Don’t Be Afraid of the Spring Creeks

Here’s another article that I wrote for our Flyfishing in Paradise booklet:

Before I had even moved to Montana, back in 2004, I knew about the Paradise Valley spring creeks. I knew that they were world-famous fisheries, where the best anglers paid a fee to challenge themselves against highly “educated” trout. I knew that they hosted prodigious hatches of mayflies which had to be imitated nearly perfectly. I knew that they were clear and shallow, with tricky currents. I knew all this. And frankly, I was intimidated. Intimidated enough that I never set foot on any of them the first five or so years that I lived a half-hour away, despite the thousands of hours I spent waving my rod on other local waters. Then one day I screwed up my courage and booked a day at DePuy’s Spring Creek. Armed with a little advice and a few flies from a local fly shop, I made my way to the creek. And, lo-and-behold, I caught some trout. Not a lot, mind you, but enough to make my former trepidation seem a bit foolish. Since then, I’ve fished the Paradise Valley spring creeks in all seasons, with nymphs, dry flies, and even streamers. I’ve guided them a few times. I’m far from a spring creek expert, but I’ve learned that even an intermediate angler can be successful on these storied waters if prepared with the right approach.

Notice that I said an intermediate angler, not a novice. The spring creeks are challenging, to be sure. To be successful, the angler needs to be able to cast fairly accurately, if not particularly far. A drag-free drift, at least for moderate distances, is a must. A day on one of the creeks is likely to be an exercise in frustration, and a waste of money, if the basic skills haven’t yet been mastered. All that said, the spring creeks are actually a great place for relative novices to improve their fly fishing skills with the help of a guide. In truth, a day with a guide is a good idea for anyone who’s new to the spring creeks. If you’ve already spent a bunch of money traveling to Montana for a multi-day trip to the spring creeks, one day’s guide fee is a small price for some expert instruction. Some anglers who fish the spring creeks multiple days every year still hire guides for every one of those days. Hire a guide; you’ll be glad you did.

But let’s say you’ve decided to forgo the guide and hit the creeks by yourself. You can still be successful doing it on your own. Stop at one of the Livingston-area fly shops (preferably Sweetwater Fly Shop), and tell them where you’re going. They’ll help you select some flies and provide advice about where, and how, to fish the particular creek you’re visiting. And when you’re there, remember to look up once in a while. The creeks are surrounded by some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. They don’t call it the Paradise Valley for nothing.

Anytime someone mentions the Paradise Valley spring creeks, you usually hear three names: DePuy’s, Armstrong’s, and Nelson’s. But these three creeks are actually only two individual streams. The first flows into the Yellowstone River from its west side. It rises from the ground on and flows through, the O’Hair’s Ranch, where it is known as Armstrong Spring Creek. It then flows through the DePuy’s Ranch, where it is known as DePuy’s Spring Creek: two different stretches of the same creek. The second stream flows through Nelson’s Ranch on the east side of the Yellowstone River. This is, you guessed it, Nelson’s Spring Creek. DePuy’s is the most beginner-friendly, as its riffles, runs, and pools are the most like a classic freestone. Nelson’s is the most challenging, and probably not the best of the creeks for a first-timer.

Spring creeks have a nearly constant flow and temperature as they ooze from beneath the ground. This temperature is actually equivalent to the mean temperature of the region in which they exist. In Montana, it’s 52 degrees. But there are spring creeks in other states too. In Florida, for example, spring creeks emit much warmer water (too warm for trout survival) because the yearly mean temperature is much warmer in Florida than in Montana.

Montana spring creeks’ constant cool temperatures (warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer) mean that their trout feed consistently all year round. The spring creeks also contain a high concentration of nutrients. This leads to increased aquatic insect and crustacean life. But the Paradise Valley creeks are conducive to midges and small mayflies, not to large stoneflies. Most of the food available to spring creek fish tops out at around a size 16 here, and much of it is considerably smaller. If you’re my age, some magnifying glasses can be almost a necessity, if you ever want to get your tippet through the eye of these diminutive flies.

One of the most useful tidbits of spring creek wisdom given to me was offered by master spring creek guide Brant Oswald. Spring creek trout are not actually any smarter than other trout, Oswald pointed out. They can, however, afford to be more selective in their food choices. Because of the plethora of food that is available to them, particularly during hatch periods, spring creek trout can “key in” on a single bug (or even a single stage of that bug) and still get enough to eat. They simply don’t have to be as opportunistic as freestone trout. It is possible to catch trout on the spring creeks with attractor dries and nymphs, but you’re likely to do better if you do a good job of imitating what they’re currently eating.

For this reason, the spring creeks can actually be a bit easier to fish during times when no hatches are occurring. In the winter, for example, the fish are somewhat more opportunistic in their feeding. Because the water temperature stays relatively warm even during the cold months of the year, spring creek trout continue to feed steadily, unlike their freestone brethren. And they’re not feeding as selectively as during the summer. A well-presented mayfly nymph, midge pupa, scud, or sowbug can be quite effective on a warm winter’s day. As a bonus, the rod fees are lower in the winter ($40 per angler compared to $140 during the summer months) and you’re less likely to be aced out of a good-looking spot by another angler.

But “matching the hatch,”, particularly with dry flies, is often what makes the spring creeks a draw to anglers from around the world. Fooling a rising fish with your floating imitation will make you feel like you really have this fly fishing thing down. Especially if you’ve had to change your fly several times to find just the right one. The Paradise Valley spring creeks are most renowned for their mid-summer Pale Morning Dun (PMD) mayfly hatches. However, I find the spring and fall Baetis (blue-winged olive) mayfly hatches to be friendlier to the angler who’s still using a spring creek “learner’s permit.” The creeks aren’t as crowded (in fact, it can often be difficult to get on any of the creeks on short notice during the summer months), the rod fees aren’t as high, and the fish aren’t quite as wary.

Regardless of which hatch you are fishing, there is a predictable sequence of events that unfolds. The nymphs shed their nymphal shucks, becoming an emerger. The newly emerged duns rest on the surface for a brief time while their wings become ready for flight, and then they fly away. A few of the emerging duns get stuck in their shucks and others can emerge with crippled wings. These become easy pickings for trout. Your fishing strategy can follow this sequence.

Before the hatch begins, fish nymphs progressively closer to the surface. If you’re able to spot feeding trout, follow them up the water column as they feed higher. During the hatch proper, you’ll be tempted to switch to a dun pattern. After all, you’re seeing hundreds of duns floating down the river past you. And yes, you can catch fish, sometimes may fish, on duns. But it pays to remember that duns are “risky” food for the trout. The duns have the tendency to fly away just as the fish rises up to slurp them off of the surface. Energy wasted. An emerging nymph or cripple doesn’t present this risk. For this reason, it often pays to fish an emerger or cripple pattern, either on its own or as a dropper beneath your dun pattern. An unweighted nymph dusted with a powdered floatant, such as Frog’s Fanny, can be an effective dropper fly. It also pays to remember that more nymphs are moving subsurface, attracting trout attention, even as duns are emerging.

If you’re planning to be on the creek into the evening (or in the early morning), don’t neglect the spinner fall. Mayflies complete their life cycles by metamorphosing from duns to spinners. The spinners fly in clouds over the riffles, where they mate. The males then usually fall spent the water. After their eggs ripen, females will lay them, and then they too usually lay spent in the water. Trout will usually eagerly feed on the fallen spinners. Though spinner falls typically take place in riffles, the biggest trout will often be found feeding in slower water below the riffle, where they can expend less energy as they eat.

Presentation is probably the most important determinant of whether an actively rising fish will take your fly. A drag-free presentation, one where the fly floats naturally with the current as if it’s not tethered to a fishing rod, is critical. Mayflies rarely skate across the water’s surface, and your dragging fly will immediately alert the trout that it’s not the real thing. Always take a moment to plan out your presentation strategy before you begin casting. How can you present your fly so that it’s not dragging when it passes over the fish? Casting from a position upstream and across from the fish can often be your best bet. This also assures that your fly will reach the fish before your leader does. You can also cast from directly above the fish, using a pile cast to provide slack line to feed down to where the fish is rising. Just remember to allow your line to float past the fish before recasting. That way, you’re not picking up your line directly over the fish which will most likely spook it and stop it from surface feeding.

A longer leader can also help prevent drag, particularly in the complex currents of a spring creeks’ flat water. If you’re getting refusals, try tying on a bit more tippet. Don’t go wild and end up with a rig so long that you can’t cast it. But a couple feet of extra length will give you a few seconds more of drag-free drift, and that can make all the difference. If that doesn’t work, you may need to go to a thinner diameter of tippet. I usually start with 6X and then go down to 6.5X (yes, TroutHunter makes half-size tippet material) or 7X if I’m getting refusals. Any tippet lighter than that, and you’re likely to break off any fish that you hook.

Entire books have been written on spring creek flies. I won’t go into specifics about particular patterns here. Your best bet is to stop into one of the fly shops near the spring creeks and ask a friendly employee to point out a few favorite patterns. Just be sure not to head out to the creek under-gunned. Get one or two patterns in each of the types I’ve discussed: nymphs, duns, emergers, cripples, and spinners. Get them in the size suggested by the expert, and possibly also in one size smaller. Switching the size of your fly can often entice a wary trout to take. But I’ve found that it’s usually a smaller bug that the trout are looking for, not a larger one. And don’t sweat the color too much. Artificial flies vary in color from fly to fly, but so do the naturals. Get the profile and size right, and you’ve got a good chance of fooling the fish, regardless of whether you’ve got just the right shade of olive. And get at least 3 of each pattern. Yes, it’ll end up being a bit of an investment, but you don’t want to work hard to find a fly that’ll work, then lose your only one to the first fish that takes it, or to a tree on the bank.

Remember to wade slowly and stealthily at all times. Waves travel far in the relatively slow and flat water of the spring creeks. And there can be fish just about anywhere. If you’re “blind” nymphing (not fishing to a sighted fish), cover the water systematically, first with short casts, then with progressively longer casts. Then move a few feet and start the process again. And don’t worry if you spook a fish. You will. There are plenty more fish out there.

Above all, enjoy your time on these special creeks, regardless of how many fish you catch. Pause and relish each fish that you do catch. Fishing the spring creeks is not a numbers game. Think of it as a puzzle that is yours to solve. There’s little more satisfying in our sport than to put those pieces together.

If you enjoyed this article check out more articles you might like on our “Tips and Tricks” page.