There’s No Such Thing As Streamer Season, With Courtney Despos

There's no such thing as streamer season.

That’s the rallying cry of Courtney Despos, director of education and guide for Trouts Fly Fishing in Denver.  Courtney is a self-professed streamer fanatic and she fishes them all season long, even in the dead of winter when most people are dragging nymphs along the bottom.  Courtney shares her tips on winter streamer fishing, showing us how you can be successful fishing these flies all year long—as well as her tips for keeping warm when winter fishing.

In the Fly Box this week, we have the usual mashup of questions that range all over the place, including:

• When I am fishing a hopper/scud combination, why do I have trouble hooking fish on the hopper even though the trout appear to be taking it?
• A past fan of very fast rods details why she now enjoys rods with a more moderate action.
• A listener gives a detailed plan for killing carpet beetles in fly-tying materials
• Has anyone ever made a fly rod out of aluminum?
• When is the second season of the Orvis TV show going to launch?
• What are some good casting drills for the off season?
• A plea from a listener in Louisiana for fly tiers to use nutria fut
• What is a good entomology book for the Sierra region?
• What is your opinion on furled leaders?
• What are your thoughts on fluorocarbon?  What sizes should I carry?
• Further advice from a taxidermist on curing hides for fly tying
• I need some advice on fighting large trout in a tight stream
• A specialist in opthamology and visual sciences weighs in on dizziness after being in a drift boat
• Can I use my 9-foot 6-weight bass rod for trout?
• Why does the loop in my clear intermediate line keep cracking and what can I do to fix it?
• Do whitefish and trout live in the same places?
• Can I use my 9-foot 8-weight rod uplined to a 9-weight for trout in northern lower Michigan?