Michigan Trout Unlimited Photo credit: Sam Bosworth
MICHIGAN Trout
Winter Streamer Fishing
16
by Brian Kozminski,True North Trout
Fall/Winter 2021
“How’s the fishing?” The lady on the bank genuinely inquired. “We got one in the net, had a few follows—decent day,” my buddy in the bow replied. “But we are just getting to the good water,” I retorted. “I would go get my drift boat out of the garage, but I only dry fly fish,” she said as she adjusted her position on the deck above the quick-flowing seam. “What did she just say?” Sam asked. “She only dry fly fishes. That eliminates like eight to nine months of the year on the river,” I pondered. It is an unusually warm early winter day on the river with guide Sam DeJonge of Wild Rise Outfitters. A pleasant air temperature of 47 degrees, we are toasty in fleece and the guides on my TFO Axiom II have not seen ice since last winter. Water temperature is 40 degrees, we are seeing intermittent clouds. We were hoping for a steel-wool, cloud-covered day, but the sun manages to brighten a few runs along the way. We will fish all winter as long as boat launches are accessible. Solid advice to always check the takeout before you put in; they might not get plowed or are a treacherous skating pond from snow melt and re-freeze. Don’t get me wrong. I get as excited as the next guy/ gal seeing that first bug pop in early spring and an eager trout slurps it under the surface. But the streamer game; it gets my heart pumping like nothing else. For most anglers who chase apex predators, it’s all about the MEAT. Why does it seem intimidating? What is the hesitation for an angler to take the next step and buy a 7-weight? Or even an 8 or 9? I would surmise, in most cases, it is more about hurling a six-inch wet tube sock through the air that may cause some trepidation, but that doesn’t need be the scenario. Let’s look at the basics. The hardware—line, rod, reel and flies— coupled with the application of river reading, where to place a tasty morsel for hungry trout, and how to retrieve your offering are the stuff books are written about. I will break it down for you in three stages: The Gear, The Flies. and The Water. The Gear Rod choice—One of the most important tools in the formula. One should choose a rod that can lift and deliver a larger fly to a sometimes tight or difficult location. Best rod weights from 6 to 10 depend really upon the river and
species you are chasing and the proficiency of the angler. Smaller streamers like Zonkers or Zoo Cougars can easily be propelled to likely soft seams with a good 6-weight. I really like the Axiom II or LK Legacy for the responsive roll casts often executed. Choose an 8-weight if you need to catapult Double Deceivers or Game Changers across the 50-yard line, often better matched with a fast action rod like the Axiom II-X. If you are into a mixed bag of bronze back and lake fishing, the Blue Ribbon series in 7-weight can toss your Lunch $ or a Bad Hair Day all day long. If you are looking in the budget fly rod category, the Pro II comes in under the competition and performs above its class. Proper pairing of line weight to the rod’s capabilities are paramount. We shall cover that next. Line Choice—We need to get the fly in front of the fish. Even if the fish has already eaten, placing a sculpin or crawfish pattern in front of a 24” brown forces the fish to react aggressively. Divide the river column into thirds: top third is one to two feet of depth, middle section three to five feet, and the bottom is six to eight feet of depth. We like to use Scientific Angler’s Sonar Titan for many Michigan rivers. The Hover Sink 2/4 can cover the top 2/3 of the river effectively with proper fly choice. Sonar Sink Intermediate 3/5/7 can get you in the deeper slots, and if you really want to get down, go Full Sink, but be wary of the all the woody debris—you may lose a Bangtail or two. Many are going to argue some flies can go deep if you use a full sink line, and that often works, but don’t double down with a full sink and a conehead Fishwhacker or you will go broke buying flies. Keep your leader short. Really short. Some anglers try to switch from their nine to eleven foot leader and can’t figure out why they are missing targets. I will tie a two-foot section of 30# shock tippet with a barrel swivel to two to three feet of 12#-15# fluorocarbon. Keep it under six feet long—you will amaze yourself with how well you can roll that heavier wet Grumpy Muppet under some overhanging brush when the heavy taper of your line gets your leader on point. The Reel—Don’t over-think this one, but DO NOT dismiss it either. Get a quality reel with decent arbor size. I prefer a large arbor for quicker line pick up and retrieve. I have witnessed more fish lost when an angler is fumbling around with a load of line at his feet. He can’t seem to get enough line on the reel to get the upper hand before a 24” brown takes his leader to log town and ‘POP!’ I have also witnessed fish charge the boat or go upstream and the slack in the line allows for the fly to ‘fall out’ on a poor hook set. Be sure you have a substantial drag that has quick initial startup.
