I’ve been fishing for a while and have an itch to try streamers. Typically I fish a 4 or 5 wt in some pretty skinny water and occasionally I do some pond fishing for trout.

What streamers should I pick up for these situations? Do I need sinking tip line, or will my wt forward work as I get started?

Other pointers?

Here are lots of options . . . . .

http://www.orvis.com/streamer-flies

Any of the woolly buggers would be your best options.  They appear to work every where.

The bead head ones will sink, or you can use a bit of lead shot to get a non bead head to sink.

I tend to use a floating line in streams and rivers where I'm fishing in the edges and nothing deep (less then 5 feet).

For deeper waters (over 5 feet) in lakes or large rivers, I use a mid sinking and add weight if needed.

Here is a write up on the subject https://news.orvis.com/fly-fishing/ask-experts-use-sinking-tip-streamers

Wooly buggers are the only streamer I have ever had any luck with, for trout and smallmouth.  Always have those with me, in a couple colors and sizes.
I have only ever maybe caught a couple trout with maribou streamers or muddlers.

on a 4 or 5wt I would look at woolly buggers, muddler minnows, small murdich minnows and rabbit zonker streamers.

I fish streamers with a floating line a lot, if they are weighted streamers but most of the time I run either a full intermediate line or a sink tip line, depending on what and where I am fishing.

My streamer rods for trout and bass are 8wt's and I throw stuff like drunk and disorderly's, swinging D's, different varieties of game changers. Even with over 15 years of fly fishing I probably could throw those on a 5 wt but wouldn't, lol.

J-

Good choice on flies, try rabbit zonkers in black. If I had to use one fly it would be a large black rabbit zonker with just a few pieces of red flashabou.

I use a 7wt switch rod for all my streamer fishing for trout these days. But if I had to use a regular fly rod I too would go with a 8wt. For smallmouth I use an 9ft 8wt.

I know this is an old thread, but I just came across it.

I have fished several pretty small creeks where my fly of choice (especially in the summer), is a "mini-muddler." It's just a streamlined muddler minnow, tied on a light wire, long shank hook with a body of dubbed hare's ear instead of tinsel. Add no weight, and keep it a bit sparse. I tied these in numbers 12 and 14 sizes.

When you tie on a fresh one, grease it up with your favorite preparation, and fish it dry. It will pass for a hopper or big caddis. As it gets soggy, dry it on the false cast, then "pop" it under the water surface after a short drift in the film, especially against the cutbacks. When it's good and wet, cast upstream to make it sink, then wet fly swing into the better looking holes and shadowy water. As the line comes tight, strip it back for a couple of feet before you pick it up again.

It's a darn good and reliable producer on the smaller Western freestone waters. Jim...