Streamers for Stocked Trout

[Fishidiot]

It's that time of year (and none too soon).

Trout stocking is beginning on many special reg waters this week, esp down here in the SC. I enjoy fishing for stockies in the spring and probably my favorite method is to tease 'em with bright colored streamers - basically junk streamers.
In recent years, I've been using what is essentially a cross between a Muddler and a Clouser ....a "Junk Clousermuddler."
Almost all my trout streamers are tied with dumbell weights to ride hook upward and utilize short tails to avoid the typical missed strikes common from stocked trout.
A bright white Estatz body with marabou tail and wing; top with a couple clumps of flared deer hair (keep the clipped deer hair head fairly sparse). This fly works great dead drift and then swung or stripped back on the retrieve. The white versions seem to work particualry well for me on stocked brookies.

 

[osprey]

THOSE R NICE!!!! Fishi , really i'm surprised never saw that before , u might have sumpin there , do you care if i copy?

 

[ryguyfi]

What size hooks do you use Dave? I like a smaller hook for my stockies. I use a sz 14 streamer hook. I tie an all white streamer with some flash and a green bugger for stockies. I like them unweighted or just with a touch of weight. I slap the hamster and the fly is just under the surface. It's fun seeing the strikes... but it depends on what size stream you're fishing. My technique works great on small stocked streams. I like the weighted ones like yours on larger streams.

 

[jayL]

My stockie fly is a few wraps of estaz with a rabbit zonker collar on a size 8 streamer hook. They maul it.

I have found stocked brookies to be streamer eating fish, moreso than stocked browns and rainbows. Nice ties dave.

 

[jdaddy]

jayL wrote:
My stockie fly is a few wraps of estaz with a rabbit zonker collar on a size 8 streamer hook. They maul it.

I have found stocked brookies to be streamer eating fish, moreso than stocked browns and rainbows. Nice ties dave.

Colors?

 

[jayL]

Whatever is laying in my scrap pile.

I used pink estaz with olive rabbit last year. I have a few other colors on floating around somewhere, so I'll mix it up this year.

 

[Fishidiot]

osprey wrote:
THOSE R NICE!!!! do you care if i copy?

Of course not - by all means copy 'em.

Ry,
They are long shank Mustads, I think size #4 or 6. The shank is about 1.5" and I like to bend the eye upward a bit with pliers before tying down the dumbell eye.

 

[tracker12]

Pictures please. I fished a newly stocked stream today in MD. I tried everything with no success. Finally I tied on a Crystal meth and ended up catching a few fish. I have really been strugling on stockers. Ready to go back to Powerbait.

 

[jayL]

I don't have a pic, but the to get something like the fly I use:

Take Dave's streamers, remove the hairwing and the tail, and put a turn or two of cross cut rabbit zonker at the head. I think I tied them with a conehead.

If the fish aren't active or are podded up, I drift small nymphs, junk flies, and zebra midges to them. I have found that you will get strikes within a few casts of changing flies, then they'll shut off. Basically the same stuff I did when fishing bait for years, but with flies.

 

[ryguyfi]

If they're podded up and you can get one to chase a streamer, then the others will follow suit. I've had great days after a secondary stocking just getting them all riled up lol. I think I caught 12 in about an hour and a half last year tossing streamers like that.