Photo by Phil Monahan
I love to fish streamers, and on the Battenkill—where the number of trout per mile is relatively low—it’s the best way to cover a lot of water quickly. However, there are times during the year, especially during the next two months, when hatching insects bring even large brown trout to the surface. So it’s vital that I can switch quickly from dredging with a Hawkins Triple Double to casting a Hendrickson dry fly.
That’s why I love using 7-foot Polyleaders. A loop-to-loop connection turns my floating fly line into a sinking-tip version that helps me turn over big flies and get the streamer to the bottom fast. Although I usually opt for the Super-Fast sink rate in the high water of spring—right now, the ‘Kill is running at about 1,200 CFS, which is about twice the June average—I’ll often shift to the Intermediate for low-water summer evenings. There’s very little hinging at the connection point, and the tips cast well. And when I do start seeing some heads, it takes less than a minute to remove the sinking tip from the end of my fly line and attach a dry-fly leader. There’s no fumbling with changing spools in midstream.
