Fishing Information


Fly Fishing Small Streams


Picture this; you've spent some time hiking into a small stream in the back country. It's early morning, mist is rising and the midges that have been swarming around you are breakfast for the small browns you have come to catch. You quietly walk up to the stream, watching the swirls of rising fish. You tie a nymph onto your leader and step into the water.

A trout skids away from under your feet, its flight sending out warning signals as bright as any neon light. The feeding fish flee in response and you are left with a section of river devoid of all but the midges. Welcome to fly fishing the small stream.

Stop and look before fly fishing the small stream

Before you get into the water stop and look at what is in front of you. This is especially true when approaching the small stream. Trout are well camouflaged, especially when you are looking down into the water. (A good pair of Polaroid glasses helps here.)

I like to make my first cast well back from the waters edge. If there is little cover then I tend to use a long leader and lay the line on the riverbank, allowing only the leader to enter the water, as close to the near bank as possible. That way, if there are any fish lying close under the bank, I will have given them first look at my fly.

Reading the water of the small stream

The waters of the small stream are like those of any river, just on a smaller scale. The fish will be in the same types of water that they would be in if you were fishing any trout stream. When you are fly fishing the small stream, look for those areas that provide the fish with their need for protection from predators, relief from fast flowing currents, and access to food.

Fishing the pocket water

I like to use dry flies when fly fishing pocket water in a small stream. The fish will usually be holding out of the main current but close enough to grab any food that comes floating by, and a drifting fly is often too tempting to resist.

Often it is not necessary to match the fly closely to whatever is hatching. Instead I like to fish a fly that is visible enough for me to see in fast moving water. Something like a light elk hair caddis works well. When the strike comes I can see it and I catch more fish this way than missing the strike by using a less visible, hatch matching fly.

Fly fishing the small stream usually requires a more sensitive approach and a finesse that is not necessary in larger rivers. Experience and practice are the great tellers here. Ability to read the water is more critical as the fish are often more easily spooked than their big water cousins. But when you make your way home at the end of a successful fishing day in the back country you know that the time spent learning to fly fish the small stream has been worthwhile.

About the Author
Dale East is a long time outdoorsman and fly fisher and publisher of Fly Fishing Wyoming


MORE RESOURCES:

Radioactive fish Northern Vermont bass test positive for strontium, cesium
Brattleboro Reformer
By BOB AUDETTE / Reformer Staff BRATTLEBORO -- Fish taken from a lake in northern Vermont had similar levels of strontium-90 and cesium-137 as fish taken from the Connecticut River near Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant in Vernon. During a Feb.

and more »


Family fishing program set, ice or no ice
NEagle
Bring the whole family to learn more about fishing in the chilly winter weather in northeastern Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission Regional Education Specialist Andy Fedor will present information on Pennsylvania fishes, ...

and more »


Small fish in rough seas
The Age
Budi, not his real name, is an accidental people smuggler, if you accept that cooking noodles and keeping the engine going on an unseaworthy fishing boat for a group of desperate asylum seekers constitutes people smuggling.

and more »


Newfoundland and Labrador Compass

Fishing standoff heats up
The Telegram
More than 50 unionized crew members from the fishing trawler Newfoundland Lynx have been locked out by Ocean Choice International. — Photo by Terry Roberts/The Compass Tension between the fisheries union and Ocean Choice International (OCI) has ...
Fishing standoff unfolding in Bay RobertsNewfoundland and Labrador Compass

all 9 news articles »


Outdoor Notes: No ice? Get out there and do some ice fishing anyway
Bucyrus Telegraph Forum
Someone once did a study showing ice fishing is the most productive of all angling sports. Follow a few basic rules, and you can sit over an ice hole and catch bluegill, bass, perch, crappie, even bullheads and channel cats at a rapid rate.
Youth Ice Fishing Day Feb. 18knox.VillageSoup.com
Following guidelines makes ice fishing workMansfield News Journal

all 4 news articles »


Outdoors: Eastern Fishing and Outdoor Exposition at DCU Center
Worcester Telegram
The 36th annual Eastern Fishing and Outdoor Exposition runs Friday through Sunday at Worcester's DCU Center. Exhibitors will showcase tackle, hunting gear, boats, and exciting fishing and hunting trips. The expo is always fun for window shoppers, ...



Wired2Fish (blog)

Being First: A Fishing Strategy for Staying Ahead of the Competition
Wired2Fish (blog)
I'm not talking about a specific fishing hole but the next “piece” of the fishing puzzle that no one else had found that day, that week, that month, that season … yet. I learned at an early age that knowing a good spot was not nearly as effective as ...
Extended fishing report for Feb. 6Santa Rosa Press Democrat (blog)
MN DNR Weekly ReportDuluth News Tribune

all 3 news articles »


Lewiston Sun Journal

Derby, free fishing to take place Feb. 19
Lewiston Sun Journal
Wilton Fish and Game Association will host an ice fishing derby on Free Fishing Day, Sunday, Feb. 19, on Wilson Lake. WILTON — Wilton Fish and Game Association will host an ice fishing derby from 6 am to 4 pm on Free Fishing Day, Sunday, Feb.
Ice-fishing events are at mercy of Mother NatureLake County News Sun
Hundreds gather for Tupper Lake fishing derbyThe Adirondack Daily Enterprise
Lake Colby Fishing Derby March 3, 4North Country Gazette
NewsChannel 9 WSYR -Northumberland Today
all 7 news articles »


Minnesota Ice Fishing Shanty Rentals that Won't Leave You Cold
Yahoo! Sports
Contributor Network Feb 6, 1:59 pm EST Headed to Minnesota for an ice fishing excursion and wondering where you can rent a lake-front cabin and an ice shanty? Well, I have you covered. Looking for copious amounts of perch?

and more »


Homosassa Fishing Report 2/6/12
The Ledger (blog)
I began in waist deep water while wade fishing with Mark Nichols and Jerry McBride of DOA lures. We casted a variety of their artificial baits. They caught a ton of fish and I caught about a half ton using the DOA three inch shrimp and CAL tails near ...
Mother Nature forgot it's wintertime, so let's go fishingTCPalm

all 2 news articles »

Google News

home | site map
© 2007