Streamers and Poppers

Streamers, in their classical sense, are called flies that mimic fry and small fish, which are mainly eaten by predatory fish. In the modern sense, a streamer is any fly connected on a large hook with an extended forearm. It can be imitations of leeches, shrimps, tadpoles and other large inhabitants of the underwater world. Fantastic streamers that do not imitate any living creature and are essentially just attractors are very widespread.

A characteristic feature for many streamers is a long wing, sometimes several times the length of the forearm of the hook. As the materials for the wing, the bird's feather is less and less used, it was replaced by the fur of various animals and synthetic materials. But no matter what materials streamers are made of, their purpose is invariably the capture of predatory fish.

Streamers are a fairly large bait, so the selection of gear for catching a streamer should be appropriate. The most optimal, in our conditions, will be a fishing rod of classes 7-8, with a reel having a good braking system and a large spool capacity. Since, when catching a large predator, it is very likely that in the course of the struggle the fish will pull out the entire cord and part of the backing. It is better to stop your choice of cord for catching on a streamer on specialized cords. As a rule, these are cords with a short and heavy head, allowing you to cast heavy volumetric bait over a long distance. The common name for these cords is the shooting head. The main rule in selecting undergrowth is that the breaking load should correspond to the expected catch.

Separately, I would like to say about catching on mini-trimers. These streamers are quite lightweight, oriented to catching a small predator, so a fishing rod of class 5 with a standard WF cord is suitable for fishing.

Pike - a welcome trophy for many anglers, eats everything that comes to her, fish, crayfish, frogs, small rodents caught in the river. Pike can swallow prey in half its length. Knowing this feature of pike, streamers for fishing are made on large hooks and are large, voluminous baits. Another feature of the pike, it is not afraid of bright, shiny lures, on the contrary, they attract it.

For pike fishing, rods of grades 7-9 are best suited with Shooting Head cords. A pike’s mouth full of teeth can easily cut even very thick fishing lines, so special leashes are necessary for successful pike fishing. It can be metal leashes, fluorocarbon woven leashes, or other leash material. Some manufacturers of fishing tackle offer anglers with metallized front parts made specifically for pike fishing. There is no need to use leashes with such undercoats.

The method of fishing is long throwing and jerking. The frequency and length of the suspenders, as well as the pause time, are selected empirically, depending on the activity of the pike. The largest lures are used during the spring and autumn predator zhor.

Popper is a type of streamer for surface fishing. In most cases, these are fantasy baits that do not mimic any particular animal. The bait has a collective image of frogs, small rodents that have fallen into the water, sick fish struggling at the surface. The predator is attracted to it by the characteristic sound emitted during wiring, and movement. The sound source is the design of the popper head, which has a large drag. A variety of poppers are divers. Divers have a conical head and, when jerking, go a little deeper, as if diving, this feature gave the name to the bait.

Catching by poppers and divers is very exciting because the bait is on the surface of the water, and each bite of a predator occurs in front of the fisherman. The lures of these types are light and voluminous, on the one hand it is a huge plus, on the other a small minus. Lures have a large windage, which can significantly affect the range and accuracy of casting in windy weather. Therefore, the best option for tackle will be a 7th-class fishing rod equipped with a Shooting Head cord, in this configuration you can break through a strong wind and deliver the bait to a decent distance.

Is fishing fly fishing limited to fly fishing only? No and no again. In recent years, fly fishing with a Sbirulino float and with the help of spinning gear have become increasingly popular. Fly fishing with the help of Light and Ultra Light class spinning gear has become especially popular.

The idea of ​​using flies for spinning fishing is not new. Many anglers are familiar with such a bait as the "beard" used by anglers to catch zander for more than a dozen years. A bunch of goat hair, tied to a tee, and a body of foam, what is it if not a fly?

The most popular flies for spinning are streamers.

Why streamers? Streamer fishing is very similar to lure fishing, wobbler or soft silicone baits. But what is the plus of streamers? Streamer is made of lightweight synthetic or natural materials that have a characteristic game when wiring, not like classic spinning lures. In a streamer, so to speak, more life. In addition, the lightness of the material allows you to make impressive size baits, and at the same time they will have a minimum weight, which is especially important when fishing with light classes of spinning rods. A volumetric bait 10-15 cm long, weighing 2-3 grams, will allow the angler to catch a trophy predator and feel the charm of fighting fish.

The streamer can be made on a hook with a metal head (lead, tungsten) intended for jig fishing, on a hook with a hanging metal head of the Cheburashka or bullet type, etc. For use with streamer, Snap Drop type or Texas

The greatest opportunities for fly fishing are provided by tackle, which consists of a long match or spinning rod and special Sbirulino floats of various weights and degrees of buoyancy, which allow not to additionally surround the bait itself. Sbirulino tackle allows the angler to make as far casts as possible, while the behavior of the fly in the water will be like when fishing with a classic fly fishing. What does this give the fisherman? The ability to catch all the horizons of the reservoir, "complex" shallow and heavily overgrown areas. At a time when the fish is particularly “capricious”, offer her a very small bait, for example, such as a nymph made on hooks of size 14-16 (according to European classification). Or just snap an artificial bug and catch a handsome chub on a hot summer afternoon.

The use of artificial flies when fishing with a spinning reel will expand its capabilities, and perhaps your best trophy will be caught in the fly.