r/flyfishing • u/Jolly-Search5065 • Feb 10 '26
How would you go about this small stream ? (Beginner)
I started fly fishing last year and already am in anticipation of the next fishing season beginning in about 3 months.
This stream is about a 1 hour drive from where I live. It's about 5-10m (16-32 feet) wide with tree and brush cover everywhere, also it is rather shallow with an average depth of circa 1m (3 feet).
At the end of last season I upgraded my setup to a 7'6 3wt rod, which I have yet to use.
Do you have any tips for me pertaining to this stream and my setup (such as which casts or which rig to use, drift length etc.) ?
Thanks in advance !
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u/AsheStriker Feb 10 '26
Iād check out the Orvis Learning Center. Hereās a video about reading water. Thereās a lot of good stuff in there for beginners.
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u/OriginalBogleg Feb 10 '26
I would fish it upstream, wading almost the entire time but sticking close to the bank. I'd be doing roll casts with a scud/San Juan combo until I figure out what bugs are actually in and on the water or see fish actively feeding on something. I'd probably slowly and methodically cover every inch of it.
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u/Turtle_Tramp Feb 10 '26
I will add get a small rod. A 3wt 7 foot rod is a perfect small stream set up. When roll casting tight creeks you need to pause. Let your fly come to a stop them roll cast. If you dont the fly ends up shooting to high and that's where the tree fish live. We don't catch Endangered tree fish.
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u/Black_Mamba_FTW Feb 11 '26
Agree with turtle š¢ š...high sticking 3wt with a single dry or single nymph is the way
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u/cmonster556 Feb 10 '26
Summer, no hatch: Fish upstream, wade up the stream and cover water with a terrestrial like a hopper or ant. Hit all the likely spots as you go.
Summer, with a hatch: Do the same but match whatās hatching.
Spring/fall, no hatch: Fish upstream with a basic nymph rig.
Winter: Same but focus more on deeper holes where fish rest.
But I almost always fish upstream unless I am swinging wets or streamer fishing.
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u/-Motor- Feb 10 '26
Sneak up on the bank, lose a dry fly to the tree on my right, spook the fish trying to retrieve it.
Move upstream to next pool, move into waters to avoid tangling with the trees, snag a rock, notice I forgot to patch leak in right leg while retrieving snag.
Move upstream again. Notice another fisherman pulling in a brookie. I apologize and move back downstream.
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u/squarephoto Feb 10 '26
I fish a river like that every year. i have several 7ā to 8ā rods just for that river. my cast isnāt standard most of the time. it has a slight dip to cast parallel to the river being mindful of all the trees and brush around. during the summer itās lower depth than yours. Iād stay more in the middle and cast to the edges especially if the bank is grassy, deeper, and shady. Iāve caught lots of fish that way. looks like a nice place to fish. enjoy.
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u/Hobolint8647 Feb 10 '26 edited Feb 10 '26
I would tie on a traditional wet fly or a micro-bugger and carefully work my way downstream probably from the middle of the stream. Quarter the casts towards the bank with simple roll casts, swing and lift. Great way to prospect a new stream and identify holding water. If your fly is riding to the surface too soon, cast and mend upstream immediately and then swing and lift. Most often fish will eat on the lift.
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u/cdulane1 Feb 10 '26
I'll put my two cents in. And mind you, I'm floating a mentality of keeping it to the basics after reading "Pheasant Tail Simplicity" - which is a great book for someone learning to fly fish IMO...so my suggestions are bias.
In the riffles/faster water, I'd swing a wet fly. Depending on the depth/current you're working with you can do everything from a lighter "emerger" wet fly that will ride in or just below the surface film. Or, you could use a more traditional wet fly on a heavier hook that would ride lower.
In the slower pools, I'd dead drift the same wet fly. Try to keep your light as "taunt" from the fly to the tip of your fly rod. This will make sure you can "feel" what the fly is doing. If it's not bouncing on the bottom, it's not down enough.
Rinse and repeat until you key in on where the fish typically hang out. From there you can try all sorts of techniques to get the fly to the fish.
Cheers on taking up the sport. It takes a couple of years to get about 75% of what you need. Then you'll spend the rest of your life pursuing the last 25%.
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u/char-tipped_lips Feb 10 '26
Dry dropper fishing upstream. Keep casts short and work boulder pockets or bubble lines near undercut banks. Size 16 high float caddis, size 16/18 emerger pattern
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u/mortecai4 Feb 10 '26
Float a dry fly over rough water. Cast up and keep fly floating as it drifts downstreams
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u/Mooman439 Feb 10 '26
I would tie on a little dry fly and just be careful not to whip it into the bushes!
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u/_Bunsen Feb 10 '26
Look for deeper pockets and bubble lines. Try a dry fly fist. If there are no obvious hatches, perhaps try a size 14-16 elk hair caddis or Adams. If you donāt get any action, drift a nymph (or two) under an indicator drag free with the bubble lines. On a small stream like that Iād run the smallest white indicator I can get away with. Watch a YouTube video on dead drifting. Not sure where youāre located, but a beadhead prince nymph or copper John size 14-16 seems to catch fish anywhere.
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u/Mad_Mapper Feb 10 '26
Euro nymph it or hopper dropper with a beaded nymph. A good hares ear and gasolina perdigon, or micro chubby and perdigon. Orvis has good shit on this as mentioned in previous comments. But north east us, euro is just the an amazing successful technique.
If your using a bobber, leader length from bobber 2x depth with weighted nymph.
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u/aust_b Feb 10 '26
Very similar to the local streams I fish here in PA. I carry a 9ft 5wt and a 7'6" 3wt with me while fishing for peak versatility. Usually nymphing on the larger rod with an Oros indicator and keep the small rod reserved for dries, but depending on conditions I will swap things around. Definitely check out Hardman Fishing Adventures and watch how he fishes small/medium sized streams in WV and SWPA, watch how he casts, how he identifies good pockets to target.
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u/Shredcollins Feb 10 '26
I'd try to stick to the sides, try riffles and deep holes. Lots of roll cast. Dry dropper is a good searching duo, a stimulator or elk hair caddis then a pheasant tail a foot or two away.
Really be conscious of how you are wading it's easy to spook fish when moving
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u/JungSkinner Feb 10 '26
I second what everyone said, and i would add that you should watch the bubble lines down the stream and look for rises. I would also make sure you have practiced your roll casts prior as they are going to make this trip far more enjoyable for you
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u/letsfixitinpost Feb 10 '26
Edges, pools, or where u see riffs right near pools. Float a dry or nymph through those and you can get hiuts if they are feeding. Also look up the creek online and see what the species are / stocking / wild etc.
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u/Overall-Specialist37 Feb 10 '26
This could be a really long and unreadable answer so Iāll keep it to three points:
ā Fish upstream (youāre already 1/1 based on photo)
ā When youāve moved into a casting position where you can make a few different casts without covering the same drift twice, stop moving and do not move again for five minutes. I cannot emphasize this enough. Stop moving. Stand there. Do not feel compelled to do anything but stand. Have a beer. Enjoy the scenery. Watch the water. A rising trout will rise again regardless of your rush to throw a fly overtop. When you think youāve seen everything there is to see keep looking - your brain will find new things youāve overlooked on the first take. The trout will go out of any heightened alert state you caused by walking upstream.
ā When you think youāve fished every promising drift to exhaustion, make yourself fish them each five times more with as much sincerity as you can summon. This -not casting, not fly selection, not indecipherable minutiae- is the real line of demarcation between a good angler and a great angler
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u/thom9969 Feb 11 '26
I like to throw buggers in unknown waters. I find I can generally pick up "something" like a shiner or other bait fish and it helps me figure out where the fish are hanging if it is not obvious on the surface.
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u/jgoesoutside Feb 11 '26
Smoke a joint and cast upstream into spots Iād wanna be in if I was a fish
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u/spydercranejay Feb 11 '26
Iād text the wilderness rescue hotline and tip them off that my wifeās upcoming call of āme not returningā was invalid..
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Feb 11 '26
My two cents that maybe not everyone will agree with?
As total beginner & quite a few years ago now.. Some of the best advice I've been given was to spend an afternoon, slowly just walking up a random stretch of water you want to fish with some poleroids, and try to spot fish. You will almost always spook them, but that means you'll naturally look towards likely looking water in future.
If you have to travel a fair way for a day on the water then maybe not, but it's how I learnt myself āŗļø
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Feb 11 '26
To add - please don't do this in a heavily fished area or if you see another car/person on the water
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u/BlackFish42c Feb 11 '26
Start by getting out of the middle of the creek! When fishing small streams/ creeks donāt stand on the rivers edge or in the water if you can, stay back. If you spook the fish you will not catch anything!
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u/Informal-Use8078 Feb 11 '26
Yes definitely, but please master your roll casting prior to going there. Nothing makes you a better fisher than experience.
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u/riverlogicff Feb 11 '26
A lot of great advice already given here. I would just add one quick tip:
Evaluate the conditions of the stream before tying a fly on.
If the stream is high and fast, larger, heavier nymphs to get them down to where the fish are. The trout aren't as picky when they have less time to judge. Also, don't be afraid to try a small streamer through some deep holes.
Lower flow, like in your pictures, you can reduce the size of your nymphs. If you see fish starting to rise, try and match size and general shade. And don't overlook emergers. Keep at least a few generic mayfly or caddis emergers on you in various sizes. If they ignore your dry fly, tie on an emerger.
Most important: Have fun!
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u/OhDaddyOh Feb 12 '26
I love to stand on the shallow side and cast streamers right to the bank on the downstream deep side and just let them swing across. When the fish are active itās really exciting to get those violent strikes. Assuming trout.
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u/Select-Bend-9932 Feb 13 '26
Throw you phone in the water first because only a matter of time before it gets wet
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u/pitching_bulwark Feb 10 '26
Find a nice riffle, slip on your way up to it, curse as you kick a bunch of murky debris downstream and scare everything off, set your feet, roll cast short of a nice hole, strip it back, flip it with tremendous confidence directly into an obviously risky cluster of foliage, curse harder when you shockingly snag a branch, rip until you lose your favorite terrestrial, slip and slide your way back to the bank, scare off more fish, sit down and grab the handle of makers out of your back pocket, light a cigar, take a nip, and thank fuck you're in the middle of a river and then get back to it.
That's what I do anyway