Fly Fishing the Small Feeder Stream
The brilliant learn from the mistakes of others, the smart learn from their own mistakes, and the stupid, well, the stupid just don't catch too many trout.
Properly approaching a small stream is one of those things you can read about a million times and not really understand until you totally screw it up. I remember two trout that I spooked, one was tiny, but the other, well it was the big one that got away. As a teenager I fished a small stream that was full of tiny trout until you got within a half mile of the main stem where the population thinned out but became a lot larger. For some reason I was fishing downstream, (yes, I know that is backwards) and as I walked toward a riffle, I spotted a 4 inch brookie facing directly toward me. I was wearing a white shirt which must have been like a waving flag against the dark green canopy. About the same time I noticed him, he noticed me and calmly swam a foot to the right to disappear into a dark covered slot between two rocks. Lessons learned: do not fish downstream because the fish are usually facing upstream, and quit wearing clothes that don’t blend in with the surroundings!!
Later that same summer I spooked a nicer trout on a different small stream. I assumed it was a brook trout but could have been a brown. In its upper reaches, this small stream descended rapidly in oxygenated, cold, fast riffles punctuated by short undercuts and small root choked holes. I was bouncing from undercut to undercut, and as I approached one that was particularly full of large maple roots I spotted a large chunk of tree bark, probably over a foot long swirling in the fast current at the tail of the undercut. Funny thing was, that ‘bark’ never floated up or got washed into the next riffle. It was a big trout chowing down on some hapless terrestrial, probably a grasshopper or worm. No doubt it spotted my full height profile, and went under its root refusing to emerge. I rested that hole and fished it again an hour later, but with no success.
Small stream fishermen who are successful almost never stroll along the bank; they creep along to keep a low profile. An otter or raccoon, the natural predators of the small stream certainly don’t present the invasive shadow and silhouette of a human being, which explains why that trout went down and stayed down.
Small stream fishermen who are successful wear clothes that blend in with their background. They take time to occasionally look behind themselves to see exactly what habitat they need to match. I always keep several shirts in the car or plan my wardrobe based on my prior knowledge of the small stream of the day. If I am in a place that requires the display of one’s fishing license, I take care to post it on the back of my hat; I want the game warden, not the trout, to see it. I also try to eliminate shiny buttons, buckles, and any reflective surfaces. Your small stream rods should probably feature black line guides instead of chrome, and I prefer matte or satin rod finishes instead of high gloss. This may be overkill, since the spinning rig I used as a kid was bright sky blue, and even so, I landed hundreds of trout with it. I wouldn’t want my chrome tip top to be the last thing a big trout sees before he dives for cover.
Small stream trout fishing is a lot like still hunting. Anticipate where your quarry will be, and plan your approach so you fit in as part of the naturally occurring landscape. Plan your attack on each hole in detail, and implement Plan B if the trout are not where you thought they would be or they refuse your offering. This will allow you to delicately back out, clip the wrong fly, tie on a new fly where the trout can't see you, and present it in the right spot.
When still hunting, I park the car and walk as fast as I can to my hunting area, once there, I slow down, often taking a break to let the woods settle, and ease myself from the real world into the world of nature, where things move along on their own and my intrusion must be minimal or it is not welcome in any way. Since Small Stream Trout Fishing is not about stocking the icebox, taking a contemplative break streamside is a great way to start the day. It is a chance to check out the water and look ahead to the first hole. See the forage that is in the water: nymphs, mayflys, grasshoppers, ants, beetles and tie on a representative fly. I often use binoculars to look ahead when hunting, and that is not a bad idea when fishing. I like to travel light so a small pocket binoc is just what the doctor ordered. With it you can check out the surface of a hole to look for rises, or anything else that will help you plan.
Just as deer hunting is much more that tramping through the woods with rifle in hand, small stream trout fishing is more than stroll and troll. Those who slow down, observe the surroundings, and plan ahead will have more productive and memorable days on the water.