Streamer Technique for CT, PART 3

        Spring

Spring is an excellent time of year to fish large streamers. Wild and holdover fish in the Farmington and Housatonic will jump all over meaty streamers from April well into June. Fishing big streamers for stocked trout can also lead to some really big fish. Late spring and early summer are also good times to fish streamers at night, so I'll go over both day and nighttime fishing.

Day

Fish deep in April, and get get shallower and shallower as the water gets warmer. By June light deer hair patterns like the Zoo Cougar and the Drunk & Disorderly may produce some of the better fish, and certainly are more fun to fish.  Also increase the speed of retrieve as the water warms up. If there is ever a time of year that is best for experimenting with technique it is spring. There are so many methods that work, it is best to figure out what will do the trick when you are on the water. However, there are some flies that work particularly well in most stocked streams in the CT: The Circus Peanut, the Peanut Envy, and Barely Legal are by far the most productive for stocked fish.

Real dace taken by a brooky that had also just eaten a big streamer.

Night

Night is best when the temperature gets no lower than 45 degrees. Use light flies, really thick tippet (15 lb is best) and a heavy 8 to 10 wgt rod. Prefish the spots you plan to cover. It is not safe to streamer fish at night in a river you don't have much experience with. More so than during the day, cast back to fish that have already taken. At night a big wild brown is more aggressive and likely to come back than it is during the day. Go bigger too, 6 to 8 inch flies will take browns up to 30 inches at night in CT.