Spinning Gear On Small Stream Trout

[mic]

Blue Springs Creek is one of my favorite spots and I fish it 2-3 times a week. For what its worth if you want to catch fish there heres what I've learned:

1. You can't move slow enough...I mean really you can't.

2. Stay out of the water..always if possible.

3. If you don't spook them the fish will bite on any fly in your box. Really they don't care. For the purist the main thing I find under rocks are scuds...tons and tons of scuds.

4. If you spook the fish, forget it and move on to the next hole....they get lockjaw real quick..and will not bite no matter what.

5. Move upstream...not down...you will never sneek up on these fish unless you get behind them.

6. There are a freaking ton of trout in this small stream..some over 20 inches...most between 6-15.

7. Every deep hole holds a big trout(18+ inches)...yes everyone...when I say deep hole I mean waist deep or deeper. I know people will dispute this but trust me. The big ones hide better than marine snipers.

8. 6x-7x tippet is a must, maybe 5x if nymphing after a rain.

9. The trout in this stream will not be in the ankle deep riffles....pass them by and head to the runs and pools.

10. Blue Springs is the most rewarding and challenging fishing exsperience I have ever had...I simply love this little stream.

PS: Be sneeky man...no really be sneeky...when you think your being sneeky...stop and start really being sneeky. I know it sounds weird, I have fished all over this nation and have yet to encounter spookier trout. I have never seen anything like it..the things you get away with on other waters will only net you a handful of fingerlings on this creek. I actually think that a skilled spin fisherman might have the upper hand on this water..allthough I haven't tried spinning gear.

Good luck.

Your right about the scuds. My 8 year old, was straining with a fish tank net, and it was full of scuds.

[mic]

Finally got the pics to load. Can anyone tell me what kind of fish I caught? Enjoy

[FishinCricket]

Horny head Chub

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornyhead_chub?wasRedirected=true

[jah]

Horny head Chub

http://en.m.wikipedi...Redirected=true

Horny head chub, eh?I tried that with my wife last night. She was none too happy.

Seriously, though, looks like you had a lot of fun. I've heard great things about that creek and it is on my 'to-do' list.

[FishinCricket]

Horny head chub, eh?I tried that with my wife last night. She was none too happy..

Maybe you weren't holding your mouth right?

(I'm sorry, that was uncalled for.. But I couldn't resist!)

[Flyflinger]

Finally got the pics to load. Can anyone tell me what kind of fish I caught? Enjoy

Some great pics here! I love the one of you and your daughter.

[Flyflinger]

And of course you will have those that see the spinning rod as beneath themselves for any type of fishing. And well, that is just a matter of personal choice. It surely does not make you any less of an angler. But you may not be allowed into some crowds.

Its a shame Chief...I don't know where you run into these type of people. Then again I rarely get a chance to fish with anyone...and you have to almost pay me to get me in a trout park. I hope to see you on the water some day.

PS..leave your spinning gear at home.

LOL!

[drew03cmc]

I agree with both of you. I wouldn't go as far to say a spinning rod will out preform a fly rod but, I think they can hold their own. And of course you will have those that see the spinning rod as beneath themselves for any type of fishing. And well, that is just a matter of personal choice. It surely does not make you any less of an angler. But you may not be allowed into some crowds.

Personally, I find spin fishing for trout to be a blast. I should say that I also enjoy using the fly rod, I just enjoy the spining rod more. And that may be just because I am more comfortable with it. And I wouldn' be ashamed to use it on any waters. It, to me, offers a whole different venue to trout fishing. And it is not a style usually associated with trout fishing. And maybe that is also an asspect of it that draws me to it. I am not one to follow the status quo. I tend to follow my own beat.

I agree, which is why I do not mind spin fishing at all. The spinning rod is an amazing fishing tool, with which you can be very stealthy and don't have to worry about a line the size of a small rope landing on the water. You can fish 1/32 marabou jigs and be perfectly stealthy while making your casts into the pools and riffles that trout inhabit. In waters where it is legal, toss a crankbait and enjoy the trout smashing it.

Its a shame Chief...I don't know where you run into these type of people. Then again I rarely get a chance to fish with anyone...and you have to almost pay me to get me in a trout park. I hope to see you on the water some day.

PS..leave your spinning gear at home.

LOL!

Do you want names or just screen names?

Fly fishing is very exclusionary and is viewed as elitist. There is a sense of entitlement among those who solely fly fish that I do not understand. If you are abiding by the laws, single hook, no soft plastics and no bait, I don't care if you are using an Abu 6500 and 20 pound monofilament.

[ozark trout fisher]

Fly fishing is very exclusionary and is viewed as elitist. There is a sense of entitlement among those who solely fly fish that I do not understand. If you are abiding by the laws, single hook, no soft plastics and no bait, I don't care if you are using an Abu 6500 and 20 pound monofilament.

Hey, I have no problem whatsoever with someone spin fishing these creeks as long as they stay within the law. It's a fine way to fish them, and I am certainly not above fishing a spinner or a marabou jig if the conditions demand it.

I just think that in normal water conditions, a light fly rod and small nymphs will get you into more fish than spinners or jigs. That may not be the case for all, but it certainly has been my experience. I also happen to enjoy fly fishing them more than I do spin-fishing, so it's the method I use more often than not-but that's a personal decision, and no reflection on what I think others should choose to do. But spinning gear does tend to get me into larger than average fish, it's just that the numbers are considerably less. And spin-fishing these creeks the way they should be fished is not easy- I would venture to say no easier than fly fishing them.

[ness]

Do you want names or just screen names?

Fly fishing is very exclusionary and is viewed as elitist. There is a sense of entitlement among those who solely fly fish that I do not understand. If you are abiding by the laws, single hook, no soft plastics and no bait, I don't care if you are using an Abu 6500 and 20 pound monofilament.

There are many more spin fishermen talking about elitist fly fishermen than there are actual elitist fly fishermen. I'm not saying there aren't any snobs, they're just a lot more rare than you'd think if all you had were these posts to go on.

I don't know anybody who is 100% fly fish and I don't know anybody who looks down on spin fishermen (or bait-users, snaggers, noodlers, or giggers either). Everybody I know dislikes poachers though.

I'm 75% or more fly fish, probably close to 100% when I fish for trout. It's a better tool overall for what I like to do -- which is fishing small streams for skittish wild trout. I thoroughly enjoy analyzing a stream, making my approach, laying a dry fly over a likely spot, getting the perfect drift, and fooling a trout into coming up and eating it. Some of my most memorable times are with fish I didn't catch. I love the chess match as much as the tug.

It's not about superiority, expensive gear, proper wardrobe, looking the part, being Brad Pitt, dry flies upstream, building a resume, whatever. It's about fishing small streams for skittish wild trout.

Yep -- there are snobs out there: I was in a fly shop over the weekend, and I ran into one of them. He was hell-bent on letting everyone in the shop know he'd traveled the country extensively. He had spent the better part of September fishing Colorado and New Mexico. He mentioned a couple places that I have fished, and since I was right there I kinda tried to join in the conversation. Well he wasn't having any of that, and rolled right over me and continued on about how great it was, and how well he'd done. He didn't buy squat, but if he had, by gawd, he announced it would have been Winston or Fishpond. This guy was a snob (or maybe blow-hard is a better description), that fly fished. I suspect his snobbishness wasn't limited to fly fishing.

So, really guys -- give us the benefit of the doubt. You can't rightly paint the whole group of us with that brush. If you do, you are really the snobs.

Maybe it's a feeling of inferiority driving this? If that's the case, that's your issue.

Andy -- PM your list of screen names please. I'd like to see if I'm on it.