Strike Triggers

One fun upside from tying flies is I can add my own strike triggers.

After reading Jason Randall’s Feeding Time, which is excellent, I try to incorporate certain triggers in my flies. I weaved in some for yesterday’s “hot” streamer.

I’m not sure why my this new streamer duped 12 fish yesterday. But, when I threw the store-bought streamers, I got only one strike. When I put on my home-made fly, I got takes. For fun, when I went back to the commercially-tied ones, things got quiet again.

Go figure.

But, I did incorporate some strike triggers. The first is I added the color red. For some reason, a touch of red has worked for me. For the streamer, I put in two strands of red Krystal Flash.

The second trigger was variegation. Fly tiers long have used variegated materials: bi-colored chenille, striped rubber legs, Coq de Leon fibers, and the good ol’ pheasant tail. For the streamer, I used some schlappen-like feathers from a dark Coq de Leon skin. I also used barred marabou.

And, last, I’ve long used “hot spots” on my Euronymphing nymphs. Here, I took an idea from a Rich Strolis video and added some Senyo’s Laser Dub at the streamer’s neck. I used orange.

I’m having a lot of fun making articulated streamers. My third attempt is below, at the right, and the first two attempts are to the left of it. I’m pretty happy with v.3 and hope it does even better than v.2 did yesterday.

For the next 12 months, I’ll be focused on streamer fishing for the most part. It’s fun to be a Streamer Dreamer.

I hope you’re all having a great weekend. Go, Patriots!

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6 thoughts on “Strike Triggers

      1. Steve at North Country Angler always says to “trust your fly.” Confidence more than the pattern itself results in caught fish.

        1. That’s a great quote and a great reminder.

          I remember noted angler Ed Engle writing in one of his books that he for one year fished just one fly (he did allow for different sizes, though, as I recall); it helped him focus on technique, reading water, and presentation at the right level in the water column. I may do that one year.

          2020 will be a year for streamers for me. Perhaps, in 2021?

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