Take the average flow on the water you fish and any submerged structure into account. Sometimes trout in a deep pool that won’t come to the surface for your dry (or don’t see it) can be fooled on a nymph.
Yes.For a primer on nymph fishing, check out TFO advisorHowever, if there’s a hatch, bring your dry-fly box. Because fish need oxygen, and faster water creates oxygen.And even in cooler weather, fish still hold in the faster water, if there’s quality subsurface structure.
Probably not. You won’t be able to see the smaller terrestrial, but you’ll know if a trout takes it when the high-floating dry darts upstream.How about streamers? Was it pretty? The good thing about probing the riffles is the fish have to make a decision whether to eat quickly.
Why? Typically, the tail yields a big fish or two. Trout stomach content analysis done by scientists has shown that up to 90% of a trout’s diet in small streams is terrestrial insects, and that percentage seldom falls below 50%. An Elk Hair Caddis does a fine job of imitating a moth in size 12 and 14, and a leafhopper in smaller sizes. Be patient. If not, reach for a subsurface fly. Minnows and crayfish do live in small streams but since most trout in small streams are not much bigger than the streamers you might fish on a big river, keep your streamers to a size that won’t threaten these little guys.Because small stream trout are opportunists and will usually rise for anything that resembles food, larger (size 10-14) dries and nymphs work better here than they do on most large rivers, where trout can feed selectively on smaller but more abundant aquatic insects. In small streams, the shorter your casts the more successful you’ll be—as long as you make a careful approach. I don’t think you’ll find them as effective as dries and nymphs, but early in the season you can sometimes do well with a small (size 10 or 12) Woolly Bugger, Blacknose Dace, or a Mickey Finn. Some days on the water, I want to keep busy. Fortunately, a more experienced fisherman pointed me toward the local mountain streams. I remember thrashing about in the brush on a technical spring creek. Nothing. Nearly all of my fishing is in small streams; between wading along both banks I seldom need to cast out more than 20' or so and the fly tackle gives me more control in the shorter casts around brush, rocks and logs in the water. Even though you now know that small stream trout eat a lot of terrestrials, many of the terrestrial imitations designed for spring creeks and other quiet waters are tough to fish in small streams. The dry acts as your indicator and at least half of the fish you catch will be on the dry, but now you’re covering the subsurface feeders as well.
This is why many small stream fly fishers prefer Superfine Trout Bums. They don’t have time to be picky.I remember wading as little as possible at first because I feared spooking fish, so I stayed on the bank. These are great methods to produce results in large waterways, but are ill-suited for small creeks, tributaries, side channels, and the small spots in and around fish-holding structure. Retrieving a streamer and really working a section of dark, deep water can be rewarding. The reason is simple and well known: big flies catch big fish. It took me a good six months to figure out that nugget of information.I started fly fishing on Virginia’s Mossy Creek because I thought that venue was my only option, which led to months of futility and frustration.
So I tied on my go-to bass fly and started slapping the water with this heavy streamer. Small streams generally aren't deep, but you still need to be able to fish the entire column of the pool.
Thank goodness I had someone help me navigate the learning curve.Even with assistance, take these tips one at a time. However, small streams do host aquatic insect larvae, plus terrestrials get pulled under the surface, so nymphs are effective as well. The banks of small streams are alive with ants, beetles, crickets, inchworms, spiders, grasshoppers, crickets, and leafhoppers. Streamer Fishing is the ACT of fly casting and retrieving the streamer fly. To push these bigger, more wind-resistant flies, it’s more efficient to use a 4 or 5-weight line than a delicate 2- or 3-weight. With time, everything will come together, and consistent success will be that much more rewarding.