Classic Tuesday Tip: Mixing Up Your Streamer Retrieve

Since it’s still streamer season around here until the Hendricksons show up, I figured that a video tip about streamer retrieves—from the “Streamer Fishing” chapter on the Orvis Fly Fishing Learning Center—would be appropriate.

I see too many anglers on the stream using the same retrieve over and over, even when it isn’t producing. I’ve found that the fish are often looking for something different, whether it’s a different speed, length, or cadence of strip, or perhaps they don’t want a stripped fly at all. (In which case, it’s time to dead-drift the streamer.) By mixing things up, you’re more likely to hit on the kind of retrieve that will trigger strikes.