When we fish our Yakima River streamers, we are going to lean toward the slightly heavier and faster rods to cast and turn over a streamer and typically a weighted line.
I run 2x-3x fluorocarbon when I fish streamers. We can get by with a little heavier stuff since we are targeting more aggressive fish. I will also use a no slip mono loop knot; this gives the streamer a little more action when stripping or swinging. Check out our knots page to see how to tie this knot.
With a single-hand rod, I would lean towards a 6-weight rod, but if you are looking at two-handers you have to remember to compensate for the length of the rod, so we bump up two rod weights (e.g. a 4-weight goes up to a 6-weight).
The type of water you are fishing, and the time of year will determine what kind of sink tip to use when fishing our Yakima River streamers.
You can, of course, use an integrated intermediate or sinking line, but unless you know specifically what water you are fishing it will limit you on where you can fish if you are fishing different rivers. I usually use a fast sinking tip that sinks about 7” per second. If you end up fishing slower or shallower water, adjust your tip accordingly. If you are constantly bumping or snagging the bottom, then it’s time to go to a lighter tip.
As far as lines go you have a lot of options depending on what you want to do. The Scientific (SA) Sonar series is a good place to start for intermediate and full sink lines. The Titan Taper or Sonar Sink lines are great because they have a 3/5/7 inches per second sink rate taper.
This means that the head of your fly line will sink faster then your running line, unlike a uniform sinking line. The line closer to you in shallower water won’t snag on the bottom while your fly will be in the strike zone. They also have clear stillwater lines that are perfect for people that are lake fishing in a watermaster or other belly boat.