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By Michel Lajoie

Note: "The word "fly" applies to insects that fish feed on. Streamers are not insects, but represents small fishes. They were always categorized as flies in the world of fly fishing."

On some occasions, trout are not looking to the surface for their food supply, they only feed on small minnows.
Streamers are trump cards when nothing else works. You tried dries, wets, nymphs or any other flies that you have and still nothing works. If this happens to you, take out your streamers.

Even if streamers ressembles minnows, trout may take them just by curiosity, just because they are there, and not because they are hungry. If they feed on them because it's what they decided to feed on, hold on to your boots, you are going to have a fine day's fishing. Minnows are active and quite fast, so when trout feed on them they are very agressive and strike like the devil.
When fished properly, up stream and across the river, with a tight line, your streamer will surely be seen by all the sub-aquatic population.

There are many ways to fish streamers and each applies to a certain situation.

Small rivers:

I remember, early one spring, on the Marble river in New York State, a light snow was falling and the river was muddy and quite high. I tried everything I had in my vest and nothing worked, the trout did not want my offerings.
I took a last look in my fly-wallet before calling it a day and found a small Bead Head Micky Finn #8. "Good Lord, I did not try streamers yet!!!" I said out loud

In water up to my unmentionables!, I casted a short line, maybe 25-30ft, upstream right in front of me and I let it come down to me, hiting buttom and all the while I was taking the slack in the line. On my second cast I hooked on to a nice 16" brown that was fooled by my streamer. I will never know if the trout took it just because it was there or she was hungry! All I know is that technique has been succesfull!
This technique only works if you fish on a short line, so to have full control over your fly.

Medium to large rivers

The diffenrence between a medium/large river is the capability to wade without disturbing the fish and make an up and across cast.
Cast your fly up stream and across and let it go down on a tight line. Follow the trajectory with your rod tip until your fly is down stream, then bring it back slowly with small twitches. Your first cast should be at 25 ft. from you and add 5 ft. on each additional cast until you have reached your casting hability. Then move downstream the lenght of your last cast and repeat the technique mentionned above.
The selection of your streamer should try to imitate small minnows in the stream you are fishing. Take the time to look at the shore where you will see some small minnows. Try to net some and inspect them closely and try to match them as closely as possible.
Hope this technique works as well for you as it did for me.

Tight lines!