Exploring nature is one of the greatest joys of fly fishing and fishing small, off-the-beaten-path creeks and streams can be great fun when your favorite tailwaters are full of peak season crowds and trains of drift boats. But some people love “blue lining” so much they choose to do it most days of the year. In some places, it is one of the only viable options to find wild fish high in the headwaters of the river system.
Before you grab your rod and start fishing you need to find a stream or creek to explore. This can often be the hardest part of the process, besides bushwhacking through alders and thorns, when mapping out a bluelining trip. Additionally, you need the right tactics and gear to maximize the fun and efficiency of the trip.
Small water ranges from medium-sized streams 30 feet wide to tiny mountain streams measuring a foot or two across. There are differences in approach and method when fishing these wide ranges of water but for the most part, finding and accessing the water remains the same.
Finding Small Water
Finding the right creek is the hardest part of fly fishing small water and people are not apt to tell you the exact honey-hole they worked hard to find over years of exploration. But lucky for you, it is now easier than ever to find small water filled with trout. Searching the internet, examining detailed maps, and walking extensive trail systems will bring you to your next great adventure.
Internet Resources
Google Maps is your best friend when it comes to sleuthing out the next awesome creek to cast a line and I can attest to spending countless hours surfing through drainages and satellite images of likely water. My saved waypoints number in the hundreds and many I have never or will never get the chance to go and chase.
The best way to search for likely streams is to work through a larger river system and find a smaller, but still decently sized tributary that enters the river or lake, then find a smaller creek shooting off of that stream until you get to a desired location or stream size. Sometimes it is the first tributary you find off of the mainstem of the river but oftentimes there's a series of stream branches you work through until you find the right location.
Additionally, Googling the stream can sometimes yield random blog posts, fishing forum topics, and data collection forms that can give additional context for your exploration. There are very few streams in most states that have not been fly-fished and documented to some extent. This is especially true for significant tributaries of major river systems that have easy access. But there will be some creeks for the more adventurous angler that will have zero information and little access in the way of roads. These are some of the most rewarding destinations and some of the most disappointing streams as well. But if anything, you can count on being engulfed in the natural beauty trout streams offer fly anglers.
Put in the Leg Work
Analyze the fishery of the entire system to judge whether or not fish will be active in these upper tributaries during the summer months when bluelining conditions are optimal. Do they seek cold water refuge in the upper tributaries? Are there trout throughout the entire system? Does the stream have any blockages or barriers preventing fish passage? These factors will determine whether or not you will find a healthy trout population in these tributaries. But there are no surefire ways to tell if there are fish unless you go and check it out for yourself.
Look for trails that follow the stream and public roads that cross the target water for easier access. But sometimes making your path is the only option. Take long walks up the creek bed or trails to determine if any water is available to harbor fish.
A fly shop is a central part of fly fishing culture but I wouldn’t count on getting the juiciest spots from the employees as small stream locations are the most closely guarded secrets for a fly angler and they often come from hard work and fishless days. When working at a shop in Montana I remember a customer coming in asking where he could catch big fish in a small creek and I just smiled knowing it would take an army to tear that information away from any fly angler. So, instead, I gave him the short version of this blog post and pointed him to the more popular small creeks right near town.
Put in the miles and the research to find your piece of water. It is an incredibly rewarding experience and leads to the best days on the water.
Rods for Small Creeks
The rod you use for small water will depend on the size of flies you use and the size of fish in the stream. Many people opt for a short rod, around 7.5 feet, but a long rod will work just as well if not better. In many small streams, some obstacles create challenges for anglers such as; downed logs, overhanging branches, and bushes on the backcast. The right-sized rod will help manage these obstacles and give you the best fly presentation.
Rod Length
While a short rod is a ton of fun, it can have limitations due to its length. The reach is severely impacted which means it can be tough to dap flies into pockets or keep the line off of obstacles in front of you. Rod tip control is important when operating a 9-foot rod in tight conditions but in my mind, the advantages outweigh the negatives.
I find when using my 7.5-foot glass rod it fails to reach above tall grass or bushes on my backcast and requires more attention than when using a standard-length rod. The longer rod also supplies better mending capabilities, which helps your presentation.
But in extremely tight quarters a shorter rod will have the edge over a standard 9-footer but in my experience in Idaho, Montana, and Oregon there have not been many streams where a drastically shorter rod was necessary.
That being said, use the rod you enjoy casting and experiment with what works for you. There are many ways to be successful on the water.
Additionally, remember it is not the equipment but usually the angler that makes mistakes. Practice awkward casts in the yard and prepare to make unconventional motions. There are very few times, no matter where you are fishing, that require an angler to make a cast with no obstacles.
Rod Weight
When choosing the weight of a rod it is ultimately up to the angler on what they prefer to cast and what flies they like to use. If they enjoy casting hopper dropper rigs with larger foam patterns then a 4 wt rod would be my desired weight for the job because it still packs the power to turn over relatively air-resistant multi-fly rigs.
But a three-weight can be a fair option as well if you are not using bushy flies and still want to throw a dry-dropper. A three-weight is a great all-around small creek rod. It can perform on bigger pieces of water where light presentation is important and it can make playing a six-inch fish fun as well. They protect light tippets well and can still handle a fairly large fish with the right angler on the reel side of the rod.
But there are always exceptions and if an angler is simply always targeting small fish in small water with small flies then you might want a 0-2 weight rod.
Flies for Small Streams
Fly selection on small streams is not usually vital, especially if you are fishing in less pressured areas but it is still important to have a good selection of bugs in your box. Here is a list of flies that are a necessity when I visit a small stream.
1. Chubby
The greatest dry fly ever made makes the list as a good small creek fly. Smaller sizes, from 10-16, will be the best options but trout are often opportunistic in small water and are often eager to accept bigger offerings. Have a range of colors, purple, pink, tan, and orange are some of my favorite colors.
2. Purple Haze
This bright flashy fly imitates the small aquatic insects that inhabit small streams. It could be
a caddis or mayfly, but I know opportunistic fish have no issue slurping this pattern.
3. Parachute Adams
The Adams is a classic that should be in every anglers box no matter the state or region. It is a do it all dry that just looks buggy. The drab gray dubbing keeps it simple for hungry fish. Have a range of
sizes to imitate the various mayflies and caddis on the water.
4. Elk Hair Caddis
Another staple pattern is the multi-purpose elk hair caddis for small stream fly fishing. Dead drift
in a riffle or skitter across a pool to attract the attention of a hungry fish. A larger caddis can
hold a dropper and they float high enough in the water to act as a good indicator. A caddis hatch is
not needed to fish this fly as it has an extremely buggy profile.
5. Pheasant Tail
A pheasant tail is a quintessential fly fishing pattern that will never go out of style. Fish it near the
surface to imitate an emerging insect or fish it just off the bottom to imitate a dislodged mayfly
nymph tumbling through the water. I prefer the flashback style as it draws a bit more attention to the pattern in darker water.
6. Perdigon
Sinks like a rock and fish love them, so make sure perdigons in a variety of colors and sizes find their way into your box. I prefer purple, olive, and pink colors but the possibilities are endless.
Best Time of Year to Blueline
Bluelining can be a year-round pursuit if you are willing to brave cold temperatures and tough water conditions to find your fish in small streams. But for the majority of the time I like to reserve my small stream fishing for summer and fall. This varies on the type of water body you are fishing, but generally, the smaller tributaries are at higher elevations, are easily affected by rain and snowmelt, and are less accessible in the winter and spring months.
This will differ if you can find spring influences and spring creeks that remain at steady flows and temps throughout the year. Fish will seek thermal refuge in these springs during the extreme temperatures of summer and winter. But these are not the usual but if they are available in your area then give them a go.
For the classic freestone stream, the winter will leave it swamped in snow, at least in the Rocky Mountain West, while the West Coast mountains will receive copious amounts of snow and rain. This is fantastic for the future productivity of the stream but does not always leave the most desirable conditions to go fly fish.
One of the drawing factors to fishing a small stream is dry fly fishing. The most amount of insect availability will begin in late spring and extend through the summer. Once the major hatches have died off then it becomes attractor dry time, start throwing terrestrials and bigger dries. Size your flies to the fish as well as the insects. Even if 2 inch-long grasshoppers are flying along the creek that does not mean you want to throw them to six-inch trout. Size down to your fish size for the best catch rates.
Fall will feature the lowest flows of the season and the hungriest fish as they bulk up for winter months of limited food availability. Make sure you pay attention to stream temperature in the hottest months of July-September even if it is a higher elevation tributary. Many streams will stay cold even in the summer because they are usually well-shaded by streamside vegetation and fed by snowmelt and groundwater.
When fishing small streams in the summer and fall months, don't be surprised to find bigger specimens of trout lurking in the deepest holes because as temps heat up the larger fish will search for cold water refuge to hang out before venturing out to the mainstem of a system.
Be cautious during the autumn as some fish begin to spawn in October and this can continue into the mid-winter depending on the conditions. Try not to disturb spawning fish and avoid treading on likely spawning grounds. Brook trout and brown trout are the most likely suspects to find spawning at this time.
Unless the stream you plan on fishing has some form of controlled water flow in the form of a dam or a spring-fed source then the Spring season will be filled with heavy flows and tough wading. I prefer to target tailwaters during this time of the year rather than chase a few fish in a torrent of water. But if you do plan on fishing this time of year make sure you are prepared with heavier nymphs and streamers to help combat the high flows.
Wading Gear and Accessories
When wading small streams I prefer to bring as little gear with me as possible. Most of the time it is wet wading season so I leave the waders at home and keep it simple with neoprene booties and wading boots. A small pack can be useful to bring but do not feel like you need to bring every box of flies. Try to narrow down the selection to what you think will work on the specific water body that day. Take a good variety but leave behind the excess.
Oftentimes, the hike is sizable to access these streams and the weight and bulk of excess gear can be irritating and unneeded. That being said I can be pretty bad about convincing myself I need every box. Maybe try abandoning a pack and simply taking what can fit in the pockets of your wading pants.
A net can be unnecessary unless you are targeting relatively big fish in these creeks. Most of the time I find myself wrangling small fish in quickly enough that there is no need to hold them in a net to pop the hook and let them go. A good pair of sunglasses is a must all the time you are on the water. It can make for some exciting sight fishing as well if the water is low and clear.
Get Out and Explore
Crowded rivers and the dog days of summer do not have to put a hold on your days of fly fishing in peace. Pick a blue line on a map and take a walk, you might just surprise yourself how much fun it can be to explore the paradise around your town or national forest. As always, respect your state fishing regulations and check to make sure you are in season when targeting trout in small streams.
It may be February at the time of writing but this gives us plenty of time to sift through pins on the map and plan out the summer's adventure. Tight lines.
If you want to explore the streams and rivers of Central Oregon with a guide then consider taking a trip with me to the variety of local streams and rivers.
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