THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED ON KSL.COM

The fly angler's secret for fishing small creeks and streams

Created By: Robert Williamson

Author:

 Robert Williamson

Web Tease: When the large rivers are flowing high and murky, don't overlook small streams and creeks to satisfy your desire to go fly fishing. While the location of these streams may be secret, the rewards of fishing them are well known!

THE GREAT OUTDOORS — Because Utah is a dry, desert state, most of our large rivers receive moderate to heavy fishing pressure, especially in the summer and fall months.

Guides and outfitters work these waters, along with groups of fly fishers who enjoy the social aspects of angling. This increase in pressure can make it difficult for some to find a stretch of water all their own. Fishing pressure will send some fly fishers in search of their own piece of heaven: usually a small creek or stream that is often overlooked.

Many fly fishers have a secret creek or stream they rarely, if ever, share with others. They may talk about it, but never tell the location or name of the water. Some will give this water a code name or use the generic "No Tellum" creek as they verbally share their fishing experiences. This creek or stream is the one they fish alone, the place they go for solitude, the place they keep secret because too much pressure can send the already skittish trout into hiding, and because frankly, there is not enough room for a lot of anglers.

However, before you head out into the mountains to find your new favorite spring to fish this spring, be sure to read the proclamation and know which tributaries close for cutthroat trout spawning. Some tributaries close until the second weekend in July.

A fly fisher who takes the time to go exploring can find some real jewels. The old cliche "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" certainly applies to the perception fly fishers have on the waters they fish.

Here are some of the benefits of finding your own secret fishing stream.

Quantity 

Many of Utah's small streams and creeks are teeming with trout. A fly angler who just wants to have a lot of fun catching fish will have a blast on small streams. A sneaky fly fisher with the skill to stalk and cast in tight brushy places should have no problem with numbers. It is possible to catch and release dozens of trout in a few hours on many of Utah's small streams. The trout in small streams are aggressive and opportunistic feeders and will hit most well-placed flies.

Quality

Some anglers measure quality in numbers, some measure quality in inches, while others measure quality in beauty. There are small creeks in Utah that have trout of decent size. While most trout will fall within the 6- to 12-inch range, it is possible to catch 14- to 19-inch trout in small waters. It is surprising to see a 19-inch trout come out of a deep undercut bank, a pooled bend, a beaver pond or from in front of a large rock on a small creek. But for those who fish these places regularly, it occurs often enough to provide real excitement.

The beauty of the surroundings and the colors of the trout are often the aesthetic aspects that prove the real draw of the smaller waters. The trout caught in the small waters are some of the prettiest trout around. They take on the coloring of the streams with rich dark backs, and depending on the species and age class, are splashed with blueish parr marks, white, yellow or crimson bellies, and spots of red, orange and black.

Solitude

If you are seeking solitude, small creeks are the ticket. To find a peaceful setting, one that you can have to yourself, look for creeks and streams that require a little hiking. Or seek waters that most people just overlook because of size, too much brush or that are remote.

Native Bonneville and other cutthroat trout

If you are seeking Utah's native Bonneville cutthroat, the Colorado cutthroat, Bear River cutthroat or Yellowstone cutthroat, you can find them in creeks and streams around the state. The Utah Division of Wildlife Resources and Trout Unlimited have partnered to create the Cutthroat Slam Program where anglers can register to catch the above-mentioned trout and qualify for recognition. The fees collected go toward preservation and habitat improvement.

Stream flow

Most small streams and creeks are not controlled by dams. This means the spring runoff will blow out quickly and you can fish when larger waters, especially those below reservoirs, will still be too high to approach or too murky to fish adequately. Monitor the runoff and hit a small stream or creek just after flows drop — the fishing is fabulous and so fun!

On years of heavy runoff, searching for, exploring and fishing small creeks and streams will satisfy the craving to get outdoors and an occasional large trout or two is an added bonus. 

Autumn Trout

 With a feeling of early winter in the air, there is a need to get out on good fall days. Unsettled weather and other obligations just seemed to be getting in the way. We decided that on Friday September 30, 2016 we would make a trip even if the weather was just a little unsettled. We ate an early breakfast and then drove to a beautiful little river in Idaho. On the drive we kept our eyes on the larger cumulus clouds, some which had that dark grayness on the bottom. If they accumulated and bunched up against the mountains, we knew there was a chance of isolated thunderstorms right over us. As we neared the town where we would buy our licenses, the clouds had moved on and more blue sky was appearing.

After securing our licenses, we drove through the foothills toward the canyon. The road through the foothills was dotted with older homes and a few newer ones. The small community would be a nice place to live--quiet, with little traffic. We guessed that most of the residents were farmers and ranchers. Some of the homes might be summer homes owned by those who want a semi-secluded get-a-way--a place where they could come to relax and maybe do some hunting and fishing. Some homes might have been inherited by children or grandchildren of the original residents.


 It wasn't long before we were on the dirt road that paralleled the river. We glanced at the water with excitement. It looked so inviting. We found a turnout and hurriedly put on our waders and then rigged up our rods. As we walked down river looking for a good place to enter the water, we commented on how it seemed so perfect. The only other thing that would add to our already giddy demeanor would be for the trout to cooperate. We found a small clearing and walked through fall leaves and dry grasses. Upon entering the water I could sense through my waders that it was cold; just the kind of water that cutthroat trout like to live in. It was so clear. The bottom rocks matched the autumn leaves. My favorite color is yellow. I see it in the autumn aspen leaves and in the water-covered rocks of the creeks, streams, and rivers I fish. I also see it in the trout I catch. Just a tinge in cutthroat trout but more pronounced in the cutthroat that hide in shaded water and dark undercut banks. It is also pronounced on the sides and bellies of stream bred brown trout; rich and buttery during the Fall.

We started the day with hopper patterns. These were tied with tan heat shrink air-filled bodies, light elk hair wings, tan foam heads and brown rubber legs. We always add just a little floatant in the wing to keep them buoyant. After a few trout we seldom redress the wing and let the fly sit down in the surface a little.

SILHOUETTE SERIES AIRBUGS

Brown stoneflies

Two brown and one gray stonefly adults

Top and bottom view Silhouette Airbugs

Brown trout

The Silhouette Series of Airbugs is a "new" way to use  O2 Body Material. I have been tying large dry flies with O2 for the past 18 years. The tying technique creates two air-filled chambers that form the body of the fly and creates a nice silhouette. The air-filled body along with the elk hair wing and foam head makes for a great floating fly.

If you want to imitate some of the large stonefly adults such as the salmonfly and golden stone this is a great material and tying style to do it. By using orange, brown, black, and gold colored O2 a tier can create some great looks to imitate the stoneflies.

This technique and material also lends itself to the creation of beautiful cicada, hopper, and beetle patterns. Hoppers are best tied in the tan and pale yellow color, cicada with black or orange, and beetles with black, green, or even purple. With a little crystal flash or similar material mixed in with the wing the cicada pattern looks and works great. The body, foam head, and leg colors can be changed to create several fun patterns.

Last year I used the hopper for most of my late summer and fall dry fly fishing and had a blast. 

Under Construction

I'm going to start selling the material for the air-filled flies I have created and eventually the flies themselves. The site is still in the works, but thought I'd give a sneak peek.

http://rwilliamson4.wix.com/airbugs

Summers Over Boys!

SMALL WATER--FUN-SIZED TROUT

I love  Fly fishing in late summer and early fall. I love fly fishing on small creeks with fun-sized trout. I love the quietness of the afternoon on these creeks when no one is around. When you can sense the season's end. When the breeze causes the high grass to dance. When grasshoppers jump out in front of you with each step, some of them landing in the water, and though you can't see the trout eat them, you can hear it. 

 It is the season when trout are eager to eat. The brown trout, in particular, is looking to fatten up and gain energy for the spawning season. It is the time that one writer penned: We sneak, we search, we seldom go to church, we tell monstrous lies with wide unblinking eyes. It's my time to fish with a hopper pattern until the snow flies.

In most cases, I'm not a big fan of Beaver dams, but on some of the smaller waters, smaller beaver dams are not bad, as they create a little deeper holding water. Sneaking around these waters one has to be careful on the approach. Too hard of a step and vibrations are sent that the trout can feel with their lateral lines. I often find my self casting from several feet back and landing just my leader and fly over the edge of the high grass. As with the natural hoppers, I sometimes can't see my fly so I have to listen for the rise. It's like magic.

These are nice  trout for this water. I enjoy catching them and releasing them. When all the conditions are right, they are aggressive and take the fly recklessly. They are wild fighters and can bend a 3-weight rod giving he angler the feeling of a much larger fish.

On this day, I was able to catch two browns which would fall under the category of decent. These were powerful and heavy fish for this water and made me second guess my decision to not carry a net. I was lucky to land them on small gear.

Soon all of the grasses will be brown and bending down in preparation for snow. I hope to get one more trip to this area before then. Maybe when the temperature warrants a jacket--when the sun sits lower in the south--when the hunter's attention turns to big game.  Then I can let this creek rest. I will dream again of hot, late summer afternoons and early autumn days. I too will rest.

Searching for Bonneville Cutthroat

I posted some pictures of some Bonneville Cutts I caught on a headwater. You can check it out on my other blog:

http://www.crossingopenground.blogspot.com/

Perfect Water

Close-up of typical Ogden brown trout.

Gene with an Ogden River brown trout.

Gene called on Thursday and said that he rode his bike over to the Ogden River to check out the conditions. He said it was perfect water. Perfect water, at least for Gene and me, is water that is clear, cold, and low enough to get in and wade. He said he was ready to go fly fishing when I was ready.

I knew I had Friday off, but didn't let Gene know. I wasn't sure I could find the time--wasn't sure what Friday would bring. I woke up Friday morning and went for an early morning run. I came back and called Gene during my cool down.

"Hey, what do you have planned or the day?" I asked.
"I have a funeral at six tonight, but other than that nothing," he said.
"Let's go hit the Ogden."
"What time?"
"I was thinking sometime this afternoon. Maybe around one."
"That works."
"Okay, then I'll swing by and pick you up at one."
"Okay, buddy, see you then.."

Plans set. I showered. I had time to tie up a few flies and tied up some Blue-winged Olives and some small beetles. I hadn't tied a fly for about eight months. My eyesight is slowly going. I need readers to see the small stuff, and get the feeling that some type of magnifier is in my future. I knew the Olives I tied were bigger than what would be hatching, but I just wasn't in the mood to mess with too small of hooks. The beetles were tied to represent the Box Elder bug that I have seen around and that usually hatch out in the spring in good numbers. They are not an aquatic bug, but I figured if they were found in the trees and brush, they end up in the water enough that fish would see them.

Back in our twenties and thirties, Gene and I fished a couple times a week if not more. A couple evenings after work and all day on Saturdays. I will admit we were half-crazed. In the evenings we could easily catch fifteen to twenty trout each--sometimes more. On Saturday adventures, we would fish all day and approach 100 fish days on a regular basis. We occasionally ventured around to other water, but for the most part the Ogden River was our quick fix.

As we drove out on Friday, we talked about the things I just mentioned. We reminisced how our lives have changed, how the world has changed. Gene had gotten into cycling and I had taken on more responsibility with my church. Gene has retired and I will have to work until I drop dead. We talked about getting old; about parents getting sick; about aches, pains, poor eyesight, and about trying to stay in shape sow e could still do the things we enjoy.

Gene confessed that he had not been fly fishing since 2006. Wow! I thought. That's eight years! Cycling had taken over as his focus in those years. I confessed that I didn't fish as much as I used to, that I try to get out once a week, or once every couple of weeks, that I have become a fair weather fisherman and only go out when the weather is good, that I focus my fishing in the Fall when the fish will take hoppers--when I can fish something I can see. We concluded that life is definitely different for us now.

When we arrived to the river, we moaned and groaned as we put on our waders.

"Kind of hard to bend over and put the boots on," I said. Gene agreed.

"Can't see to tie on my fly," Gene said. I agreed.

We eventually made it to the water, waded out and began to cast. Casting is like riding a bike. Even if you haven't done it for a while, the memory reflex and mind allow for it to come back quickly. Gene joked about remembering how to cast, but he was soon in rhythm.

I noticed a trout rise in a small pocket and tried to get it to take the beetle. Nothing. I asked Gene to come and try with the smaller mayfly pattern he had tied on. I showed him the spot and he made a cast. "A little to the right and in the seam," I coached. Next cast and the trout took Gene's fly. The little brown jumped and danced. Gene brought it to his hands and smiled. "Man, that feels good," he said. I can't remember how many times we had spotted fish and then guided each other into catching them over the years, but this was just like old times.

We fished for a couple of hours. The catching was slow, but the fishing was great. It was good to be out. It was good to see Gene with a fly rod in his hands after an eight year drought.

"Stoneflies will hatch in the next couple of weeks," I quipped. Gene said he would keep an eye out and let me know if he sees them before I do. "If the water stays good, we need to hit that hatch! Gene proclaimed.
"That can be our next outing," I replied.

As we took our waders off and put away our gear we talked of fifty fish days, how the day was slow, how we would catch more the next time. But we also talked about how good it was to be out; to be on "our" river; how we had fished every inch of it from the mouth of the canyon to the dam in the past 25 years. We talked about how nice the day was. We both agreed that the water was perfect.

Colorful Brown Trout

This brown was caught by a friend a few years back. I love the red spots framed in white and pale blue halos. He sent the picture with one of my flies in its mouth as evidence that a trout would actually eat one of my creations. One of the prettiest browns I've seen.

Utah House Bill 37 Compromise Stream Access

I remember fishing just about every creek, stream, and river in northern Utah when I was growing up. As long as I stayed on the trails or waded the water, it seemed like everyone was happy. I remember landowners coming out with a smile on their faces asking me if I'd caught anything and then suggesting holes to try. People were just friendlier then.




Now, it seems like everyone just wants to complain, treat others disrespectfully, and selfishly not share. I guess we have really become a materialistic society.




In Utah there is a battle going on as to who owns the water. The state constitution gives that right to the citizens. Within the past few years the rights of the citizens to recreate on the water as long as no damage or harm or laws were broken was verified by the Utah supreme court in a 5-0 ruling. Two years ago (2012) the Utah legislature passed a law that overturned the supreme court ruling and allowed private interest to basically lock up most of Utah's creeks, streams, and rivers from fishing, kayaking, floating, and other recreational pursuits.




The management of the fish and wildlife in these streams is funded by tax payer dollars, and fees for hunting and fishing licenses, as well as generous donations from sporting and recreation people of Utah.




I feel the public has a right to recreate on our public water. I am not advocating trespassing, polluting, litter, or vandalism--all which are against the law. I believe those who participate in this behavior should be prosecuted.



There is a way to access our rivers and streams through public easements which have always existed. Once the water is accessed, it is the responsibility of the recreationist  to obey laws. This means they should stay in the water or below the ordinary high water mark of the river or stream. They do not have the right to access through private property or exit through the same. They must not vandalize, harass, trash, or abuse the land or water in any way. This law has been working in Idaho for a few decades. It is possible. Idaho recognizes the amount of revenue that comes into its state by water recreationists. Not to mention the value that comes to individuals and families that have the opportunity to play together outdoors.




This year (2014) a bill HB37 is in the works that is a compromise to the HB141 bill passed two years ago which locked up our rivers and streams. If passed it will allow recreationists the same opportunity that exists in Idaho--a very workable solution which should benefit landowners and recreationists.


http://utahstreamaccess.org/usac-wp/




Click on the above link to find out what you can do to help Utah remain a destination state for outdoor recreation and to allow it's visitors and citizens the access to their public water.

QUICK TRIP BEFORE THE STORM ROLLS IN.

Releasing a small brown trout.

Several small browns like this were feeding on emerging Blue-winged Olive mayflies.

Still hitting a black beetle pattern in the middle of the BWO hatch.



The brown trout were good fighters.

The river is full of trout this size.

My beautiful photographer and best catch ever!

LAST BIT OF SUN

A Taste from a Couple of Years Ago. It's almost Time!

One for dinner.



Bonneville cutthroat--my favorite trout to seek!

Hopper!



Small water--small trout. I love it!

Pocket water on mountain stream.

Plump cutt on a 3-weight rod.

Beautiful work of art.

Very small water.

Very small overgrown creek with small colorful trout. Can you see the water?

Ah, summer!

Thanks for the pleasure!