of a more realistic version of a
sculpin. It works well in clear
water during low light conditions
or slightly stained water.
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Leach has a lot of movement in
the water. It has just enough
flash for the trout to take it for a
sculpin when the water in slightly
stained or during low light
conditions.
anything we know of that swims
in the Smokies. We are showing
it only because it does a good
job of imitating small bait fish
when the water is high and
stained heavily. During these
conditions, the trout should only
be able to get a passing glimpse
of the fly. We only recommend it
only for heavily stained water.
Baitfish
Streamers are designed to imitate a variety of food trout eat. Minnows, bait fish, sculpin, leeches and crawfish are some of the main things.
There are two basic mistakes you can make with any imitation, especially a streamers which are more like lures than a flies. One is that you can present it such that the fish can’t see it at all or two, you can present it such that the fish get eat, they are not going to eat it. Somewhere between these two extremes (can’t see it at all or see it too well) is the ideal situation.
Look at your streamer in the water close to you while it’s moving through the water just like you intend to present it. If you were a trout, would you be able to see it? If so, would you be able to see well enough to determine it was a fake?
The objective is to select and present a streamer that you can just barely see. This will vary depending on the amount of light penetration which is affected by the time of day, the sky conditions – cloudy, overcast or bright sunshine, water clarity -stained or clear, and other factors. You want the trout to see it only good enough to be fooled into thinking it’s a real live creator.
What works one hour may not work a few hours later. As light conditions change due to clouds, shade, etc, you should change the shade of color of your streamer. The idea is not to make it very obvious, but to make it only visible enough for the trout to get a glimpse of it.
Have you ever wondered why some
brown trout get so large in Little River. The river was extremely low and I spotted this one in a tiny pocket trying its best to get back into the main stream. I saved its
life. It’s the only one I have ever caught by
hand. Between the sculpin and the large
crayfish in the stream, there’s really little
doubt as to how a few brown trout grow to
such a huge size.
Beadhead Streamers: Although
beadhead steamers are helpful in adding weight to the fly for fishing deeper water, they offer little in the way of imitating baitfish, sculpin or leeches. Provided you add weight to your streamer, they don’t work in deeper water as well as non-bead head flies.
The above 3 flies are Perfect Fly’s Marabou Sculpin
choosing the right size, shape and color.
Sculpin. It has a little more white and is more effective in slightly stained water.