When I was your age I often fished in the creeks like you talked about,a creek that normally runs 3 to 6 feet deep should hold some good fish,like everybody said downsize your baits and if that don't work try old school and drop a live minnow on a fiberglass pole and let it work downstream if there are fish in it,and I bet there are they should hit it.That should give you a good idea of what type of fish are there and how big they are.