Small NEPA Stream - Flies for Nov

[supervdl]

Hello everyone, I am a beginner who started earlier this year and I have been lurking around and the forum has helped me a lot with getting started in flyfishing.

I want to go out now on small streams in the Poconos. Water is higher than normal and in the high 40s. Leaves are falling and we had the first frost.

Do you still fish dry flies with or without droppers? Or are you changing to nymphing and streamers like wooly buggers? What are your go to flies this time of the year? Again, this is for smalls streams and not the Brodhead.

Thanks!

 

[Dave_W]

Hi supervdl,
Welcome to our online fly fishing community.

The streams you plan to hit in the Poconos would be the basic streams we would call around here "mountain streams" or small "freestone streams" etc. The methods you would use on them would be typical of those you would use statewide this time of year.

What type of fly you would tie on will depend on conditions. With the conditions you describe, a small, dark colored streamer would be a good choice. Personally, I like dry/dropper methods throughout the year for small mountain streams... however, depending on your level of skill, dry/dropper rigs can be more trouble than they're worth since they require a lot more knot tying and are prone to tangle. Sometimes beginners should stick with one fly.

Most of the time, when small mountain streams are cold, high and have some stain from rain... I expect to catch more fish on nymphs. I like my nymphs for streams like this to have some color to them. Greenweenie type flies are usually good on streams like this.

Good luck with your trip.

 

[Acristickid]

Far from an expert and not from your area - found these flies , tactics to work in the circumstances you observed.

Probably still get some dry Action later in the afternoon once the water warms up- i like to fish dry flies on mountain streams
(Or any other water for that matter).

As far as flies , go with an attractor patterns - I like 12’s and 14’s cause I see them better-Royal Wulff etc. Use heavier tippet like 3 or 4x most of the time - not as leader shy typically. Won’t be very effective in really high water tho.


Probably also gonna be more of a nymphing game. IMO- all you’ll need is pheasant tails, Woolley buggers ,mop fly (I prefer over the weenie) or green weenies in couple medium sizes. Like weight in the fly and not on the line.

These tactics have worked for me in the past and have confidence in using them on smaller freestone streams. Good luck.

 

[Out4Trout]

Send me a pm on the streams you plan to fish up here and I can give you some information. I would also be happy to go with you and show you around if you like.

Tight Lines !!

 

[supervdl]

Thanks for your help. And PM sent Out4Trout.

 

[timbow]

Native Brook and wild Brown trout that inhabit these small, often relatively infertile, streams are opportunistic feeders, otherwise, they would starve pretty quickly. Fish a fly that you can see well and focus more on getting that fly into the likely holding areas and you will find that the fly really doesn't matter to these fish. Dropping a nymph is a good tactic, but I find that on a really tight closed canopy the dropper can make casting into tight spots more difficult.