fishin’ small streams

hey all,

i just read todd’s latest report on Duchee creek. sounds like he did pretty good. thats good to know as i might head out in the next week or two.

i was just wondering how everyone fished a small stream like that. when i try and fish it with my fly rod i can never get enough room to cast far enough up stream with out getting into the water. and when the water is as clear as it is now the trout get spooked by everything. i usually get fed up with all the spooked fish swimming around that i pack up and head to a larger stream or river. is there any secrets out there on fishing small streams more sucsessfully during the winter time???

I fish a lot of small streams. My favorites are Beaver, East Beaver, Duschee, and Garvin Brook. All fo these streams fish fairly similar. On streams such as these I almost always fish standing in the stream and upstream nymph (usually with 2 nymphs a size 16 trailed by a size 18). My favorit nymph patterns include gold ribbed hare’s ear, pheasant tail, and a prince nymph. Others that do produce fish are scuds and midge nymphs. It is an art casting in these streams. My only advice here is practice and don’t get too discouraged. These streams can be VERY productive.

Todd Olson
The Fly Guys Guide Service
EFN Field Staff
[email protected]

oh yeah, i no they can be very productive. the biggest fish i ever caught on a fly rod came out of a dink of a stream.

i have a few question about fishing two flies at the same time. i have never tryed it. i’ve always been afraid of losing 2 flies instead of one, but now i tie my own i don’t have to worry about that. How far apart do you put them? what kind of knot do you use to tie them on? is there a better time to use it then others or do you use 2 all the time? don’t they always get tangled together?

One more thing on small streams – I use a shorter rod when I fish these streams. My rod of choice is a GL3 – 7 1/2 feet. This does help on many of those awkward casts. Hope this helps.

Todd Olson
The Fly Guys Guide Service
EFN Field Staff
[email protected]

As long as you are comfortable with fishing two flies – it is always better than one. I’m not a great knot tyer so I just use a standard fisherman’s knot. I will tie my tippet directly to the lead fly and then 12″-16″ of tippet from the lead fly to the trailing fly. You can either tie the trailing fly to the shank fo the lead fly or to the eye. I prefer tying to the eye (so there are actually two knots in the eye of the lead fly). This is a very productive method, in fact most of the time the trailing fly outfishes the lead fly. As far as casting – it can get ugly, but with a little practice it is quite easy.

Todd Olson
The Fly Guys Guide Service
EFN Field Staff
[email protected]

that sounds easy enough. i’ll definatley give it a try next time i head out.

thanks

No problem – I hope the information helps.

Todd Olson
The Fly Guys Guide Service
EFN Field Staff
[email protected]

Fly Guy

You mention scuds and midge nymphs, what colors or patterns would you recommend? [email protected]

This may be a question better answered by Dave. This is the rig he prefers to fish in the winter. From my own experience #14-#16 scuds in pink or olive work very well. Midge nymphs in sizes 18-22 (black) also work very well. My personal favorite midge nymph pattern is a black pheasant tail in those same sizes.

Todd Olson
The Fly Guys Guide Service
EFN Field Staff
[email protected]

I fish most of my scuds in a #14 size with burnt orange for off colored water and a yellow (amber) color for cleaner waters. I too like the small black PT. I tie mine with a biot tail and a krystal flash body, pull the same biot you used as a tail over for the wingcase. I have more luck with this later in February and into March when trout are beginning to see a whole boatload of maturing nymphs in the stream.

Standard midge patterns are the brassie and midge larvae – both super easy to tie. If you are into larvae patterns, go with a dark gray, black, or brown. I like midge emerger patterns tied with poly-pro (like the Simpleton Midge), so they ride high in the water as the trial my scud.