"Micro" stream fishing

[djmyers]

I have a new found respect for yall who fish in those "micro" streams for those wild brookies!!!! I attempted my hand at it this morning but no luck to me. I ended up just watching the fish work. I just don't have the skills yet to be fishing those little areas. Would have loved to catch those beautiful brookies this morning but, I just didn't have the stealthfulness or the finess to get through all the brush or to have my fly rod get through all that stuff. My hat is off to all yall that are successful at it!! :-D

 

[mattd]

Dont give up. Takes alot of tangles and spooks before you get used to it. Just keep trying and remember when fishing these streams there are no rules. Be inventive. I've climbed trees, layed in the water, crawled, and hid behind anything that provides cover. Practice practice practice.

 

[DJB66]

just keep trying,When I was young that was all we had to fish and now at 41 I still love to fish them "micro " streams.When I started fishing them when I was about 8 it was just with a stick and some fishing line with (sorry to say this ...worms...) But even now there is no better fight than an 8 inch native.Just remember keep low to the ground try to keep the flyline off the water as much as possible and keep the flys small.Keep it up and enjoy.

 

[jayL]

Take a sandwich and a flask next time.

The trout don't matter. Just find a nice place to chill out with nature and enjoy yourself.

The fish will come eventually, but just enjoy your time out there alone. That's most important.

Oh, and all the above advice is good too!

T minus a few hours til sal comes in and writes a tome about this. He loves it too much not to.

 

[troutbert]

When the water is very low and clear, it's tough because the trout are very spooky. Go after a rain puts some water in the creek and it's not nearly as hard.

 

[mattd]

It rains in PA? I wish.

 

[shipnfish2006]

That would be pretty cool to see that wet stuff again. I can pretty much jump across most of the wild streams I fish.

 

[mattd]

Doesn't look good around here Ship. Got a few drips this morning but the heavy stuff is to our east. All year either west of us or east of us.

 

[jayL]

About the rain:

It's very soggy here today. I'm near villanova for work, but it was pouring in philly this morning.

Valley in a few days anyone? hmm...

Anyone back toward Reading wanna tell me if this will give the Tully a shot in the arm? I'm not sure what the weather looks like back that way today.

 

[nimrod]

A drop or two is all that showed up out here so the Tully isn't over its banks.

79 cfs discharge from the dam as we speak.

 

[brookieaddict]

If i had to give up eveything but one it would be wild trout or as you call it "micro stream" hunting. I call it hunting because it is , short light rods, and you never know what you'll see next. Bring lots of flys and pratice roll casts and chucking. Good hunting.

 

[djmyers]

At this point I only have an 8.5' 5wt. as I have just started fly fishing this year. I found it extremely difficult to deliver my fly. One problem was that my leader was too long. But there is no chance to really cast in this stream. The stream, at it's widest points is probably only 4' across and is very thick on both sides of the stream. If I catch something here it will be extremely rewarding, even for the little 4" I saw when I spooked them.

I just have to try some of the techniques that were suggested here a while ago. Hopefully I can be successful at some of them. I am just not used to ever fishing water this little. I hope to one day be able to catch one of this wild little guys.

If you were to fish streams this size regularly, what rod size would you recommend? Would you go for a real short one? Or do I just need to figure out how to manuver my long rod?

 

[shipnfish2006]

Theres such a sharp learning curve when fishing those types of streams that a lot of beginning fisherman give up before they ever really get into because it can be as you've seen SOOO frustrating to cast a big rod in a small place, especially if you're used to a 5' spinning rod in places like that. I think you can fish with the rod you have and be successful, but if you know that you like this type of fishing and you're going to do a good bit of it then a 7-7'6" rod might be your next purchase. I wouldn't go smaller unless you know that you're gonna fish a lot of 4' thick brushy streams where casting is near impossible in anyway. I have a 5' and it is truly a specialty rod and I wouldn't suggest to too many people.

But back to fishing with your rod you just need to adjust your casting to keeping your line low and making short casts, accuracy and the perfect cast isn't everything on these streams. Believe me once you get this type of fishing uder your belt you will quickly find yourself adjusting in other tough conditions. Enjoy the curve because once you get around it, you'll never wanna stop chasing those beautiful fish!

 

[jayL]

One trick I use is to let the line wash downstream of the hole. This loads my rod and I can effectively flip it upstream with a decently tight loop. Make sure the current puts decent tension on the line first. Give it a try. That was the first specialty small stream cast that I mastered among the hundreds of useful ones. Also use the slingshot cast where you literally hold your fly and pull back to slingshot it forward.

 

[mattd]

I do 95% of my fishing with my wife. This allows me to bring 2 rods and we just take turns so we have a choice. I have my 7'6" 3wt for most situations and she has a 5'6" 4wt for the tough spots. On most streams I will need both rods but depending on the surroundings i never know which one I'll use more unless I know the stream well. I tought myself how to fly fish on the small streams and I think it helped alot. As soon as I get on a larger stream its easy as pie. Here is a pic of Lands Creek in NC. It ran in front of our cabin on our honeymoon and I had some fun with this one. Most spots looked like this but it did open in couple spots. Lots of work for just a couple wild rainbows but it was worth it. This was taken after a thunderstorm so the water is actually up a touch.

 

[Chaz]

There's no learning curve, you just go after a rain and use a big fly, on any stream with brookies and you'll catch them. You need to learn to cast acurately and this can be practiced in the ard using any debris for a target. I practice in the yard and I've been fishing flies for years.

Rain is important this time of the year, if you haven't had any fish the limestone streams they've always got more water.

At the house we had nearly an inch of rain while Reading area barely got wet. The Poconos got much needed rain up to 2 inches.NC PA got a little rain but they need a week of it. It's really bad up there.

 

[fly_flinger]

Does anyone know if Sal is OK? This post has been here since yesterday and nothing from one of the biggest brookie lovers around. And no new pictures in a few days. Hmmmmm???

 

[brookieaddict]

I am sitting here post gallblader/ hernia surgery that was done four hours ago i dont know Sal but i hope he is fareing better than me lol. The vicadin is kicking in so i am sorry for words that are unrecognizable. I broke a two piece rod off at the ferell a few years ago, glued a cheap reel seat on it and wa-la a mtn stream rod was born. Reels are for keeping line off of the ground and out of bushes, buy a cheap one it dont matter up there, Brookies cant tell the dofference between a hardy Smuggler and a $ 49.00 Martin. Keep it afordable until you either get addicted or hate the words Brookie and Mtn. used in the same sentence. Cabellas and Bass Pro both have great packages that come in 6 to 6 1/2 ft lenghts. I think a three weight is ideal but i like my 2. I bought a Cabellas PT 6 ft in 2 weight and it has as much back bone as many 3's and a LSR reel to keep me out of the bushes and off the rock crevases retreiving my line. I am by no means toutin their wares i would like to buy local but i cant find anything under 8 ft. Snakes are a part of true wilderness Trout Hunting so be realy realy realy aware and look before you cross over dead falls and dont put your hands into anything that you didnt wear in. Try it, it revived me when the light was gone from the tunnel. Hope this helps you out.

 

[djmyers]

Thanks for the rod suggestions!! I will keep my eye open for something like that.

I was trying the slingshot method a little and I found out that those hooks I bought and tied on are nice and sharp. Well they were before they went into my thumb! :-? Someone with an ingenious mind should develop something like is used for archery and mechanical releases. That would be a lot safer for my thumbs! :-D

 

[salvelinusfontinalis]

lol yes im ok. thank u for ur concern :-D i havent been out but i got out today. micro stream fishing is a real talent. besides being stelthy and using caution when approaching the stream, the biggest friend you can have is learning to do unconventional casting. such as a bow and arrow cast. roll casting is very important and side arm casting. i find myself side arm casting most of the time. if you are sitting on the edge of the stream, use a side arm with the legth of the stream. this will keep ya out of the bushes. i have also found that you can cast around a corner. just let the line go late. your fly will angle around a bend. this keeps you out of the fishes line of sight and allows u to get the fly there. just remember a brookie will hit any fly u present, provided u dont get close enough to present it! i love that quote.
on a down note, i was at that stream again with the big browns today. boy are they frustating. i had two takes but those big wilds are so strong they shake thier head hard and rip the fly out. im headin down there everyday this week until i land them.
fish6 - sal0
just wait..... :-D