Salomone: Publishers — choose your color

Leaves rolling in the river’s current conjure thoughts of pointy-jawed brown trout hiding beneath cut banks. A caddis dry fly will not cause rough browns to show their faces. Fall calls for streamer flies—long, stemmed hooks twisted with sparkle and shine like Fourth of July fireworks, or natural earth and earth tones that stealthily slide into the depths. Streamers of all kinds will attract attention in the cool waters of autumn. Choose your color and let it fly.

Turbid, dirty water masks light-toned flies. However, streamer flies in black, olive, rusty brown and purple take on more shape in adverse conditions, allowing trout to follow and follow the fly with predatory precision. The dark, floating silhouette of the fly strikes deep into the river bottom.

Clean trends call for softer tones like cream, white, gold and yellow. Chartreuse is an underutilized streamer color that stimulates aggressive responses from already irritable trout. Trout will follow a streamer for longer distances before entering clear water. What sells the deal is the action the fisherman takes to get it back.

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There are times when trout want to eat streamer flies that mimic real-colored, small trout or other bait fish. Juvenile rainbow and brown trout flies evoke cannibalistic tendencies come fall. Small trout that look injured will be slapped.

Unnatural freak flies work well when conditions are right. These flies rely on shock and terror to take action. Flies like TeQueely and Autumn Splendor work well when others fall short. Speed ​​is of the essence when broadcasting glitter and flash streamers. Move the fly. Don’t take good care of the trout. Instead, try to emulate an escape scenario that requires follow-up or commitment.

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The articulation and multi-legged game changers in the fly design literally swim through the water with such natural movement that fish are forced to spring into action with strong aggression.

The factors that are taking the publishing game to new levels come from a variety of weights. Weightless flies glide through shallow paths without snagging structure. Beadhead streamers sink at a slow pace, creating minimal vertical movement from the fly. Cone head buggers hold more weight at the front and provide a distinct swinging action from the head of the fly. The weighted handle, made of lead wire wrapped around the fly design, drops the fly as a whole rather than leading the sinking action with a heavy head. Weights in all styles serve fly layers well in pushing tempting morsels deep.

Barbel eyes keep the weight forward, easily attach to your fly, and add a visible eye to your streamer. This style comes in a variety of weights, from simple beaded chain eyes to huge pieces of metal like dumbbells used for curling at the gym. Dumbbells, hourglass, bead chain or barbells hold the same basic shape of two weights put together, making them easier to use in fly tying.

Deer hair streamers with sculpted heads and articulated bodies are borderline artistic sculptures designed to dive, wiggle and hover in the rhythm of the retrieve. Wedge-shaped buckheads offer a whole new dynamic to streamer fishing when offered on medium or sinking head rods.

Fishing with a string of streamers (two flies connected by a long string) is a common tactic for anglers. When choosing colors for this approach, my preference leans toward extreme contrasts, like a white streamer followed by a black buck or a Tequeely tied to a young brown trout fly. One is used to attract attention and the other for subdued realism.

Even with specially designed fishing lines, casting is a challenge for anglers fishing streamers. Mastery of your rod is a must. A good pair provides distance, improved control and increased accuracy from a distance. The stuck barbs on the streamers help you release your fish when it lands deep.

Furry dudes, Sculpzillas and monsters whose names can only be mentioned at more than 21 businesses are collected from suitcase-sized fly boxes come autumn. There is meat on the menu. The best way to serve is to use the color the fish wants to eat. Take their temperature, so to speak. Filter by pre-selected colors or flies to see what gets the most response. Focus your selection on flies of the same tone, color or style. Once they have figured out the color they want, give them something to eat.

Michael Salomone moved to the Eagle River valley in 1992. He started guiding fly fishing professionally in 2002. His freelance writing has appeared in magazines and websites such as Southwest Fly Fishing, Fly Rod & Reel, Eastern Fly Fishing, and On the Fly. FlyLords, Pointing Dog Journal, Upland Almanac, Echo website, Vail Valley Anglers and more. He lives along the Eagle River with his wife, Lori; two daughters, Emily and Ella; and a group of yellow Labrador retrievers.