Stream Success

It was one of those h a p p e n s t a n c e encounters with an old friend whom I had bumped into one day a few years ago. We both shared a passion for fly fishing and after our “How are you?!” and “What’s new!?” reintroductions, we began talking fishing. As it was a hot day, we were joking about how we both wished we were casting a fly line when he briefly mentioned he had fished the previous weekend and did well on a size 14 Skwala. It was late spring and though temperatures were warm and hatches were going on, I was intrigued about his day on the water. Turned out, he had fished a small stream that flowed out of a high mountain lake; normally, the water would have been running fast, but on this day it was fishable. The quick chat got me excited about that Skwala hatch he mentioned. The small stonefly known as the Skwala emerges early in cold water, making it one of the first dry fly patterns of the season to try. Often still before the snow melts, Skwalas take flight. And even before they make their way to the water’s surface and spread their wings for the first time, they are plentiful in their nymph form. Trout
love them above and below the surface. The fact that my friend said he’d been using a size 14, which is exceedingly small, told me he was targeting small trout. And with the stream being fishable, that meant
it was on the smaller side. It is the trivial things that anglers often mention in casual conversation that tip their hand at locations and fisheries, and this was no different. I had an idea where he had fished the previous weekend, so the following week found me walking streamside with my 4-weight rod and a hatband brimmed with Skwala flies.

WHEN IT COMES to fishing small streams, most fly anglers make a simple mistake that costs them a lot of fish. They do not tailor their patterns to the fish, and I do not mean hatches or which bugs work best. Rather, the size of the fly. The reason my old buddy had used the size 14 Skwala was because of the hook size, not the size of the body. Small stream trout rarely get large – though it is a pleasant surprise to find big fish in these waters – so you must allow the fish to be able to be hooked. Much like how saltwater salmon anglers will use large hooks to keep shaker Chinook off the line, if you use a large hook, then a 6- to 8-inch trout simply cannot bite the hook. A larger 12- to 18-inch trout can still be easily landed on small hooks, so it really benefits you to downsize flies when fishing small streams.
Besides keeping the flies small, the next thing is to use the right rod and lines. Small streams often mean short casts due to the thick brush lining their edges. When I was young, my father would take me up to
Bridge Creek, a tributary of the Stehekin River in North Cascades National Park.
This small creek ran clear and was full of cutthroat, rainbows and cuttbows. Most fish were small, around 8 inches, but the river did hold a few “monsters,” trout reaching the upper teens and even 20 inches. There was also the possibility of catching a bull trout, which grow much larger. The creek is accessed by hiking to it and then going down into a steep canyon – there’s not much room to cast or even land a fish. One Christmas, my father bought me a 7½-foot 3-weight rod and matching reel. At first glance, the rod looked too small to fling a fly, but it was perfect for Bridge Creek, which was why he’d given it to me.
Since receiving that 3-weight I have picked up a few others, with a 9-foot, 4-weight being my favorite all-around rod. It is a bit long for small streams lined with brush, but I can cast a long way with it on
backcountry lakes and larger rivers. When it comes to streams, I can often get by with the rod and have found that the 4-weight is more forgiving than the tiny 3-weight.
When I hike along a small stream, I often have both rods with me for versatility. Casting will lead to more success, but sometimes catching these fish is as simple as dangling a fly in the water. This is where that 4-weight comes into play on small streams. After you learn to cast a fly rod, the next best thing you can do is master the roll cast. This universal cast is the one used most often on small waters. It is quick to flick the fly onto the water and works well in short distances with tight cover and no way to back cast. The roll cast is simple and in its purest form is a beautiful thing to watch; when you do it wrong, it often leads to a mess piled up at your feet. Learn to use the roll cast and you will catch more fish and have a better time fishing for them.
Look for trout in any deep water as well as cover, which can come in different forms.
Sunken logs often create a deep pocket right behind them, and this is where fish will hide. Same with rocks and boulders. When it comes to bends in a stream, the outside often has faster water, with the soft water on the inside of the corner. Look for the seam between these currents; this is where
fish will grab your fly. Riffles are cover for small trout that are hiding from predators
from above such as eagles, hawks and other birds of prey. Fishing the riffle will get you into more fish. Same with overhanging branches. Sometimes a well-placed fly just outside of an overhanging brush will get you the biggest fish of the day.

EVERYONE LOVES DRY fly fishing because it is fun to watch trout rise and chase after the fly, but for every trout you see come to the surface, several more are eating bugs under the surface. Two summers ago, I was fishing in a small creek that dumps into Lake Chelan. It runs down through a deep gorge from the mountains and has a kokanee run in the fall, but in summer it is the large cutthroat that anglers target. I had tried several dry flies and had a few strikes, but another angler who was staying in the campground nearby was pulling fish after fish out of a pool. It was then that I noticed he was fishing a nymph pattern. Though the man was nice, he was not sharing what he was using, so I had to figure it out on my own. I pulled out a golden nymph and on the first cast landed a nice trout. I fished that fly until it fell apart and only the hook was left. When fishing small streams, do not forget to fish under the surface as well as on top of it.
You do not have to be an expert fly caster to fish small streams, as you are not trying to do a double haul and cover a lot of water. Instead, a short single-handed rod with a weight-forward line and a light tippet is all that is needed. Figure out the roll cast and look at the bugs around you, as they are what the trout are feeding on. And when you run into an old friend who also fishes, be sure to listen. May is here and the Skwalas have been hatching for weeks now. With this year’s well-below-average to average snowpack in the mountains of Washington, North Idaho, and Northeast and Northcentral Oregon, waters are already a bit low. It is time to hike along a small stream and catch some trout. NS