flutters streamer

[Red Owl 0]

I was on Elk Creek, Pennsylvania, about a week ago-after steelhead. Lots of spin fishermen and a few fly fishermen. This one fellow came up near me and cast out a streamer (minnow pattern)that looked to be about 2" long. It had a tail about half the overall length- possibly rabbit fur.. In any event this was a pool with little current- almost still water. He jiggled the tip of the rod and slowly reeled in line (not strip) and this streamer quivered and fluttered as it slowly moved through the pool. It was chrome and gave off a lot of flash- looked JUST like a minnow. I didn't get that good a look at the fly but it was either a chrome/Mylar tube or tinsel wrapped body.

It was pretty incredible, he would drag this in front of a holding steelhead and get a strike on about every cast. I think he caught 6-7 good sized steelhead almost one after another. A strike on about every third cast.

The best I can do is make a streamer dart in little 6" spurts but no flutter. Is there a certain kind of fly and technique that creates this fluttering?

The pool was about 2' deep and this fly had a neutral bouncy as was mid-depth as it was slowly brought in.

[Rocco 0]

My guess is he was using an old fixed spool spin reel on a fly rod with mono and a drop shot rig to suspend the streamer.

 

Reeling in a streamer with fly gear is hugely inefficient and in itself not sure to produce the effect you describe. Every cast made would be like the very first one of the day -- strip out line, false cast -- then repeat it all for each ensuing cast. I've never seen it done in six decades on the water.

 

But the effect you describe can be achieved with fly gear and I have seen and used a slow weave/twist of about 2-3" that allows a neutral balanced streamer fished on a sink tip to work slowly past fish in slow currents. (Floating flies and weighted flies will not hang at the their level.) The flycan use some built in wiggle from water resistance that does not just drag it straight forward, Wide heads, plastic lips, and joints are some features that will enhance the movement. Such a fly cast past the fish and gradually moved well past him, then picked up and recast is the normal way to do this and is highly effective.

 

Rocco

[phg 0]

Sounds a lot like a wiggletail streamer. Marabou tail, chenille body and silver mylar tubing over the top. Weight with a few wraps of lead (or tungston) to make it sink slowly. It swims beautifully in still water. The tail has a lot of action, and the mylar gives enough flash to add realism.

 

The original was the orange wiggletail, with an orange body and white tail, but I've been doing a chartreuse wiggle tail for the past few years (chartreuse tail and body) that is killer on pond bass and bream. There's no reason why you couldn't do a white/white or yellow/yellow version for different environments.

[heavynets 0]

Could this be it?

[phg 0]

My bad, I was thinking of the white wiggle tail (above)

Check out the following link for a full description.

http://www.angelfire.com/wa/salmonid/fly517.html

I don't bother with the rib, as it doesn't add much. The tricky part is adding the mylar tubing.

[Bruce Derington 0]

Look up white death Zonker, this is a Jeff Blood variation and has worked well in the Erie Tribs, passes for an Emerald Shinner

http://ckoflytying.blogspot.com/2012/09/whitedeath.html

[Red Owl 0]

Well, it must have been the white death zonker. The silver part had the braided appearance and when when he lifted it out of the water the tail, as I said, looked like rabbit fur. What got me was the fluttering effect- I didn't know you could do that with the fly. I think the reason he was reeling rather than stripping the line was to have the fish on the reel immediately. If you bent the hook- like a true turn- would that make it flutter, or a riffle hitch or both of them. I must lack the skills because I can only make a streamer dart.

A while back I was watching a you tube of Ted Williams in Canada Atlantic Salmon fishing and it was the same thing. He had what looked a little like a brown/orange muddler but it was fluttering in the current and I figured it must be due to how the deer hair head is trimmed. On that, he was mostly just swinging the fly on a tight line, with the fly fluttering. On the Elk, the fly was being brought in and fluttering.

As I said- maybe I just lack the skills to make a fly flutter.

[Cold 0]

.

[Kudu 0]

Flying Lure or the banjo minnow!

[tidewaterfly 0]

Red Owl, the type of connection at the fly can have a lot of affect on how the fly acts in the water. A tight connection, such as with an improved clinch knot won't allow the fly to move as much as a loop connection. Perhaps that's the reason the other fellow was getting the fluttering action you describe. When I first was learning fly fishing, I didn't put much thought into such things as the knot at the fly other than making sure it was tied properly & strong, but now almost all streamers I use are tied on with a non slip loop knot. Makes a big difference in the action & other movement the fly may be capable of doing. If you're not using a loop connection, then perhaps you may find that flutter with it!

[Red Owl 0]

That loop might be the answer-thanks

[Red Owl 0]

Old Tread, picking up on it. I think it could have been a wiggle tail. If one was to tie for steelhead I think maybe the tail with pearl or pink beads a silver mylar body, the rest white.

Here's the link I found:

https://globalflyfisher.com/video/wiggle-tail-streamer