Bubble Line Creek makes it way off the mountains into a remote valley studded with cattle ranches and few homes. It meanders West, but at times flows North, South and yes occasionally East. When you are on the water at times it seems like you are going in circles. It is a stream rich in aquatic insects as a number of spring creeks keep flows up and the stream cool and well fed with mineral rich water. The predominant trout are rainbows, but it has a healthy and challenging population of brown trout. Lined with grass, high banks, willows, wild roses, ribes, nightshade, rip rap and occasional scrub, it is a stream that doesn’t have a lot of scenic appeal.
In fact, most mature, low gradient valley streams that flow through ranch land that I’ve fished reflect decades of abuse as the photo below symbolizes.
The reach I fished on Sunday morning is very, very low gradient with a lot of shallow water separating deep (4-10’) pools, corners and eddys. The bottom is a combination of sometimes muddy banks, sand, small gravel interspersed with section of softball sized cobble. In places there is a lot of moss. In others, the bottom, while not pristine, is relatively clean. While wading up or down you’ll occasionally encounter the debris of a shrub or willow that has broken away from the bank creating an interesting eddy mid-stream.
Bubble Line Creek gets its name from the prominent bubble lines that are reliable indicators of where the fish are likely to be found. Having fished the creek regularly for well over a decade, fish behavior is predictable and consistent. A few rising fish might be found at dawn feeding on midges, but for the most part, the insects don’t really turn on until about mid-morning. But once they do, then the rainbows move upstream slightly above the lips of the big pools and feed continuously. Prior to the hatches, the rainbows generally hang just below the lip of the pool feeding on nymphs and pupa. Browns on the other hand, especially the larger ones, tend to hang close to the banks, tucked into bank side structure, shunning the brightness of the mid-day hatches. When you tangle with a decent brown its almost always under a distinct bubble line snugged against bank side structure. While the rainbows spread out more in mid-stream, there is usually a prominent mid-stream bubble line close by that indicates the concentrated flow of food in the stream.
Snaked this colorful brown out of a streamside brush holding position with a well-placed bugger
On this foray to Bubble Line Creek, I alternated between swinging a bugger and dredging some PT nymphs through likely holding spots. Both produced well. The bugger is especially effective in seducing browns out of bank side holding spots, while the PT nymph is a better approach to target rainbows holding below the lips of pools prior to the onset of the hatch. Today it was a few PMDs, lots of caddis and a reasonable hatch of Tricos. As August progresses, the Trico hatch will become the prominent hatch and result in choking clouds of tiny mayflies that can actually become annoying. Into September and October, the BWO hatch can also be impressive. Let's hope the water holds up through August.
Last edited:
