In collaboration with Wilds Media, the long-awaited Troutbitten video series featuring Streamers on the Mono Rig begins.
Episode One is an overview of the tactics and an exploration of what is possible when fishing streamers with tight line tactics. The video also covers the Troutbitten Mono Rig and the functions of its three main components.
** NOTE ** Video appears at the end of this short article.
Why The Mono Rig for Streamers?
In short, fishing streamers on the Mono Rig lends the angler unmatched contact and control over the path of the flies. At any moment through the drift, we can directly manipulate depth, angle, drop rate and speed, independent of where a fly line wants to go. While fishing a standard rig with fly line (floating or sinking), the line dictates the course of the leader and the fly. But on a Mono Rig, the angler is in direct control over the path of the fly, all the way through the drift.
Fishing streamers on the Mono Rig offers more presentation options, better feel and improved strike detection.
Photo by Josh Darling
The Formula
The Troutbitten Mono Rig is designed for power and turnover. It functions like a fly line, if you cast it that way. And from the beginning, I’ve emphasized that these rigs are designed for casting and not lobbing. This long leader is powerful enough to push flies to a target. But it’s also light enough to be pulled to a target, and this is especially useful for streamers. Long casts are achieved by maximizing these complimentary properties.
Here’s the Troutbitten Mono Rig setup for streamers:
24-30 feet — 20lb Maxima Chameleon
2 feet — 10lb or 12lb Maxima Chameleonn
24-30 inches — 12lb Red Amnesia and/or 10lb Gold Stren
4-6 feet — 1X or 2X Fluorocarbon tippet
Notice, the leader is long enough to keep the junction to the fly line out of the guides on all but the longest casts. This is a key design element, allowing the Mono Rig to shoot and be stripped back, gliding uninterrupted by any knots in the guides.
Casting . . .
The Troutbitten Mono Rig is designed for power and turnover. It’s designed for casting.
READ: Troutbitten | Fly Fishing the Mono Rig — It’s Casting, Not Lobbing
This tight line system has enough punch to push flies to a target, like a fly line. But it’s also light enough to be pulled to a target by heavier flies (like streamers). By using both of these principles to their fullest, fly fishing streamers on the Mono Rig is efficient and elegant.
Episode Two of Streamers on the Mono Rig is all about casting. It covers the unique adaptations in our casting form that are necessary to get the most out of the Mono Rig with streamers, including the Circle Cast and the Pendulum Cast.
Video
Here’s the video, Fly Fishing the Mono Rig: Streamers — Episode 1.
** Please select HD for best video quality. **
Learn More
For a detailed breakdown of fishing streamers on the Mono Rig, find the following cornerstone Troutbitten article:
READ: Troutbitten | Fly Fishing with Streamers on the Mono Rig — More Control and More Contact
For many more articles on streamer tactics with any leader system, find the streamers category on Troutbitten.
READ: Troubitten | Category | Streamers
Lastly, be sure to subscribe to the Troutbitten YouTube channel. And turn on notifications there to be notified when each new episode in this series publishes.
Fish hard, friends.
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Enjoy the day.
Domenick Swentosky
T R O U T B I T T E N
domenick@troutbitten.com
Great job Dom! Outstanding information as always.
Cheers.
Thanks for the video, Dom. I look forward to the rest of the series.
Thanks, Alex.
Nice video, I enjoyed it.
Thanks, Brian.
Dom
A video? Finally. Can’t wait for what’s to come!
Same here, David. Looking forward to the process of carrying out a plan.
Dom
I find it very distracting that you are chewing something while you are talking.
Sorry for your distraction.
Dom
I “discovered” Troutbitten” a couple of years ago. Since then I’ve used its multitude of articles as a fly fishing encyclopedia. I really appreciate the effort that has gone into writing the articles as well as how they are cataloged and cross-referenced. This was a very good introductory video. I’m looking forward to future videos.
Thanks, Steve. I appreciate that.
Dom
How important is your connection to the fly line as not to hinge ? some ,none What is your connection nail ? loop ? Episode 1, always enjoy the streamer talk . keep them coming
thanks cjw
Hi there. Good question.
So, remember, the Mono Rig is long enough that the fly line junction (nail knot for example) does not leave the spool. So there’s no junction to deal with, because I don’t like trying to fish two materials. No hinge this way.
Make sense?
Dom
Yes , thanks
Awesome video. Great information. Looking forward to the series.
Thank you, Glen.
Dom
Unbelievable!! Dom, you keep accomplishing new heights, just like with your fishing! Thanks so much! Beautiful video; very helpful. Can’t wait for more! P.S.: I’m looking pretty dapper, for a 70 year old Pocono fly tyer, in my Troutbitten hat and hoody… gonna wear it to church. Thanks Dom
Ha. Nice, Gene. Thanks for the support.
Cheers.
Dom
Way to go Dom! The videos are going to be great. Just in time for our Winter season of steelhead. I cannot wait to go through them all.
I will say, it is difficult for any video to keep up with the amount of information you convey with your writing. I hope you make 20 videos or so that I can binge watch them between the Holidays and some trout fishing.
Best Regards,
Ha. Thanks, man. But that is unlikely. Each of them take a LOT of time.
Dom
Great piece Dom. Canceling afternoon mtg and heading out to the river.
Nice
Great video !!!! Thanks Dom !!!
BMac! Thank, man.
Great info on that system. looking forward to the rest of the series.i can even apply some of it into my style of fishing. thanks Dom.
Thanks, Norman.
Dom
Good stuff! Keepem Coming!
Happy Holidays!
That’s the plan. Same to you, Louie.
Dom
Awesome stuff, as always. I have learned so much from what you do.
That’s cool. Thanks for reading.
Dom
Great stuff – looking forward to trying this system on the rivers here in Scotland!
Excellent.
I felt like I was out there with you even more so with the gum chewing ;-). Can’t wait for more, beautiful.
That’s right, Nancy. You know me.
Hi Dom. I rigged up my rod and tried it today. It works and you make me look like I know what I,m doing. I brought along my OPST micro setup too because I wanted to compare the feel of it. I get more focused in using the mono streamer rig than the the skagit micro spay rig. Thanks
Ah. Very cool. Let me know how it goes. Dom
I fish some salt water rivers in Va. with a six or seven wt. rod for school stripers, spec. trout, puppy drum and bluefish. Would I use the same mono rig with a same wt. streamer. Wold it sink fast enough to get to the bottom that would maybe 8 to 12 ft. deep. Great video and info. Thank you for all of your knowledge passed on to the fly fishing public.
Hi there.
I’ve never fished it twelve feet deep. Not even close, really. Because our trout just don’t feed that deep. But yes, I would use the same rig. I would, however, make a major change in the tippet section. It would be longer. I have to say, though, if you put twelve feet of 1x on there, it will cast, but be a a bit unwieldy. Truth is, I would not fly fish to get that deep. I spinning rod is a much better option if you need to fish twelve feet deep into a river, in my opinion.
Make sense?
Dom
Hi, Dom, I enjoyed the video, good job. So your rig:
24-30 feet — 20lb Maxima Chameleon
2 feet — 10lb or 12lb Maxima Chameleonn
24-30 inches — 12lb Red Amnesia and/or 10lb Gold Stren
4-6 feet — 1X or 2X Fluorocarbon tippet
Did you say in the video this set-up will also fish nymphs with smaller tippet? I like this rig.
Hi Bruce,
Yes, absolutely, this is the same rig I use for tight lining nymphs of all sizes, for tight line to the indy approach, for dry dropper, and for streamers. The only difference, is in the tippet section. I wouldn’t nymph with 1x. I would swap that out for 4x or 5x.
Here’s more about that. This article is the keystone to the Mono Rig content on Troutbitten. Follow the contained links too. There are many.
https://troutbitten.com/2019/10/13/the-full-mono-rig-system-all-the-variations-with-formulas-and-adjustments/
Does that help?
Dom
I love how you caught a leaf cluster in the end. Nice touch.
Thanks doing this “for us”; you are making us all better fisher folk.
d.
That leaf was wild. Not stocked.
🙂
Dom
Your video is very well done. Thank you.
I use a 9ft, 5 wt, TFO all purpose rod that will not cast a commercial Euro Nymph type leader, it collapses as you stated. Are you casting with an all purpose rod or a dedicated Euro Nymph rod. My thinking right now is that the Mono Rig will load my rod. What are your thoughts?
My fishing ranges from small Central NY streams to mid sized Catskill rivers.
Hi David.
Thanks for the question.
I promise that the Mono Rig can be cast on any rod. I mean it. Any rod. In fact, your commercial Euro Nymphing leader probably casts just fine on your TFO rod as well. The solution is likely not to use my Mono Rig formula as much as it is to speed up your cast. You need crisp stops, a tight casting v, and speed between two points. Ironically, it takes excellent fly casting principles to truly cast a Mono Rig well. Check these out:
https://troutbitten.com/2018/11/25/quick-tips-put-more-juice-in-the-cast/
https://troutbitten.com/2019/07/07/fly-fishing-the-mono-rig-its-casting-not-lobbing/
https://troutbitten.com/2019/09/08/fly-casting-dont-reach/
Make sense?
Dom
Thanks Dom. I will check out all the above and give the Euro leader a try again.
Dave
Sounds good
HI Dom
Where could I find a video of you casting streamers on the mono-rig?
Kind regards
Dave
Hi David,
That’s the next video coming in the series.
Cheers.
Dom
I fish a 7.5 5wt fiberglass on a small/midsize river (Chagrin River, Ohio) smallmouth. I just got a dedicated mono rig spool for my reel. Most of my fishing is in close but I want to be able to shoot line 30 feet. What line do you recommend attaching to the 20# Chameleon that is conducive to shooting/handling? Is the knot bump a problem? Or, should I just run 50 feet of Chameleon? Thanks
I just made a mono-rig with a bit of a miss-step. Instead of making the main section 24-30 feet long I cut it at 20 feet and added 2 feet to the next 12 lb. section, and continued on with the remaining sections. I am hoping this will still work. My next question is at the end of the 0X or 2X, I was going to tie in a tippet ring and add 4X on to that. Is there a max length for the 4x?
I just started listening to the podcasts on my way into work, a lot of great information.
Thank you and your crew for sharing.
Larry
Hi Lawrence. Two questions there . . .
First, shortening the butt section simply means you will have the tight line advantage at shorter distances. What will most likely happen is that you will have fly line off the reel and in you guides on some of your longer casts. I’m not a fan of that, because it complicates things. But you won’t have this happen until, maybe, you fish streamers with the rig.
Second, there is no max or minimum distance for the tippet section, nor is there any standard way of rigging it. ALL of that is variable, given your conditions. There is simply no way I can decide that for you. That said, I most often run three feet to my first fly on a tag, then another twenty inches to the point fly.
Cheers.
Dom
Dom, I tried the mono rig and several unsatisfactory attempts at tight lining with a euro leader. I must say there is a night and day difference! The mono rig has so much more control both in the cast and the drift. I’m definitely sold on the mono rig and look forward to many days on the water with it. As always thank you for the detailed information and instructions that you provide the fly fishing community.
P.S. On a recent fly fishing trip out west (I’m a WV resident) I walked into the Skwala store in Bozeman, MT with my troutbitten hat on and that turned into some great conversation with Kevin Sloan and his crew. They had nothings but great things to say about troutbitten!
Excellent. Cheers.