It’s not by any means the ‘glamour’ end of the sport.
The big manufacturers don’t tease you with images of their impeccably clad fisher models (with really good teeth) hauling 5 inchers out of cricks on 2 weights and Tenkara rigs.
You won’t see the ‘fish porn de jour’ vids with cranky old guys dapping Royal Wulffs into water that would barely cover their boots.
AFFTA doesn’t have a small stream section and there are no richly-sponsored small stream fly fishing celebrity gurus.
Largely ignored by the fly fishing aristocracy, small stream fishers actually treasure their obscurity.
We’ve been moving the small stream way for several years now, and even though other relatively unknown and inconsequential fly fisher writers have waxed poetic about small streams in months and years past, we’ve elected to provide this partial self-diagnosis checklist to help you determine if you’re infected with the small stream bug.
- You consider a hike to fish ratio of 3:1 reasonable, if not in fact preferable.
- You just spent the past 30 minutes calculating that if you sold your boat cooler, that long sought after 155 Qt. Yeti Tundra, you could buy a really nice 2 weight rig, more 4-wt. tippet and two cases of craft beer.
- Your significant other has recently observed you trying to sneak up on the commode.
- You carry a box of ‘Trail Closed – Bear With Cubs’ warning signs in your truck and post them routinely at your favorite trailheads.
- You could fish the entire season with a Royal Wulff, two Stimulators and three soft hackles.
- Ghillie suits aren’t good enough.
- At the first glimpse of anyone in your vicinity you scream bear, run 30 yards and squeeze off a couple of rounds. You’ll even repeat it if necessary.
- You hiked the soles off your Korkers before last season was 2/3’s done.
- You could easily live four and 1/2 days in the backcountry on a fistful of beef jerky and a baggie of Tang.
- Your significant other is convinced you’re having an affair when you have SSN tattooed on your buttock. You sheepishly explain it’s ‘Small Stream Ninja’. She still doesn’t believe you.
