Streamers for Kings

There is something magical about hooking a 20-pound fish on a streamer! There is something very prideful about removing a fly from the tongue of a fish that supposedly will not strike a lure, bait, or fly. I guess to some it can be considered the "mecca" of tributary salmon fishing; to other's I bet it's considered myth. Non-believer's believe..river Kings will smash a fly--streamers included. Heck, I've had fish come 2-3 feet up the water column to assault my fly; I've seen them chase a streamer cross-current; and yes...I've had them pay my fly absolutely no attention whatsoever. It's an exciting, yet challanging way to fish for Chinook Salmon. Let's take a look at what I seek in my patterns, what materials I tie them with, how I chose which patterns to tie on, and how and where I fish them.

Pattern Attributes

Many folks email me asking for specific pattern suggestions. While I am happy to provide that answer, the list can be long and I think it is far more educational to express my feeling that size, color, and action are far more important than the name of the fly. For instance: If the fish are in a drab mood, most any dark fly will produce. The real key is to target the correct water and use sound presentation skills. There simply is no magical fly.

So what do I carry? I carry, perhaps, a dozen basic patterns in a myraid of colors, with varying amounts of flash. Most are unweighted, a few have bead chain eyes. Muddlers, Comets, Bunny Flies, Loren's Lite-Brites, and basic, proven Alaskan patterns like Flash Flies and Alaskabous fill my boxes. I always have a bunch of patterns that I am testing--I encourage you to also. Let's discuss why I carry what I carry, OK?

Each pattern I carry has, in my mind, a specific purpose. Either it fills a color, flash, or water void. If I have noticed anything about these fish it is this: they are tempramental. Some days they attack dark drab flies only, some days they want them flashy. Sometimes anything pink will get crushed..the next day you have to have Chartruese. Big...small. Dull...bright. Fast...slow. High...low. Get my drift? I need to have a fly that will fill a void the other flies cannot fill. Many will fill more than one...but most will not fill all three (color, flash, water) voids.

How about I go into a bit of depth about these "voids" I am referring to. The first, and usually most critical void is color. A guy can get really insane about covering his butt with colors. I mean take a look at the walls of your favorite fly-shop. The number of colors available are insane--especially with all the synthetics on the market. My advice is to pick about 6 of your favorites and stick with them. For me it's three "drabs" (black, purple, dark olive) and three "hots" (hot pink or cerise--the two are quite close, Chartruese, and orange). I also carry white--a staple in anyone's arsenal. These colors will form the basis of my flies--tails, bodies, wings and hackle. I augment the colors with thread or flash. We'll discuss flash next. I am confident that with these colors I can cover any mood the fish may be in--yet I will not be overwhelmed when I open my box

The second void is flash. Flash, or the lack thereof, can be a real trigger, or turnoff. As of yet I see no true pattern so I carry the same flies with tons of flash and with minimal flash. At best--flashier patterns seem to outproduce in faster water while drab flies tend to get better results in slower water.Most of my flies have some flash material incorporated--but I try to stagger the amount of material I tie into each fly. As you can see...by mixing different colors with varying amounts of flsh I can cover two voids. For example: I can tie a Black Muddler Minnow au naturale and I can add a bunch of Flashabou or Krystal Flash just behind the head. Same pattern--two appearances. Toss in a hot marabou wing and I have yet another menu item. The real nice thing is that my set-up at the vice does not really change. Same fly, same materials--I just omit some of them...sometimes. It makes your tying more efficient.

Void number three is water. The type of water you are fishing will require different attributes in your fly. As I mentioned above, I like flashier pattern in faster water so the fish notice them quicker, while I like more natural patterns in slower water. In addition, I like my fast water patterns to have materials that will give me a bit of depth--such as bunny or bead-chain eyes. Action is also an important consideration for a fast-water fly. Very often while fishing fast water for moving kings you are targeting small pockets that hold these aggressive fish while they take a breather. You have to punch that cast quicky, and on-target. There is not a lot of time for finessing the fly so inherent action and prompt depth is important. Slow water means resting, often spooky fish. Bright colors or flashy schemes will often drive them away, but a drab fly may trigger a response. Too, water types can effect your decision to use a big fly or a small fly. While a #4 DoubleBuuny crossing a riffle may aggrevate the snot out of a big male king (SNAP!) the same fly in a big deep pool may send him back downriver. But, swing a small, dark woollybugger over his head and he may just remove the critter from his presence. I have this saying: "If the crow doesn't bother them, maybe the mosquito will." If you have time to play with the fish I think you'll find that they have some individual personalities. Very often the water they inhabit reflects those traits.

My favorite Materials (and Why)

I have this one pared way down. Here's the list of materials you will find on my flies (to vaying degrees): marabou, rabbit strips, estaz, diamondbraid, Chinese or Saddle hackle, Krystal Flash, Flashabou, Polar Fibre, Lite-Brite, deer hair, calf tail, floss, and dubbing. Nothing expensive, nothing hard to obtain. Here's what I like about them.

Marabou: Marabou is about as standard as thread--for good reason. It is common, cheap, versatile, active, easy-to-use, and it accepts dye well. I use it on patterns that I want to look big but I don't want to be bulky. I use it alot on Alaskabou patterns like Popsicles, on Marabou Muddlers and on woollybuggers. The action is awesome--but the stuff floats like a cork and dries with false-casting. Not a good material for punching pockets or getting quick depth. A very good material for long swings in shallow runs or riffles.

Rabbit Strips:I use this stuff as my deep/fast water counterpart to Marabou. They have very similar action and the other characteristics are present--but rabbit fur holds water well. Once you get it soaked it can stand up to false casting, and it will get deeper than Marabou.

Estaz and Diamonbraid:Just durable materials that build quick, easy bodies. Great for flash effects but not so flashy, by themselves, that they spook fish. The color options are about limitless. I use estaz to build bulk--but it reduces depth. Braid is slimmer and will not float a fly.

Hackle:Hackle is used as a dressing to add contrast, profile or action to a fly. I use Chinese (aka Saltwater) hackle for most of my work--it's cheap and webby. I use #2 grade saddles for my woollybuggers. They are long enough to give me a good many wraps--and those wraps add action and create a stocky--attention getting and vibration-producing profile.

Flash:I select the various products I use based on the colors I want and the fiber construction. Some brands are more aggressive than others.

Do not limit your material arsenal to what I have discussed, but do put some thought into fly construction. I encourage you to experiment with your own design--you will be very gratified when Mr. O grabs your fly!

What do I Tie On??

Perhaps the most perplexing, often debated, and least important (really!) topic is fly selection. This is true in nearly every venue, within reason. Obviously you are not going to tie on a #22 BWO emerger because FlyGuy said to "use smaller, drab patterns in slow water." That is about as ludicrous as using a Letort Hopper in December for spring creek trout! What I am trying to point out, however, is that the best patterns are often limited by angler skills. If you cannot nymph fish (ID water, cast, produce drag-free dirfts and detect strikes) you are not going to catch fish on nymphs. I don't care what pattern it is or who tied it--if you cannot fish nymphs you are limiting the effectiveness of the fly you tie on. The same applies here. You simply must be able to Identify the water, read the lies, make the cast, produce the drift and detect the strike before any pattern will work.

Now, assuming you have those skills (be honest) here are the guidelines I use when deciding what to tie on.

1. Time of day. I'll start with hot (color), flashy patterns at daybreak. No rhyme or reason--I just think the fish can see them easier. If they can see them easier they get aggrevated easier. I also tend to use pretty large (long) flies. I play with bulk--a Comet is skinny and gets deeper quicker where a Bunny fly is stout and will ride higher--but it pushes more water and makes more commotion.

2. Water. Faster water gets bigger patterns to start. I'll stick with any color/flash pattern I have found--but I start big in fast water. I also tend to use flashier flies in faster water. Material choice really comes into play here. If I am targeting migrating fish in riffles--where I cast to fish as they pause in pocketwater--I use slighlty denser flies. Bunny flies, Comets, or my Lite-Brite streamers with their Epoxy heads fit the fast-water bill nicely. However, if I am working an entire riffle or shallow run I'll swing a marabou streamer just under the surface. This is often effective as fish start to bed where I can pick out aggressive males and egg-mooching steelhead. Likewise, slower, deeper water means less aggressive fish who get a longer look at your fly. Start with something smaller,less flashy and dull. Play with size--action can be crucial.

3. Weather. After sun-up I'll match color and flash to the weather. I go bright and flashy on bright days and dark and dull on overcast days. Sometimes it works, sometimes not. But it's a place to start.

4. The fish. They are the ultimate decision makers. The above guidelines can be way off base many times so it's important to takes the fish's temperature. You can usually see the aggressiveness in the fish. If they are breaking water, swimming around and chasing each other then they are probably hot. If they are in deep, slow water they are not. If you are working to fish and they are not responding change-up and change often. The pattern, if there is one, can change during the day, and surely day-to-day. Have your bases covered.

Presentation Techniques

I show streamers to fish in three (3) basic ways. I will detail them in the following paragraphs.

Down-and-Across Swing: This is the classic approach and the one used most often. Simply get in position upstream, and across, from your target. Shoot your cast so that it lands upstream, mend as needed, and allow the fly to swing down and across. If you have a very specific target, try to get the fly to present sideways at the target. There are many subtle applications to this technique...and you can alter it further by adding sinking lines or poly-leaders. I stick with floating lines for the vast majority of my streamer fishing and use mends and fly construction to get different depth presentations. You can try to get the fly down deep and allow it to swing up as it swings across the target...or swing it in a wake through the shallow riffs. You can toss a timed-mend to stall the fly in a zone, or stip some line to speed it up. Most often I find myself running the fly just slightly faster than the current. If you've done your scouting then you'll have very specific locations that you know will hold fish--work them. If the fish are on the move stay put and pluck out the players. If they are not running..play hopscotch.

Up-and-Back:This is a technique that I hardly ever see used on the tribs, but it has it's place. Basically, you cast upstream of the fish and strip the fly back at you. My feeling is that it presents the streamer to the fish in a more aggressive nature (the fly is coming at the fish instead of crossing in front) and elicits responses from fish that may otherwise refuse. In fact, this past Thursday (9/11) the only solid hook-up I had was was with a king that absolutely exploded on a bunny fly I presented in that fashion. I had no idea the fish was there and I had swung various patterns over that slot...As I worked downstream I decide to cast back upstreaam as a Hail-Mary (this place always has a fish or two at daylight) and BANG! I think of all the charter-boat chatter on speed and color and such...the same little details can pay-off in the rivers too.

Drifting: Streamers can be dead-drifted just like nymphs. Often this is a deadly approach, and my preferred technique. I think it's like the fly that lands on your newspaper--it's just something you have to do--"SWAT!" I don't re-rig or add any weight, I just drift the thing through the zone using greased line or high-stick technique. No-drag and lots of mending.

When I use each of these techniques is a matter of judgment. Usually I try all three in those places I have confidence in and I just swing through the rest. Sometimes you are limited in your approach so you can only present from below or above. Never, I mean never, bypass good looking water because you cannot swing a fly through it! Get the thing in there somehow. That is the kind of water everyone else walks by--and who knows, it may just hold the biggest, meanest--most PO'ed king in the river!

In closing, it's nice to sound like you know exactly what to put on--but in truth we can only make educated decisions based on past experiences. Ultimately the fish are the true judges. But as long as they have a say in the matter you are playing the game fairly. Won't you take the challange? See if you can get one to go on one of the streamers in your box.....are you up to it?

Some Successful Patterns

(photos by Han Weinlenmann)