Trout

Autumn Offender Streamer Pattern

Posted by Ted Kraimer - December 16, 2013

Autumn Offender Streamer – Fish it year round

While the name of this trout streamer pattern suggests it’s only effective in the fall, it catches fish all year -round and not just here in northern Michigan. While imitating nothing in particular, it suggests a number of common food sources including sculpins, creek chubs, and juvenile trout – staples to most trout’s diet.

This easy to tie fly incorporates colors and materials which often work when proven patterns in the fly box aren’t — making it a go-to pattern when fishing is tough. The long rabbit strip combined with the marabou and cone-head provides nice movement on the pause after a strip. With a bit of flash and a number of natural colors also incorporated, this pattern has just enough attention-getting characteristics and “bling” when the water is stained. But since the colors are relatively muted, it fishes well in clear water, too – which is often the water’s condition come fall.

Fish the Autumn Offender on a sink-tip or floating line depending on the water and time of year, and strip it back with a rod twitch and a pause. This streamer pattern has also caught steelhead when swung with a two handed rod and heavy sink-tip. To learn more about streamer fishing techniques read my article, “Tips for better streamer fishing“.

Not into tying streamers? This pattern is available from Rainy’s Flies and can be bought in stocking fly shops.

Recipe:

Hook:
Thread:
Tail:
Weight:
Body:
Wing:
Over Wing:
Collar:
Head:

Gamakatsu S11-4L2H #4
Uni 6/0 – Camel
Rabbit Strip – Black Barred Sand Variant or Brown Barred Tan
Large Cone – Copper
Krystal Hackle – Olive Brown, Large & UV Polar Chenille Rusty Copper
Marabou Blood Quill – Golden Brown & Yellow
Flashabou – Kelly Green and Holographic Copper
Mallard Dyed Wood Duck Flank feather
Ice Dub – Golden Brown

Tying Instructions

Step 1. Slide cone onto hook by inserting small end through point first. Put hook in vise.

Step 2. Wrap a base layer of thread to above barb.

Step 3. Tie in a section of rabbit that is a little longer than hook’s length.

Step 4. Tie in Krystal Hackle and Polar Chenille and at the same time, palmer towards cone
while stroking fibers backwards and stopping 3/8” behind eye.

Step 5. Tie in a yellow marabou feather by its tip and wrap two to three times.
Too much feather results in bulk which has less motion so fewer can be better.

Step 6. Repeat Step 5 but with a golden brown marabou feather.
Tip : A little saliva on your fingers stroked through the marabou
helps manage the materials, making the following steps easier.

Step 7. Tie in two strands of each color flashabou and tie on top as a wing, not extending
beyond the rabbit strip. Also, keep the ends staggered rather than trimmed to one length.

Step 8. Take the Mallard flank and tie in by the tip. “Fold” the half of the feather on the other side of the
step from you by using your scissor’s edge to crease the fibers. Holding the feather taught, run your
scissors in your other along the feather to “break” the fibers allowing them to flow backwards.

Step 9. Wrap the flank collar two or three times depending on coverage, tie down and trim.

Step 10. Dub a loose “trigger” ball of ice dub between flank and cone and the whip finish.

Finished Fly – The Autumn Offender

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Rabbit Strip Leech Fly Pattern

Posted by Ted Kraimer - September 9, 2013

Rabbit Strip Leech. Sometimes called a String Leech.

Swinging flies for steelhead is becoming more popular with anglers using two-handed switch and spey rods. While the classic wets and “spey” style flies catch fish, patterns that are closer to streamers have proved effective. These larger patterns can bring a little more attention to themselves as they swim through an expansive run or in dirty or stained water. A rabbit strip leech or swing leech is about as basic as it gets for a pattern of this nature offering a good profile, action/moment and a proven track record.

Anglers that swing or strip streamers often complain that fish nip at the tail, missing the hook. This pattern places the hook near the end of the tail by using a loop of Berkley Fireline. This has three distinct advantages: 1. allows you to replace the hook in the event that it dulls or becomes bent further extending the life of the fly; 2. places the hook at the back of the fly where “nipping” fish will find it; and 3. eliminates the fouling of the long tail around the hook bend. This method/design works well with a number of streamers – try incorporating a loop in your fly patterns.

This pattern is only an example of one of the potential color schemes you can try. Try different color rabbit strips (browns, olive, white or black), ice dubs, collars, etc. to meet your needs and desires and fully make your fly box versatile by using various sized eyes for different conditions – from lead eyes to bead chain.

Top 5 Steelhead Flies - Leech Pattern - Miles Davis

The “Miles Davis” is a slight variation.

Recipe

Shank: Mustad 3366 2/0
Rear Hook: Gamakatsu Octopus or Drop Shot
Thread: Fly Master Plus – Black
Tail: Black Rabbit Strip
Tube: Black Tube
Body: Black Rabbit Strip
Collar: Black Schlappen
Wing: Flashabou – Black Holographic
Dub: Ice Dub – Peacock

Tying Instructions

Step 1. Insert hook in vise jaws and add a base layer of thread from behind hook eye to above barb.

Step 2. Cut a section of 20# Fireline – approximately 7 inches and fold in half. The loop end should extend off the back of the hook at a distance that meets your fly size needs – this example will extend two inches.

Step 3. Wrap the Fireline on top of the hook shank with tying thread. Place cut ends
of Fireline down through the hook eye and along the underside and wrap some
more. Whip finish and tie off. Apply a coat of Zap-A-Gap to secure and allow to dry.

Step 4. Using a tube fly vise or adapter, tie a 1/4 inch section of tube to the end part of your rabbit strip.
Be careful you don’t wrap over the rabbit hair but only over the pelt itself. Tie off.

Step 5. Start thread behind hook eye and wrap back to where previous wraps are.
Tie in Rabbit strip so the Fire Line loop goes through the tube and extends where
the pelt of the rabbit strip extends to the end of the loop. Do not trim Rabbit.

Step 6. Take remaining rabbit and wrap along hook shank towards hook eye,
sweeping rabbit hair backwards. Stop about 1/2″ behind hook eye.

Step 7. Figure-8 the eyes on the bottom of the shank so that the rabbit fur strip remains up.

Step 8. Tie in Flashabou wing with staggered ends without any strands extending beyond the rabbit.

Step 9. Wrap the schlappen forming a shoulder on the fly.

Step 10. Take a clump of ice dub and place it on top of the hook extending
backwards a little bit. Dub the rest of the head loosely and pick out.

Step 11. Whip finish and cut line. Using side cutters, cut the bend off the hook.
Thread the Fireline loop through the piece of tubing attached to the rabbit and attach
a hook by pushing the loop through the hook eye and over the hook then drawing tight.

Finished Rabbit Strip Swing Leech

Notes: Tie up a few shanks with Fireline loops during one session to speed up the process.

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Dry Fly Fishing “Do’s”

Posted by Ted Kraimer - June 14, 2013

Brown Trout caught on a Dry

For most trout anglers, catching fish on a dry fly is the highlight of the sport – it’s both visual and satisfying when it all comes together – pure deception. So when you come across a fish rising and feeding on the surface, it’s hard not to get excited. Just do some things right to increase your chances of catching that fish. Below are some tips for dry fly fishing.

Stop the Rod Tip High

Getting your line, leader and ultimately your fly to straighten out at the distance you want is crucial – without doing so you risk your fly pilling up next to your coiled-up leader and line, often requiring corrective measures so you don’t spook the fish. That is if you haven’t already.

By stopping the rod tip high at the end of your forward casting stroke, you have helped ensure a tight, compact and efficient loop that will have enough energy to straighten out. Once the line has straightened, do follow it down to the water’s surface rather than lead it.

When you consistently stop the rod at the same height, the length of the cast is consistent, too. If you lower your rod tip some, your cast can be longer which not only might be off the mark, but into some unwanted bush, tree, log or other snag.

Not only is it important to stop your rod tip high, but to push that rod to an abrupt stop to get a powerful cast that straightens out and on target. After that line has straightened out, gravity will take the fly to the water, just follow the line and fly to the water as it drops.

Mend

The majority of the time when fishing dry flies, a drag-free drift is paramount — the difference between catching fish and putting them down. The further we cast and the more water that our line is perpendicular to, the greater the chance that the current is going to push against it, putting a bow into the line, dragging the fly across the surface. This drag, often resembling a water skier cutting the wake, can put the most eager fish down and out without another chance of catching them. Avoid doing so by mending.

Mending fly line is the proactive placement of slack to compensate for faster or slower currents than the speed of the current the fly is in. Mending line isn’t enough – it has to be done correctly. If you simply flip your rod to the side, the fly will often skitter or drag on the water – the exact thing you are trying to avoid.

I encourage anglers to have some extra “mending line” pulled off the reel and placed in the hand not holding onto the rod. After the cast, and with the line lying in the upward facing hand, draw a circle with the rod tip, accelerating through the motion where you want the extra line to go. The acceleration should take the mending line and apply it to the water – without the extra line, the motion will take line from the path of least resistance – the dry fly – and drag it across the water. The larger the circle, the larger the mend and the more “mending line” required.

Line Management

Anglers often see a rising fish and start pulling line off the reel as they are casting to it. While it might work sometimes, there is a good chance something will go wrong by casting too long, not long enough, not having line for mending, or putting out too much extra line, which can get in the way or caught on something once the fish is hooked.

In a typical dry fly feeding scenario, flies repetitively drift downstream to where a fish has chosen to hold and eat, giving us a moment time to plan the approach. Think like a sniper.

Try this: draw an imaginary line from where you are standing to where the fish is rising. Now, move that imaginary line and its length downstream, inside and nowhere near the fish. Pull off enough line and cast your fly to that distance which will give you the correct distance to the fish when you cast to it.

Next, pinch the line which will keep the correct distance of line out as you pull the extra line off your reel required for your “mending line”. Now, pick your fly up off the water and cast it just upstream of the fish and mend the extra line proactively. If the fish doesn’t eat the fly, make sure the fly, leader and line have drifted away from the fish before stripping in your “mending line,” then pick up the line and fly and cast again.

If you already have more line off the reel that you know you aren’t going to use, reel it up to avoid getting it caught on something.

By applying these three “Do’s” to your dry fly fishing, you avoid a lot of the common mistakes I witness and significantly improve your chances at hooking that rising fish. Remember, there are other variables that can make the difference, including the fly pattern and tippet size – but without a good presentation those things won’t matter.

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Tilt-Shoot Iso – Isonychia Fly Pattern

Posted by Ted Kraimer - June 14, 2013

Ted’s Tilt Shoot Iso

While the “hex” mayfly gets the bulk of praise and attention from Michigan anglers, there is another mayfly that gets my praise. The Isonychia emerges over a longer period of time, is easier to cast, and doesn’t wait until dark to show – what’s not to like? Having a number of names Iso, Slate Drake, White Gloved Howdy, Maroon Dun among others, it should be thought of as important and should be found in any Michigan trout angler’s fly box from June through September.

There are two genus of the Isonychia (Salderi and Bicolor) which inhabit many of our local rivers. Each have different characteristics. Rather than give you a taxonomical description or bore you with entomology, let me provide you with the brass tacks:

Natural Isonychia Spinner

The nymphs love swift water in gravel sections, adults/duns range in size with the most common being 10-14, adults/duns bodies vary in color between the two genus and the particular river (from a light creamy olive, to tan, to a brown-mahogany color), Adults/duns have deep dun colored wings where spinners have dark maroon bodies with clear wings, and both duns and spinner have distinct white front legs making them easy to identify. The largest concentration and emergence is in June extending through mid-September with the first insects large in size and tend to get smaller through that time period.

The duns typically emerge in the evening, but they can be found on the water at almost all times of the day, especially in the later months and when cloud cover is present. Spinners, too, typically congregate in swarms in the evening before they fall to the water’s edge to drop eggs in riffle sections of rivers. For years it was thought that Iso nymphs only climb onto shore before emerging, but it is now accepted that they emerge in mid-stream as well – trout have known that for years.

Brown Trout caught on a Tilt-Shoot Iso

The Tilt-Shoot Iso is a pattern I created and have been using the past 10 years with great success. While it isn’t the easiest fly to tie for those unfamiliar with hair body patterns, you will find vast improvements after a number of attempts.

This version of a parachute provides a realistic silhouette of the wing while the pattern sits low in the water for fish to easily see — important when fishing broken water. You can change the body color by changing the thread color to tan or olive, and its worth tying some with a more natural gray color wing/post. Tie this pattern in smaller sizes and you will find it will work as an imitation for a number of mayfly spinners.

Ted’s Tilt-Shoot Iso is available from Rainy’s Flies and can be bought in stocking fly shops. Below are tying instructions for you fly tiers.

Tilt-Shoot Iso Recipe

Hook:             TMC 5212 10 – 14
Thread:          Uni-6/0  Wine
Tail:                Moose Body
Body:              Moose Body
Post:               Deer Belly Hair – White
Hackle:           Grizzly Dyed Dun
Thorax: Fine & Dry Dubbing – Isonychia

Tying Instructions

Step 1. Place hook (size 10) in vise and wrap a thread base from behind the eye to above the barb.

Step 2. Cut 6 – 8 moose body hairs, clean and stack/even them and tie in on top of the hook about
one hook gape’s distance behind the eye. Tie down along the shank to above the hook barb and back again.

Step 3. Cut a large clump of moose body hair (approx. the thickness of two wooden match sticks), clean and stack/even. Measure the hair by laying the clump along the hook where the tips extend just beyond the hook shank. Trim the butt ends so the body will extend from the where we tied the tail in to just beyond the shank.

Step 4. Lay the clump of moose along the hook making sure it completely surrounds the hook
shank for complete coverage. After a few wraps to secure it in place, hold the moose taught with your
left hand as you wrap the thread towards the hook bend with the bobbin in your right hand.

Step 5. Take the thread wraps to above the barb and make two tight wraps to secure
and then wrap the thread back toward the hook eye crisscrossing the thread
wraps making an X pattern. Once secured, trim off any excess butt material.

Step 6. Select a clump of deer belly hair for the post/wing (approximately the thickness of three match sticks). Clean and stack/even it. Lay the hair on top of the hook so the natural points extend to the end of the body.
Tie in the post/wing where the moose body ends and do not trim the butt ends of the hair.
Because the hair is hollow it can easily be cut by too much thread pressure.

Step 7. Pull both the tips and the butts up and wrap along the shank to encourage the hair to move upward. Tie in a hackle feather at the base of the post/wing with the dull side of the feather facing you. The feather, after being wrapped, should extend to the end of the X-wraps on the body.

Step 8. Dub a tight thorax on both sides of the post/wing that is slightly
thicker than the body/abdomen also encouraging the post/wing upward.

Step 9. Wrap the hackle parachute style under both the tips and butts of the post/wing.
Wrap the hackle firmly and it will compress and seat nicely against the post
creating a durable hackling. Tie off between the hook eye and dubbing.

Step 10. Pull the butt ends of the wing/post forward and trim only the
butts close to the base, just above the hackle.

Step 11. Apply a drop of thin head cement at the base of the post and the thread head.

Finished Tilt-Shoot Iso Isonychia fly pattern

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Seductive Streamer Fishing

Posted by Ted Kraimer - December 9, 2012

The days of casting a large streamer to the bank and stripping it back aggressively with fish attacking in territorial response are diminishing. Sure, fish still move into the shallows of low light and stained water, and even play our game some days. But years of angler conditioning has some of the larger fish a little smarter, or laying a little deeper, and often in more structure.

Always adaptive, we now fish with heavier lines and have developed even larger flies — heavily weighted and often accessorized like a Dallas Trophy Wife. While effective, this extension of trophy streamer fishing often goes beyond some anglers’ abilities and/or preference to fish. Considering there are more days when conditions include clear water and plenty of daylight, it pays to have an alternative approach — “Seductive Streamer Fishing.”

Tournament Bass Fishing and Trout Fly Fishers

There seems to be a dichotomy between the fly fisher and bass angler, but yet, the two have so much in common. The fly angler can learn a lot from the guys in the glitter boats, since they often have more at stake when fishing in large-purse tournaments and gathering sponsorships. They simply can’t afford not to catch fish.

Seductive Streamer Fishing - Bass Angler Crossover

Chris Sausman, sales rep for Shimano & G. Loomis,
applies his bass fishing skills to fly fishing trout.

If you have watched fishing shows on TV you have seen where large, flashy spinner baits (think big streamers) catch aggressive and often big fish. But if you have watched enough programs, specifically tournament coverage, it’s the plastic bait presentation (worms, tubes, grubs, salamanders, etc.) that seems to be the bread-winner time and time again. Why? When conditions change or when fishing pressured water, having a kinder, gentler presentation is effective, especially when fish aren’t aggressively feeding.

How often do you get to the river after a cold-front moves in, when an east wind is present, water temperatures have dropped, or when “sterile ditch syndrome” sets in — when the fish are simply in an ornery mood, and you aren’t even sure there are any fish? Adapt your streamer presentation to get fish to eat despite these conditions.

Seductive Presentation

Pull fish from cover with subtle but seductive retrieves.

If you have ever watched a runway model move down the platform, you know they aren’t running, but rather walking and “working-it,” often seductively to garner attention and a desired reaction. The angler’s finesse of a twitch, the drop of the presentation, the erratic flutter and motion of plastics tends to seduce fish to eat, even when not in a feeding mood. Why? Because it looks natural and is easy to pounce on without having to chase it.

This is where seductively presenting a streamer, slowly, thoroughly and with a lot of movement and action in and around structure or other likely holding water brings fish to the net – even when the heavy-handed approach of big flies can comes up short.

Presentation and Fly Tips For Seductive Streamer Fishing

Seductive Streamer Fishing - Lighter Lines II

Use lighter density & shorter sink-tips or floating lines.

Use lighter Line. Presenting these flies on lighter, shorter sink-tips helps keep they fly from going immediately to the bottom and allows you to dance, twitch and otherwise flutter the fly. Readjust and fish specific portions of the water rather than trying to cover as much water as possible.

Get jiggy with it. When fishing shallower and/or log-infested water, I often fish a floating line with a bead-headed fly and longer leader (9-plus ft.). When accompanied by thoughtful mending of the line, this keeps the presentation vertical — moving up and down the water column (like a jig), as opposed to streaking across the river (fast moving spinner bait). The floating line option is also a great approach for anglers wading and switching back and forth between dry flies and streamers. Just remember to tie your streamer on with a little stronger tippet as the structure and size of the fish typically demand it.

Fish flies of various weights and sizes
with lots of movement.

Work it. Often the flies fished on lighter sink-tips and floating lines are visible, so you can watch your fly and manipulate it by mends, rod-hops and short-strips. Work the fly as needed and pay attention to how the fish react. When you find something that works, continue that approach, and if a fish is following the fly but not eating, try small variances in your retrieve/strip to elicit the strike. This isn’t much different from the saltwater angler presenting to fish on the flats — “check” often results in “check-mate,” but it takes two to play that game. You want to be the one with the upper hand.

Don’t forget the middle. Depth and structure can be found in the center of the river, so be sure to swim a fly broadside and dance it through these overlooked areas. Not only does the center of the river hold fish, but most anglers are programmed to only cast to the banks, leaving many of these fish unpressured and uneducated.

This fish was caught in the middle of the river.

Go Slow in cold water. As water temperatures cool in the fall and remain cold throughout winter, fish are often lethargic and almost hibernating state. The slow moving fly that stays in their zone longer and looks inviting tends to be more successful than the quickly stripped streamer. If you are going to serve them up something big to eat, make it easy for them.

Fish natural to flashy. Flies for this type of streamer fishing can vary from realistic patterns of a natural food sources, to suggestive patterns of multiple food sources, or to something bright and attractive that aggravates the fish. My go-to strategy is usually to imitate the natural food source first. Then, if not overly successful, go to something a little more provocative. lethargic and almost hibernating state. The slow moving fly that stays in their zone longer and looks inviting tends to be more successful than the quickly stripped streamer. If you are going to serve them up something big to eat, make it easy for them.

Seductive Streamer - Motion Enhanced Streamer

Weighted flies with materials like rubber legs
or marabou help provide a lot of action.

Use flies with lots of action. Using a fly that incorporates materials with inherit action and motion is key. Rubber legs, marabou, flashabou, soft hackle, bunny-bou strips, schlappen, wispy synthetics and countless other appropriate materials make fly tying limitless in design possibilities. Consider taking your favorite big-ass trophy streamer and down-sizing it. A well-stocked fly shop should offer non-tiers a variety of streamers to fit your needs.

Use weight. Seek out the weighted patterns that incorporate cones, beads or dumbbell eyes. The jigging motion created by weight combined with the current’s force on action-packed materials is deadly. Having a few flies with tungsten weights incorporated can really help to get a fly down if necessary.

Add worm weights. Take a page out of the bass fisherman’s playbook – add seductive lift and drop motion to the retrieve by using sinkers designed for fishing plastics. Slide on the line and let the sinker either rest above the fly (put a small plastic bead between it and the knot), or peg it to the line with a toothpick above the fly for even more action. The larger the weight, the more difficult the casting — seek the lighter 1/32 and 1/16 oz sizes.

Lighten up. You can still use the larger rods associated with streamer fishing, but the smaller flies don’t require power. The need to be more responsive and deliberate with the presentation often is easier with a lighter rod – 5 and 6 weights are ideal.

Change it up. Some days big streamers fished on heavy lines is really effective, but suddenly it can stop working. After your rotation of favorite patterns fails to turn the good fishing back on, adjust your tackle and implement the seductive streamer technique. You might find the fish are still on the bite, just not as aggressive as they were earlier.

Use these techniques for more fish than trout.

Fish stillwater. Use this approach when fishing stillwater – for more than just trout or even bass. Fish are fish, and the versatile, adaptive and observant angler is usually successful. Adding significant action near structure can result in takes for the same reason the plastics angler catches bass — it stays close and looks tempting.

With streamer fishing really becoming more commonplace the past 10 years, it seems the fish have taken note of those big flies and have become less participatory. When faced with clear conditions and/or cold water, alter your approach. Adjust your tackle and target specific waters to work fish out of structure when they aren’t aggressively feeding. Slowly and seductively moving your fly in likely fish holding water can mean the difference between possibly catching an aggressive fish or just catching fish.

More tips for streamer fishing »

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