When smallmouth rivers get low and clear late in the summer the largest fish often want a streamer fished very slowly along the stream bottom in the large pools. An effective way to achieve this is to use the old hand-twist retrieve to crawl it across the bottom. A great advantage of this technique is that you always have a tight line on the fly which enables you to feel the strike the instant the bass hits the streamer. Due to the depth of the water and the amount of line you have out it is imperative that you set the hook quickly and with force so you hook the bass before he ejects your fly. In addition to a firm strike with the rod I also use a powerful line-hand strike.
