Fishing Streamers From Drift Boats (10 of 13)

Streamers and drift boats make a natural combination. You can cover scores of miles of water in a drift boat, casting to each likely spot as a guide, or a buddy keeps the boat moving at the right speed. Because only a few fish in each pool will chase a streamer, usually the biggest ones, you can hit the best water and just drift through the mediocre water. Most fly fishers throw their streamers right to the bank, within inches of it, and then strip back to the boat. You should experiment with different retrieves and angles, because you never really know what will turn the fish on. Try a fast, steady strip, then try strips with long pauses in between, or slow steady strips. If the water is high and cold as it was here around the Yellowstone River, you might try a streamer fish dead drift under an indicator.