I’ve got a question- not how to fish a small stream- how do you “get” to a small stream.
The kind that has a jungle of vegetation between the fish and you. The fly line catches on all the limbs, the leader gets a tangled up. All those zingers get zinged. The waders get sticks punched in as you crawl on the ground. That kind of place.
Im thinking, ditch the the vest - go with a fanny pack. Real short leader so you can break the rod down and carry in two pieces through the jungle. Maybe knee pads for the crawling?
The trout have got to be two feet long up in there.
I spend a majority of my time bush wacking small streams…especially in Michigan.
…don’t over think it…i wear hippers a button up shirt with 2 big pockets that holds one small fly box, 2 rolls of tippet, floatant and a string around my neck for the nippers…
…I find the trout on the smaller streams not terribly picky so i don’t carry a large selection and i don’t get caught up in the “but what if this pops or that pops” the usual assortment of attractors and near enoughs seem to produce for me…
I use a small 6’6 orvis 4w and keep it broke
down till i reach my starting point…i relax will I’m rigging up and keep one eye on the water…
A fanny pack and a Richardson Box is all I ever use. When fishing the really tight quarters I have several 6?6? and smaller rods that are the ticket. I also made some short leaders by halving the sections with the exception of the tippet; that gives me a 5? leader that tapers and makes life easier. I carry the dissembled rod in the rod bag with the reel attached till I get streamside.
I also always have a Swiss Army knife with a saw blade with me just in case I reach an impenetrable patch of briars or a Red Sox fan.
I was thinking about tying up some 5’ leaders. There is a formula that I found that looked good. I like that little saw idea. I thought about a 3’ machete but people would probably get upset by me modifying the landscape that much.
I just tuck all of my zingered gagetry (nippers, hemostat, net) into the inside of my vest, break my rod down and plow through. Most streams like that in my neck of the woods are home to fish which don’t see many fisherman so they don’t spook for too long. By the time I’ve strung up my rod and had a snack, the fish are feeding again. But then again, I’m pretty slow putting my gear together.
I’ve cut my gear down to a downstream chest box long ago,you can easily add/remove drawers as needed…for whatever reasons/fishing your going to do.
Added a double pocket system to the strap system of it to accomadate all the lil must have things (cut from an old fanny pack and edges sewn and fastened with brass diaper pins, works really well.
Second thing I’d suggest is this,A Casting Approach to Dry Fly Tactics In tight Brush. with Joe Humphreys Has a segment with Joe and George Harvey… DVD or Video…I’d recomend the DVD…Cause you’ll be watching this one over and over…
Covers everything from Casting tactics to leading you and your rod through the nastiest of stuff…50 years of experience deffinitly taught this man ALOT!!!
“I’ve often wondered why it is that so many anglers spend so much money on,and pay so much attention to.the details on the wrong end of the fly line.If they took as much care in selecting or tying their flies as they did in the selection of the reel and rod,They might be able to gain the real extra edge that makes it possible to fool a fish that has,in fact,seen it all before” A.K.Best
“Wish ya great fishing”
Bill
[This message has been edited by billknepp (edited 17 August 2005).]
I just fished a stream like that 2 days ago and did great on little browns. And we did run into a bear, and beat feet outa there! It was the headwaters of the Poudre’s south fork, just below Pingree Park, and the terrain was steep, rocky, covered with downfall trees, and very daunting. I had by 6.5 foot brushbeater rod, and made not a single actual ‘cast’ all afternoon.
What’s it called – “Dappling?” – something like that. Strip just enough fly line that gravity can drop the fly off your rod, a short leader, and simply dangle the fly twitching on the water (your fly line never touches the water, only the leader)-- while hiding behind a big rock or willow thicket.
Worked great – and was really the only option besides fishing downstream on a drift.
Thats what I’m talking about! I know that area but havent been able to fish it this summer. Another place I suspect there may be some rock climbing involved is the Middle St. Vrain above Buttonrock Reservoir and below the bridge at peak to peak. It is gold medal water but there just ain’t no easy way to access it. The maps I have show a pretty good vertical drop down the trail there. I dont’ think there are any crowds there, and I wouldn’t want to go alone there. A cell phone isn’t going to do you any good if you get hurt.
Thats something to consider when you are getting in the outback. If you get hurt you may not be able to get help. I. E. the Ranger that died recently in RMNP. Safety first.
Thanks for the info I’m looking up Joe Humphreys now. As Danbob said a lot of streams in our area are in that category. They are small, typically in canyons with dense trees and vegetation. And with the increasing beetle kill a lot of deadfall. The streams have a high gradient with lots of pocket water.
Most of this is on forest service land that over the years has probably been a little overprotected in terms of fire control.
a tip is to keep the rods bag with you and use it while walking around to prevent getting tangled in the bushes.The rod obviously has to be taken down.
I just ordered Joe Humphreys video and found a lot of references online including a good article from a flyshop in PA called Fly Fishers Paradise. A fellow said he’s wore out two copies of it over the years. The video itself was a little hard to find though.
A neat trick that he mentioned was cutting up neoprene (maybe from an old wader) and aquasealing them to the knees of hipboots or waders for all that sneakin around that you have to do.
There’s an article here on FAO from Our Man in Canada thats good also on small stream fishing.
I learned a trick recently from a guy in my fly fishing club. He refered to it as “archer casting”. I immediately thaught he was refering to bow fishing, but he then demonstrated a cast. If you practice it, I guess you can get pretty accurate. The technique is as follows:
pull off desired amount of line and leader from the reel (perhaps 10-12 feet beyond the end of the rod). Grab the fly by the hook with a forceps or needle nose fishing pliers or gently pinch a section of tippet ahaed of the fly. Extend the rod outward and point it to the the target area for your cast. Of course you should not bend the rod hard over, but let it load up a little tension and release the leader.
I haven’t tried this method in a fishing scenario yet. Hower it is supposed to be used for small brushy streams where there is no way to aerialize any line for a cast. I think I will still prefer the roll cast or simply dangling my fly, but this may be worth investigating for these small streams with wild trout that are brushed over.
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