Do you enjoy the game “Would You Rather”? A hypothetical scenario is given, and you must choose between two, often quite different options. Here’s a good fly fishing would you rather:
Would you rather only have weighted streamers or weightless streamers in your fly box?
Maybe you answered right away. But maybe you see why this is a bit of a tricky question. There are great reasons to fish both light and heavy streamers. Each has a very long pro list, and only a few cons. However, the game forces you to pick just one.
My pick? If I have to? Weightless. And I’m going to give you two main reasons why.
Versatility
You can always make a light streamer sink faster, but you can never make a heavy streamer more buoyant. This means that you’re able to fish more of the stream with one fly.
Skinny water and slow water are two places where lighter flies shine. Although there are circumstances where sinking a pattern immediately is desirable (crayfish, sculpins, etc.), many baitfish will need to move or drift more naturally. In shallow water, a natural presentation means moving over rocks – not jigging on and through them. In slow water, a weightless fly will dead drift before the dragging line pulls it. Assuming you have proper line control, a lighter pattern will often have the more natural presentation.
Dumbbell eyes will take your streamer to the bottom, but unless the current is moving quickly or you’re stripping frantically you’re not going to keep the fly up. Split shot and poly leaders can drop the fluffiest flies down in the water column. Both styles have a place in your box, but weightless flies are more versatile.
Castability
If you look at contemporary streamers, even the biggest and wildest patterns don’t have added weight. The reason is simple: they’re already incredibly bulky and wind resistant. At a much smaller scale, the same holds true for “traditional” streamers. A size 6 conehead muddler is going to be chucked, not cast, with most 5 weights. A weightless version of the same fly will present the same profile, but you’ll be able to use your normal trout tackle to cast it.
Casting and thoughtful presentation are vital regardless of which fly you have on your leader. Casting a weightless fly might require a longer cast, further upstream, allowing the current to do the work a bead otherwise would. All anglers should be using currents to their advantage. Running even the tiniest, lightest streamers into seams or swirls will plunge them deep. Reading the water reveals methods for getting your flies in front of fish.
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Am I advocating a one-or-another approach to your fly box? No. “Would you rather” is a game and a thought exercise. But it isn’t fruitless, either. Be a situational angler. That means being ready – both in your approach and your flies – for whatever may come. Instead of putting coneheads and beads on every bugger and zonker you tie, make sure you leave room for some versatile and castable weightless streamers.
Want to hear a few more reasons and some discussion of this topic? Check out this episode of the Casting Across Fly Fishing Podcast: Streamers Don’t Need Weight.