Screamin' Streamers

My outing on the Manistee was the first day with the new streamer fishing set-up. As one of my goals for this year was to up my streamer game, both for trout and smallmouth, I quickly realized that investing in the right gear would help jump-start things.

The rod is a Scott A3 907/4. The A3 has become my default rod; I also own and 1108/4 switch rod, a 8654/4 for dry flies, and an earlier A2 906/4 for an all-around rod for dries, nymphing, and hoppers. I've found these rods well-made, and easy-casting.

Onto  this I've mounted a Ross Evolution LT 4. I'm a big Ross fan - with a couple of Momentum V's for steelhead as well as some CLA's for various applications. The Evolution was a great surprise. It's incredibly light, features a simple but effective drag (not like I need it for streamers), and is a very impressive design.

When I picked up the Evolution, I also bought an extra spool. This enables me to load one with a Rio 200 grain sink tip for stripping streamers in deeper waters. The other is loaded with Rio Outbound Short for chasing smallmouth on the Huron. I've also decided to pick up a third spool that will get loaded with a Rio 300 grain sink tip for maximum sink speed on places like the Pere Marquette that demand getting down FAST into short holes.

It was great to spend a day throwing streamers on this rig. It's light enough not to wear you out casting it all day - a real advantage as this style of fishing is a good bit more work. The rod has plenty of backbone to punch casts out there in the wind and can handle the largest of trout. But best of all is how it casts. If you allow it ample time to load on the backcast (a subject of an upcoming article) this thing is a cannon. Pretty quickly I was putting my fly exactly where I wanted it. And even as the wind came up in the afternoon it still delivered reliable, powerful casts with minimal effort.

I love when equipment set-up for a purpose gets it right; this one does!

-Sean-