Speed leads happen mostly in one lane, and they go faster than their parent current. Lane changes are exactly what they sound like — the fly is traveling in one lane, and then we deliberately bring the fly over to a nearby lane and travel down that one.

The speed lead is a term coined by our friend, Josh Stewart. Way back in 2017, I published a few articles about low-riding streamer presentations, with streamers tied on lead ball jigs. I’d gotten the idea from Rich Strolis, and it was a bit of an underground thing at the time. I remember that Stewey got in touch after reading my article, and we started sharing ideas and presentation styles with some of these flies. When I described leading low but faster than the current, Josh said he called it a speed lead, and it was one of his best tactics for stirring up big trout.

The Speed Lead is a big part of what we do with streamers. It's another animation to mix in while reading and working the water, searching for the best way to present the streamer. Lane changes are the perfect compliment for a speed lead.

My friend, Austin Dando, joins me for a great discussion.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Category | Streamers
READ: Troutbitten | Streamer Presentations -- The Speed Lead
READ: Troutbitten | Streamer Presentations -- The Endless Retrieve
READ: Troutbitten | Troutbitten Fly Box -- The Jig Streamers

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We've covered many animations in these series. We’ve talked about the streamer head position and its direction, about cross current movement vs holding one lane. We've covered jerk strips, glides, slides, fast, slow, quick or smooth, we talked about drop rates and a lot more.

And now, we're here to talk about one of the most basic movements performed on any fly, lure or bait — jigging.

Moving the fly up and then letting it drop — it’s such a simple motion that it might seem silly to spend much time on the topic. But like so many other good things in fishing, jigging is a world of its own. And there are, in fact, a multitude of variables to consider and to play with.

In this episode, we talk about angle, depth and speed of the jig, cross current or one current jigs, free falls or pendulum drops, and more.

My friend, Austin Dando, joins me for a great discussion.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Category | Streamers
READ: Troutbitten | Streamer Presentations -- Jigging the Streamer
READ: Troutbitten | Troutbitten Fly Box -- The Jig Streamers

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This steamer presentation is what streamer anglers probably do most — swinging the flies. From what I see on the water, what I read in articles and watch in videos, I think it’s fair to say, swinging is a pretty popular look.

But it’s also fair to say that swinging is what we do the least. I think part of that is regional.

Swinging streamers is a good tactic. It’s not our preferred method, but that might not matter to you and to the trout in your waters. That’s kind of the point to this whole Streamer Presentations series — I think it’s best to be armed with a wide range of tactics — or presentations. Try them all, and then let the fish decide.

I mix in swings every day that I fish streamers. I give swings a chance. Sometimes a swing suits the moment better than anything else. And sometimes I let a slow slide or cross current strips finish out below me, allowing tension to change the head angle, and I finish by letting the fly swing out.

Swinging is arguably the easiest presentation on a streamer. That also might make it the most relaxing. It’s a great way to cover a lot of water, and it’s an easy way to stay in rhythm.

We get more refusals with a swing than with most other tactics. We also average smaller trout to the net. That might have a lot to do with a swinging presentation being more attractive than natural. And when we do get a solid take on a swing, clean hooks sets can be challenging and we’re in a bad place to start fighting a good fish.

My friend, Austin Dando, and I cover all of that and more in this episode.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Category | Streamers
READ: Troutbitten | Natural vs Attractive Presentations
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Night Fishing for Trout - Swinging and Drifting

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For us, streamer fishing is best when we actively and intentionally move the fly. But with glides and slides, our animations are often subtle, because sometimes these are the most natural or convincing looks.

Rolling the bottom, gliding mid-current along a knee-deep riffle or slow-sliding off the bank — all of these maneuvers are just as enticing, and they catch just as many trout as flashy retrieves (sometimes). But we tend to forget them. Or rather, we might not have the discipline to stay with an understated look for very long, because the modest stuff isn’t as exciting — maybe it’s not as much fun either.

Gliding the fly is drifting it downstream in one current. Sliding the fly starts with a glide and then brings it across currents. My friend, Austin Dando, and I dig into all the possibilities.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Category | Streamers
READ: Troutbitten | Streamer Presentations -- The Deadly Slow Slide
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Night Fishing for Trout - Swinging and Drifting

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The Head Flip is a pivot. It’s a simple change of the streamer's head angle, from down and across to up and across, or from upstream to downstream. This pivot doesn’t necessarily move the fly out of its area, but the motion might seem pretty dramatic to a trout. The Head Flip shows trout an opportunity for an easy meal, and it might signal a moment of vulnerability. It's one of our favorites animations to a streamer.

We Cover the Following

• What it is and why it works
• Best water types
• Angles to change
• Best lines and leaders
• Best flies
• Depth
• Speed
• Combining the Head Flip with other animations
• And much more . . .

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Category | Streamers
READ: Troutbitten | Streamer Presentations -- The Head Flip
VIDEO: Troutbitten | The Head Flip

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The ability to move the fly with the rod tip and not just the line hand is a fundamental skill that opens creative options for the streamer angler.

Almost two decades ago, Kelly Galloup’s first streamer book changed the way anglers thought about moving a streamer. All these years later, the jerk strip isn’t just one way to move the streamer. It’s a technique for using both hands, in concert, synchronized, for presentations that are impossible to achieve any other way.

Move the fly with the rod tip and then recover with the line hand. In this way, the Jerk Strip sets the table for everything else to follow in this Troutbitten Skills Series on Streamer Presentations.

We Cover the Following

• Angles, speeds, cadence
• Depth and distance
• Fast vs smooth
• Flies and fly rods
• Troubleshooting the mechanics
• Jig Strip, Glide Strip, Twitch Strip
• Good slack and bad slack
• Strip sets and hook sets
• And much more . . .

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Category | Streamers
READ: Troutbitten | Streamer Presentations -- Jigs, Jerks and Strips
VIDEO: Troutbitten | The Jerk Strip -- Streamer Presentations

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This season is a ten-part Troutbitten Skill Series, all about Streamer Presentations. We've been looking forward to this one for a long time.

We spend a lot of our time dead drifting dry flies and nymphs. But with streamers, we’re trying to make them look alive. Instead of no motion, we move the fly. And this is exactly why we love to fish streamers. Because we get tired of dead drifting. And we love to think about everything we can do with a streamer to make a trout eat the fly.

A lot of angler say that streamer fishing is salesmanship. That's a great description of the process, because we need to convince the fish that what we’re offering is worth the effort.

But how do we sell it? What are the animations? What are the things we can do with a long fly, to make it look like a baitfish, like a crayfish, a sculpin, maybe a small trout or a fall fish?

This Skills Series will highlight a number of these ways to move the fly. We’ll talk about the Jerk Strip, the Head Flip, Jigging, Speed Leads, Lane Changes, the Crossover Technique, Swinging, Drifting, Gliding, Sliding and more, with dedicated episodes for each.

But, what can we control? Within all of those different presentations, what are the elements that make up a Head Flip, for example? How deep is a streamer during a slow slide? How fast is it going during a Speed Lead? While swinging or drifting, what elements can we adjust and which ones are actually out of our control.

Covering those elements is our goal with this first episode on Streamer Presentations. We’re here to put some details around the things we can control on a streamer.

• Head Position (the direction of the fly)
• Depth
• Speed
• And whether we’re holding one seam or crossing seams

Notably, we won’t talk much in this series about flies or even lines and leaders. Because the point is, you can get these motions, these presentations on a wide variety of lines — sinking line, floating line or a Mono Rig. You can use short leaders, long leaders, poly leaders or standard. You can fish it all. But the real question with streamers . . . is how do you want the fly to move?

The joy of streamer fishing is that everything works sometimes. Trout respond to many kinds of presentations out there, and trying to dial that in is a fun way to spend your day.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Category | Streamers
READ: Troutbitten | Streamer Presentations -- Jigs, Jerks and Strips
PODCAST: Troutbitten | Streamer Presentations -- All About the Head of the Fly

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We're talking about how to shorten your time at the tailgate or the trunk. Just get your waders on, your boots laced, and get to the river. It should be as simple as that, but it’s not uncommon for anglers to waste a half hour or more just getting ready to go fishing.

Most anglers hate this wasted time. In fact, all of this preparation just to go fishing puts a lot of anglers off in the first place. And the colder it is, or the longer you plan to be out there fishing, or the more tactics you plan to use the more all of this pre-trip prep is required.

We want a system for minimizing the time between cutting the car engine to walking away from the vehicle with our fly rod in hand.

Basically, we all just want to go fishing. And the other stuff holds us back.

The full Troutbitten crew is here with me tonight. I’ve fished a lot with every one of them, and I know first-hand that they get out of the starting blocks pretty fast.

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | All The Things
READ: Troutbitten | Tip - Don't Rig Up at the Truck
VIDEO: Troutbitten | Splitting The Rod

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Thank You to Pre-Roll Ad Sponsors:

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Orvis