4. What are spring creeks and why are they different? (4 of 15)

Spring creeks are those low-gradient streams that often come full-blown from underground springs. They often have a rich abundance of food and trout that are more selective and spookier than trout in ordinary meadow streams. So one kind of small stream where you really have to change your game is in a spring creek.
And you can tell I'm standing in a spring creek because you can see the crystal clear water and the aquatic vegetation behind me. So these fish are very well fed. There's a lot of food in spring creeks. They're very productive. Most of the bugs are going to be small, so you really can't get away with just slapping a big, old dry fly out there in spring creek. You're going to have to go to smaller flies, finer leaders, smaller nymphs, and just totally change your game when you're fishing a small spring creek.