Streamer Presentations

Photo: Dom Swentosky/Troutbitten

I was speaking with some beginner fly anglers recently, and one of the questions I heard was about how to retrieve a streamer.

“There’s not really a right or wrong way,” I replied. “You just have to figure out what the fish want.”

In my experience, that’s been largely true. Dom Swentosky, over at Troutbitten, has a slightly different take, however. I think he’s right, as he usually is. A streamer retrieve comes down to a single question: do you bring it back smooth, or quick?

“I watched my fly and the trout’s response,” Dom writes. “And I noticed that every quick movement, every twitch or chop on the fly literally spooked trout away from the streamer. They slid back to the riverbed or they went bolting for cover. Quickness of presentation was failing.

“But when I performed the same motions — the same jigs, slides and strips — smoothly, one trout after another bought the presentation and ate the fly. Smoothness was winning.”

As usual, Dom dives into the why behind this change in presentations makes a difference, and he tells a few stories to illustrate the point, as well. You should read the whole story, which you can do here.