Right around the corner is one of my favorite times of the year...throwing streamers for trout and steelhead. I actually wake up sometimes thinking about new bugs, different lines, a new float..pretty sick but evidence of my addiction!

The lower Manistee from Sharon to below Tippy, the Pere Marquette when the water is starting to rise, the AuSable below Mio all occupy my time in April and May, they should take up some of yours also.

This season Orvis has stepped up with the right equipment to get the job done. Rods, lines and flies are all world class and ready to go for Michigan streamer fishing.

My standard trout streamer rig is a fast action 7 weight like the Helios or Access rods. I use both and love the feel they have in my hand. Light powerful, they are kick ass sticks.

I use 7 weight rods when I’m delivering a 250 grain sink tip. If I’m throwing a different weight line I adjust the weight of my rod accordingly.

Sink tip lines have evolved into perfect casting fishing tools compared to the old days. Get line weights out of your head, think grains...how many in my sink tip. Most of the time river fishing 200 to 350 grain tips will cover your needs. The new Orvis Hydros 3D lines are fish catching machines.

Having just returned from Argentina where I fished streamers 90% of the time for three weeks straight, I can tell you they were a dream. They are lightly textured with a slightly larger running line. The texturing reduces friction on the guides while shooting the line and the larger diameter running tangles less than the competitors lines. The advantage is distance and accuracy...75 foot casts were easy!

Finally flies. Orvis has a great selection of streamers, I’m partial to these four!
The Nutcracker is now available in Black along with the olive, yellow and ginger models. This fly is still an all round favorite of many anglers. It is a great sculpin imitation that has caught fish all over the country.

The Hat Trick and Little Rascal have their place in your box also. Joe S caught his biggest brown in Argentina a couple of weeks age on a white Hat Trick.

Try a black Little Rascal as soon as you start seeing lamprey on the trout that you catch. Seems to work well when they are hatching out of the mud. The Little rascal was created to give you a smaller, slender pattern to contrsat the bigger is better trend going on these days.

My newest offering is the Triple Double. Created to effectively blend rabbit colors to give you a mottled affect on a fly that is easy to tie. Orvis is offering it in a Rainbow, Brown Trout and leech color. Get some, you’ll like the reaction from the fish.