During the past weeks, I've found myself repeatedly returning to our fine small streams right along the Wasatch front.
Now that the weather has cooled, I have my favorite pools and runs all to myself again. No longer must I silently curse when I find them occupied by noisy splashing children or sweaty city dwellers cooling their feet on the sweltering days of summer.
The fish, though definately not trophy-sized, are feisty and very willing to take almost any well-placed caddis or mayfly immitation - as long as they are not spooked, or the fly lost to a tree first...
It is a different sort of challenge to the kind of fishing I find myself doing in the summer, where it's all big rivers - a match-the-hatch, cover-the-water, pound-the-ground approach to finding the fish.
On a small stream, the work becomes much more deliberate, delicate, and calculating. A likely lie must be approached with stealth, keeping low to the bank (my knees are still killing me), getting into position where a cast can be made without snagging trees or other obstacles. The presentation must be light and the line clear of the fish's suspected location. One false move, and the hole may be spooked - leaving me to scout for other prime spots while I let the first settle for a while.
The strikes are often strong and hard (and awesome!), and these wild little fish in the cold, clear water put up a surprising fight - especially when one uses a 2wt rod.
Fish over a foot long can be found hiding in the shallowest of runs, where the banks are no more than a few feet accross. It never ceases to amaze me - the amount of life these small, small streams support.
Did I mention - Cuts too!?
![[Image: gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=90726]](http://www.bigfishtackle.com/forum/Utah_Fishing_Forum_C55/Utah_Fly_Fishing_F140/gforum.cgi?do=post_attachment;postatt_id=90726)
It is
beautiful.
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Great post kim and well told. I found myself day dreaming for a minute after reading it.
That is a very respectable trout...nice. Pm me where abouts, not asking for secret hole or anything like that.
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Great story and reminds me of this quote:
Dorothy: "if I ever go looking for my heart's desire again, I won't look any further than my own back yard."
I need to try fishing just up the road.
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Fishing small spring creeks with my 2wt or 3wt rods is one of my all time favorite types of fishing.
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This brings up a question.. Im wondering if you or anyone could share some tips on approaching a small river or creek this time of year? I fish the Ogden frequently this time of year and the fish are spooky x 1000 especially up in the canyon. I understand the general things like stay low and move slowly. but even if I can sneak up on them..first cast or two and they scatter. This has been one of my weak points so any advice would be appreciated.
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Fish upstream. Approach from below. Stay out of the water if you can. Long leader, even though its tiny water. 12-15 feet so you can use several feet of tippet. Land the fly softly. Use a fly that doesn't make a splash, meaning usually small. Dry is stealthier than wet or split shot or indicators. Don't pick up to cast until the fly has drifted well past the fish or target area. One or two false casts, not over the water. Some will spook anyway. Just forget about them and move on. The first cast is the best cast. Each after that drop the odds considerably. Make the first one right down "main street."
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I'm no expert, but here's a couple ideas...
If you're not working in too tight of spots - use a long leader, and try to keep most of your line off the water if possible.
My newish 6' 2wt has been a boon to stream fishing, not just because I can cast better in overgrown spaces (!!), but because the lighter line is much easier to lay down softly compared to my 6wt.
Fishing faster water that has some ripples, or putting broken water in between you and the fish, should help. Their field of vision is not as wide or detailed then as on smooth water (this is what I have to do a lot when Kota accompanies me) and also they will be less likely to be disturbed by your casting and moving around.
Don't get in the water if you don't have to. In a old fishing movie I watched once, they said that's pretty much the only way the fish can hear you. Apparently, not so much if you're just talking or walking along out of the water. I dunno.
Kind of a stretch, but I have also heard that wearing neutral-colored clothing helps. If all else fails.... [url "http://www.fishouflageapparel.com/"]http://www.fishouflageapparel.com/[/url] !
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Ha! You must of made your post as I was writing mine. Good to know we think alike on most points [
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Thanks both of you for the advice.
The area I like to fish is extremely tight and overgrown. Its also impossible to fish from the bank. Basically a fly fishing nightmare as far as overhanging trees..but that's probably why its stacked with fish.haha! Hopefully I can get out in the next couple days and try a new approach.
As far as wearing neutral colors... I already do that. I have camo waders. Im really not sure how much of a difference it makes but im sure it doesn't hurt. I didn't get camo specifically for this type of situation.. That's just what I happened to buy.
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Small streams and autumn are the perfect match. It doesn't get much better than that.
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Great tips on not spooking fish. I like to use a dryfly for a indicator, or as small an indicator as possible, and no weights or as little weight as possible. As to not splash or make noise with my casts. Combine this with fishing steeper sections of stream with faster current / more ripples, to give a little stealth to your pressentation.
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Lot of good advise on fishing small streams. When dries aren't producing don't be afraid to use nymphs. The key to not spooking the fish with a heavy nymph is just to cast upstream a bit further than where the fish most likely lie. I frequently use size 10 tungsted bh nymphs in all but the very smallest waters I fish (< 10 cfs) and even then a size 12-14 works well on the smallest waters for me. Train your dog or dog(s) in my case well not to spook fish by not running upstream and being obedient on commands. I remember once on tiny Leeds Creek my dogs running up the right side of the creek despite my commands not to. Being the only castable water for a hundred yards because of the brush around I fished it anyways. Caught 3 footlong cutts in the next 20 yards. They all I had a right eye cataract and hadn't seen my dogs run up the right bank. It was a little freaky catching 3 in a row but figured they all where from the same brood and had something genetic going on.
As far as fishing hearing/ feeling vibrations from you I'm not sure it's much of an issue when in the water downstream from them. I've yet to see a fish spook from me yelling at my dogs not to cross the stream. I've done that hundreds of times when fish are in front of me. Sometimes I'll have the fish literally a foot or 2 directly upstream from me and even then they don't react.
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Nice fish for the skinny water. I am glad you feel compelled to share. I love the small streams!
The cutts look like Bonneville Cutts. May have some rainbow in their ancestry, but if so it doesn't look like much. They look like regular Bonnies.
If it is the pink color on the sides that you are wondering about, that is regular coloration for Bonneville cutts. It gets more pronounced the closer we get to the spring spawn.
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More nice pics. I had a fun little small stream excursion a couple of weeks ago. I love the colors of the browns this time of year. I thought I'd share some of my pics.
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[inline "brown 2 small.jpg"]
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[inline "brown 4 small.jpg"]
[inline "brown 5 small.jpg"]
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It was the pink on the sides that was throwing me off. Also the lack of any reddish "cutthroat" cutthroat markings on any of them. I fished the Snake a lot as a kid and I guess I always think of Yellowstone cutts when I think cutts. Just a bit different, but I should have known.
Sure is nice though, any time I can get something besides a Brown or a Rainbow around here. I think "gee, this is neat!"
Greg - those are some great looking fish. You're seriously making me want to take a mental health day off from work tomorrow.
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Riverdog, forgot to mention that I laughed when I read the 3 fish with the cararacts in one hole story. That is crazy!
I suppose I could have it worse. But Kota always insists on standing right in front of me and watching the fly/indicator. Really. It's only inconventient on the small steams when I am trying to keep my distance from the fish, but still be able to cast to them easily.
My only guess is it's something she learned as a pup. As long as I am fishing she will just stand there and watch and watch and nothing seems to distract her. Oddly she doesn't really care when I catch one either(?) But she is a most excellent fishing buddy.
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Thanks. I know how you feel about taking a sick day to get out again. This gorgeous weather is killing me, and I'm booked up until the end of the month. I'm crossing my fingers for a mild day the week after Thanksgiving.
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