After my last post on stomach pumps, I thought it would be a good time discuss a better way to determine what trout are feeding on. Building a stream screen is by far the best $11.61 you’ll ever spend on improving your fly-fishing. It will not only improve your trout fishing, but you’ll feel better knowing that you didn’t harm a trout to determine what they’re feeding on.

So go down to your local hardware superstore and pick up a couple of 7/8×48” dowels and some fiberglass screening. The section I used was 36×36”. My total cost for this project was $11.61. I had the staples. You may already have most of this stuff in your garage or basement. Don’t get hung up on the size of the dowels or screening. You could even use furring strips if you had them. You’ll also need scissors, staple gun and a hammer.

Now put the end of the screening on the first dowel about 2-3” from the bottom. Leave approximately 1/2” of screen past the end of the dowel. Staple the screen to the starting at the bottom and working toward the top (6-8 staples).

Tap the staples in with a hammer, flat against the screen. Now turn the dowel 1 ½ times so that your staples are on the other side of the dowel. Put in another set of staples on this side of the dowel and tap them flat with the hammer. Attach the remaining dowel to the other end of the screen the same way and you’re done.

In my next post we’ll show you how to use the stream screen, what you can expect to find and how to use that information to select an appropriate fly.