How to Fly Fish Small Streams: 5 Essential Tips and Tricks for Success

As the summer months approach, dreams of small stream trout fishing resurface. In most parts of the country, alpine streams won’t even be reachable until May or June – unless you’ve got a pair of snowshoes. It’s easy to get impatient, but these next couple of months offer the perfect opportunity to get dialed in for peak season. Here are a few tips and tricks to get you started.

Accuracy is Everything When Fly Fishing Small Streams

It’s fun to see how far you can cast, no doubt – and getting distance on your cast can be tremendously helpful, but not on small streams. Most casts will be somewhere between five and fifteen feet, and your landing zone will likely be pretty tight. Small stream anglers will talk about being able to cast a fly into a dinner plate sized hole – it may sound silly, but it’s true. Grab a dinner plate or a frisbee, find a patch of grass, and work on getting your fly right where you want it at short distances.

A small stream in the woods being looked at by a fly angler. — photo by Chase McCoy

Tread lightly

Trout that dwell in small streams are notoriously easy to spook. You don’t have all of the ambient underwater noise and action that you would in a larger river, so it’s important to approach fish – or spots that you think might hold fish – quietly. The best way to practice this is by getting out on the water. Head to your local tailwater, or any moving water, and get your wading legs under you before you head up to a mountain stream.

Keep it Simple and Small

When loading up your fly box, remember: less is more. No need for crazy patterns or huge streamers – stick to the tried and true dry flies and nymphs. Small streams don’t often have prolific insect hatches, so your best bet is to show up with a box full of flies that imitate the little midges, caddis, and mayflies that are regularly available.

Light Tippet is Key

It may not seem like a big deal if all you’ve got in your pack is 3x or 4x, but it’s always worth stopping and picking up a spool of 5, 6, or even 7x. The water in small streams is generally clearer than in larger rivers, so if you’re throwing cable, the fish are gonna notice. Light tippet will also help your fly presentation, lessen the drag on your drifts, and make for easier casting.

Get Moving

When you fish a large river, it’s feasible that you could stay put and fish one run productively for a couple hours. Not so on small streams. The pockets that you’re fishing will hold a handful of fish, maximum. Once you’ve disturbed a pocket of water – either by playing a fish through it or falling into it (it happens) – don’t be afraid to move on. The best thing about small streams is that new pools lie around every bend.

A native brook trout next to a Hardy fly rod and reel. — Fly fishing small streams on the East Coast will put you into some native brook trout. | photo by Ken Baldwin

Bonus Tip: Get Out There and Fly Fish!

Each of these tips will help you in its own right, but they only work if you get out and use them. In most regions, the productive small stream fishing window only lasts a few months – don’t miss out on the fun!