodical approach, the angler fishes the fly extremely aggressively with either a natural pattern or with gaudy, bright patterns. This technique attempts to trigger the predatory instinct in the fish and put it in “kill mode.” The thinking here is inciting the fish to bite out of either hunger or protective instincts without giving the fish time to inspect your fly. Fish, especially larger fish, can become extremely protective of their haunches and any threat to that needs to be eliminated. For us anglers, we can capture that instinct with fast, aggressive retrieves with assertive fly patterns. I personally like this style of fishing as it is fast paced and can trigger rod-ripping eats from the fish. 

With either method, fishing streamers gives you the opportunity to cover a ton of water and target specific types of structure. When streamer fishing, it’s common to find fish in several types of areas and the benefit with streamer fishing is that you’ll be able to target different types of structure relatively quickly. You’ll be able to fish at sunken trees, deep pools, or between rocks as opposed to fishing a singular run or hole when nymphing or dry fly fishing. Once you hone in on what the fish are relating to that day, you’ll be able to target those areas more efficiently and leave out the non-productive areas. 

Varying your retrieves can be crucial in streamers. How you should fish your fly is often predicated by water temperatures and the fish’s mood. It’s our job as the angler to figure out which retrieve triggers a bite. In colder water, fish are more lethargic and a slower retrieve might be more productive as a more natural, easy meal may be preferred. On warmer days with comfortable water temperatures, they are more likely to be willing (or prefer) to chase down their meal, so a faster, even erratic retrieve may be the ticket.

With whatever style retrieve you have, it’s important to immediately give life to the fly after it hits the water. The fly dropping onto the surface of the water will cause a big commotion and you must make sure that the fish think it’s something alive and not debris. The fly hitting the water might pique the fish’s curiosity, but giving it life will give it their attention.

Streamer Casting

The angle of your casts can vary as well. Different approaches call for different methods, mostly based on whether or not you’re targeting specific structure, or just trying to cover water.

• Downstream: Fishing downstream can help you cover water or if you have a specific tree or rock in mind, you can cast at the target without spooking or lining the fish. Keep in mind though that baitfish rarely (if ever) flee from predators upstream. The path of least resistance for baitfish is certainly downstream which would be impossible to replicate if you are casting downstream already.
• Across: Fishing perpendicular, or “straight across” can also be an effective method when searching for fish. When “beating the banks,” you are most likely covering different depths of water that fish could be holding in. If you get good at fishing the banks, you can land the fly inches away from the bank in shallow water, where baitfish like to hold, and then retrieving it over deeper and deeper water. This presents your fly in several different depths where fish could be holding. When you get a bite, make note of where the bite was as that may be the depth or area that you should continue to target. Plus, you can easily cast to trees, rocks, etc with this method.
• Upstream: Fishing upstream can also be very, very effective. As mentioned above, fleeing baitfish almost always swim downstream and casting upstream can replicate this. Some fish, especially big trout, like to eat their prey head-first so this upstream technique can give them an opportunity to eat how they naturally do. This also can help mitigate the tail-nipping or “exploratory bites” some fish may be prone to.

I usually start a streamer day fan-casting, throwing my flies in all directions to get a feel for the river and where fish may be posting up. From there, I generally like to target specific structure, sunken or overhanging trees, rocks, etc with either parallel or upstream cast and every angle in between.

When streamer fishing, it’s important to keep the rod tip down and to strip set. Keeping the rod down allows you to keep in direct contact with the fly and detect bites. Next time you’re out, notice the difference in keeping the rod tip in the water as you strip vs the rod out of the water. If your rod is out of the water, your fly line will bounce everywhere and it will be way more difficult to detect strikes and set the hook. 

Strip sets are vital in streamer fishing. These are bigger flies with bigger hooks and it takes more force in order to pierce the fish’s mouth. Fish are also generally attacking the fly faster than other methods of fishing, so it’s important to be quick on the set to hook the fish in time. 

Conclusion

Streamer fishing is addicting. They incite big fish to take big, aggressive bites. You can cover a ton of water with nearly constant casting and offers a very active form of fly fishing. 

Personally, I love streamer fishing and it’s been my go-to for fishing for trout and bass. Fish can certainly be caught with other methods (especially in trout fishing), but nothing offers the explosive strikes that streamer fishing does.