A creek or small river is most notably referred to as a spring creek when the immediate source of its flow is derived from an upwelling of spring water. It’s entire flow may or may not be from one spring, but numerous spring water seepages along it’s course. Spring creeks are usually very rich in nutrients and aquatic weed growth and spring creeks typically have prolific hatches of aquatic bugs. It’s also very important to note that a true spring creek has a nearly constant water temperature at the source. Having a stable temperature window along with the aforementioned richness is one of the primary reasons why spring creeks are the incredible fisheries they are.

It is the creek’s ability to maintain cool water temperatures throughout the heat of summer and warmer than freezing temps through winter that make spring creeks very appealing to trout and these characteristics make spring creeks year round fisheries.

Spring creek fishing is more challenging than fishing a small mountain stream generally because of two things: current speed and window of opportunity. Small mountain streams are often steeply pitched and follow a course through boulders in a quick drop from pool to pool.

Think about the one thing you hear when you are near a mountain stream. It’s the sound of the moving water.  It’s fast, boisterous, churning, gurgling and one thing is clear –it’s noisy. Spend time on a spring creek and what’s the one thing you don’t hear? Yep, you guessed it, rushing waters. Spring creeks are best typified as a softer, more gentle course of water.

Just to have food in the water, not necessarily.  Throughout the year there are bug species available because of the consistency of water temps and rich nutrient levels. There’s almost certainly going to be scuds, sow bugs, aquatic annelids and other nymphs that will be available almost all the time, even in the winter. Certainly there is a specific time of year for each given hatch species. Each spring creek will have its own timetable. On our Montana spring creeks the general yearly timetable for hatches stays pretty much the same for the individual species. For example, saying PMDs start June 11 every year is not the case.  But to say that PMDs start some time around the second or third week of June is acceptable.  If there is a specific hatch that you really want to hit, it doesn’t take too much asking around with the local flyshops and guides in order to find out.  

‍Here are a few tips on How to Find Rivers Near You for Fishing.

Search by Map or by Name

The search feature in onWater allows you to find waters via map view or a list view. Using Map View  you can explore waters around your exact location or search for waters far away. Using the Search bar you can type in the name of a river. Maybe you read about the river in a report or saw someone's post on Instagram but do not know the location or any nearby areas. Type it in, tap on the river, and start exploring.

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