This one’s about using streamers to find the biggest trout in the smallest waters. Our job for this episode is to highlight the changes we make, or the different strategies we might have, for fishing streamers in small waters vs the bigger ones.
Articles in the Category Small Streams
PODCAST: The Blue Liner’s Bible — Nymphs On Small Streams (S16, Ep4)
In this fourth episode of the Blue Liner’s Bible, we talk about nymphing on small waters. We first discuss when and where we might turn to nymphs, and then we break down the adaptations for different styles.
PODCAST: The Blue Liner’s Bible — Dry Flies On Small Streams (S16, Ep3)
We walk through the gear, the approach, the casting, some philosophies and strategies for fishing dry flies on small streams. This topic is at the heart of the Blue Liner’s Bible. It’s a great conversation, with a few stories and a lot of information.
PODCAST: The Blue Liner’s Bible — Finding the Right Water (S16, Ep2)
Find good access to cold water and a great trout population. Then learn to identify primary and secondary water within a small stream.
PODCAST: The Blue Liner’s Bible — The Good and Bad of Small Stream Fishing (S16, Ep1)
With cold flows and eager trout, mountain water and small stream fishing can provide the perfect setup, the perfect escape, if you’re willing to put in the effort. There are some truly wonderful things about small stream fishing, and learning to work these waters teaches us everything we need to know about fishing any trout water. But the challenges can turn many people off as well.
VIDEO/AUDIO: Riverside — Twelve Small Stream Fly Casting Tips
With all the right tools of rod, line, and leader, with all the knowledge about casting options, and with serious dedication to line speed, you need just one more thing.
Guts. Courage. Fortitude.
A willingness to fail.
Take your shots. That’s the only way toward a real education on small streams. Make the casts you think you can’t make. Eventually, instinct takes over and the fly goes into tighter targets than you ever thought possible . . .
Fish and Film – Mountain Water Memories (Dry Flies, Dry Dropper and Wild Trout)
Deep into the fall season, I revisited one of the most important small streams in my life. I fished dry flies and dry dropper. Fishing was technical at times, and the weather swayed from sunny skies to strong winds that created a canvas of colored leaves, until eventually concluding with a cold, calm rain near the end of the day.
But as great as the fishing was, all of it was secondary to the memories, both old and new, among the minor waterfalls of a steep canyon valley.
Twelve Small Stream Fly Casting Tips
With all the right tools of rod, line, and leader, with all the knowledge about casting options, and with serious dedication to line speed, you need just one more thing.
Guts. Courage. Fortitude.
A willingness to fail.
Take your shots. That’s the only way toward a real education on small streams. Make the casts you think you can’t make. Eventually, instinct takes over and the fly goes into tighter targets than you ever thought possible . . .
Favorite Small Stream Leader — Formula, Reasons and Stories
This small stream leader provides the control to cast through the brush yet still achieve good dead drifts on the dry fly. It’s tailor made for precision dry fly fishing in the brush, but it’s versatile enough to fish other styles. For me, this is the perfect small stream leader, and it’s been with me for a very long time.
That kind of control is exactly what is needed on small streams with cover. You can do magic tricks with the fly, twisting around corners and dipping it just inches under the next tree branch. Sure the cast matters most, but a leader that’s built for the job goes hand in hand, completing a system built for the challenges of small trout streams.