Favorite small stream tactics

[Jeremy]

Most of the small streams I fish are probably a bit bigger and more open than most of those described in the earlier posts on this thread. My preference is for a 7'6" for 3 wt with a furled leader, and fishing dry flies.

The dry flies are usually size 16 and 18 parachutes, griffith's gnats, emergers ( quigley cripples ), CDC caddis, etc. Some of the small streams I fish do call for some nymph fishing, usually small copper johns, p.t. nymphs or soft hackles, brassies, and t.c.t.k.s. And on rare occasion I'll fish a small streamer ( scaled down Pine Squirrel Cheater ).

This is me...and I'm normally on a spring creek that's quite clear with smallish fish. Nevermind...

I'm typically taking a 7'6" 4wt bamboo and sometimes a 7'6" 3wt 'boo. I keep as low as is comfortable w/o a backache, don't false cast more than needed and (this is just me) don't like to go to the larger flies. I like #18 -#20's but if I have to go to a #16 I will.

I have come to like furled leaders for the gentle turnovers and will do a dry if I see anything happening topside. And I tend to stubbornly resist going below but will when needed.

Then it's fun to remove my "bobber" that I've been used to and watch the end of that leader for any sign of a fish. It's much more fun for my way of fishing. I watched an indy for years...

I tie my nymphs accordingly for varied weights/sizes to match the stream depth/water flow etc and spend time at each hole trying differnt rigs before moving. I hate being pushed along...go ahead and fish in front of me..we can leap-frog!

I just love a gentle, gentle, topside toss and....watch! And my bamboo's look beautiful in the sunshine or the rain.

And when the time comes for tossing a small #12 clouser for fish lying in the shallows I'll do that too. Just open the loop up a bit. A favorite way to fish when conditions call for it. And it's a blast!

Da_n but I need to fish soon.

[MontanaMoose]

I do terry, I once 'found' a stream that I doubt many know about. It's essentially a ditch
with control gates, leftover from a bygone era, presumably something to do with farming/ranching.

Trout are amazing creatures and will find their way to secret places that hadn't previously existed for
them and this ditch apparently was no exception. I could step over it anywhere along it's length that I
fly fished for rainbows, as gorgeous as any I've ever seen. I almost missed finding the stream except for
seeing one of the gates. I walked over to what I thought was just a grassy area and to my delight here
was a gin clear, shallow gradient little bit of heaven in fly fishing.

The grass on the edges on either side were practically touching and at times touching, creating few ripples
here and there. It din't matter what fly I used because anything I gently glided off the dangling grass tips
into either side of the, at most, two foot wide stream was instantly grabbed by the beautiful
trout creatures dwelling there for, at my guess, and through many generations, a hundred
years or more.

Other than the sliding any fly off the grass tips into the crystal clearness, the only other tactic
I can remember is straddling the, in places, 3 foot deep ditch and snub casting straight upstream
from my position. I stopped fishing after a few catch and releases...perhaps 8 or 10 6 to 10 inch
little bows so pretty and so secluded that I din't want to disturb them anymore.

I'll go back up there one day soon I'm thinking, just to see it again. And yep, I'll take a rod, usually
for that kind of fly fishing it's a little Fenwick 7.5 ft for 4/5 wt. Although I may put the finishing
touches on my Sage 279 LL by then. Now that I think about it that will be a great place to christen
that rod. Thanks for starting a great post terry, looking forward to hearing from everyone that shares
a passion for small streams.

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

[terry13111]

Awesome Moose. I love the little streams everyone else over looks. Yours sounds like a beauty.

[terry13111]

A technique I forgot to share. I find if I grip the rod above the handle, about where the writing is, with my thumb forward and pressed against the blank, I can shorten my rod up a little for tighter situations. A tight grip is key.

[JohnScott]

A few pics from a small mountain spring creek I've fished several times already this year.









John

[MontanaMoose]

John, I'd have a hard time fly fishing there for a while due to the scenery...but I'd get over it ! What is your tech there if you don't mind me asking?

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

[wizard]

Some small stream locations I think I may have posted before but they have a place in this thread. Mostly just small wild browns. The headwaters of something more famous. Hard to reach places makes for few visitors.:

[wizard]

A few more:

[wizard]

Actually these were all taken a couple years back, prior to my embracing the "Flyfishing lifestyle" but all the fish were caught and released using very tiny spinners. I am planning to get back up in there this spring with a flyrod and I have a 7'3" SLT 3 wt and a Cortland Brook Series 8' 4wt that I am sure are going to see some use. Great thread by the way!! This stream is where my Dad took me back to when I was just 5 years old. Lots of great memories when I get in there. That was 47 years ago!

[joe west]

One of my favorite flies for small streams is a variation on one I found here the SHWAPF. I tie it with different colors of buck tail and matching colors of flashabou on the body.