Learning to read rivers

[Paul Arden]

One of my students is learning to fly fish on rivers and has a million questions, which is great. On Sexyloops we don’t have a particularly strong rivers section. Maybe we can build some content here that I can transfer across?

So for me, no.1 is to learn how to read rivers. How the water flows downstream, creates currents and how this funnels food. Then how the fish use this to feed. And then finally their bolt or sleeping holes/stations, which every fish needs nearby.

How do you read a river?

I think one of my best ways is to take a few visible flies and watch how the current moves them. One should be a huge dry fly and the other an orange tungsten beaded nymph. Between the two you should be able to work out currents work, which often spiral downriver creating seams. In addition, you can also visit the river in autumn, and study how leaves are washed downstream and where they lay etc. In other words you must be a student as to how water moves.

What do you teach in this regards?

Thanks,
Paul

[Mangrove Cuckoo]

I found this book to be helpful...

Moving water. A flyfisher's guide to currents. By Jason Randall

Can't offer much on teaching though... in this case I'm definitely still the student.

[VGB]

There’s a few common themes for me, everything else is time on the water. Learning how to wade is first on the list. People that have previously coarse fished have transferable skills.

I talk about foam lines as being like a sushi bar, the survival work reward benefits of particular lies. Over a period of time, I may talk about undercuts, stagnation points, and finding fish in obscure places like circulating water or under the flattest of stones.

Flies and feeding are generalisations for me, I can’t remember Latin names . I tend to try and get the angler thinking about what they see in front of them, learn to solve puzzles not read from recipes.

Presentation in pocket water and long smooth glides require different approaches and different waters require tailored approaches. For a river novice, I would suggest getting to learn their home water first but be advised that local constraints may impose particular solutions. A significantly different water may require new solutions. I’d been river fishing for quite some time before I went somewhere where downstream fishing doesn’t get you tarred and feathered.

There’s a reason that books are written on this stuff because there’s a wide variety of waters and changing conditions even on a single water may require a different approach. I like solving the puzzle, even if it takes a few blanks to get there.

Regards

Vince

[Paul Arden]

Confidence when wading is a very important point, Vince. Man, that’s a whole topic in itself. And actually walking around the river also teaches you about currents! For me the most important thing when it comes to rivers, is to understand how water flows, and how fish react to it.

It took me a very long time to learn but I’ve since realised that currents are also very important on lakes and critical with the salt too.

You’re right about the wading. My first question for any flyfisherman I guide or teach is… can they swim? If they can’t, not only do I need to be aware of this, but very likely their confidence is going to be lower.

There won’t be many rivers I’ve fished where I haven’t fallen in at least once!

Cheers, Paul

[Boisker]

Wow… big topic…

Understanding where fish move through the season, weather, water levels etc…. Mostly water temp related.

Fast water, more oxygen, bug factories etc, always amazing how people just fish pools and ignore the fast 6-12” deep riffled water, during warm summer days that’s where, or just below, the majority of feeding fish will be.

[whinging pom]

Its a tricky science to teach and its really about experience of the water, which builds up a picture of fish lies, of likely spots, of what is juvenile habitat , what is adult habitat,what is prime real estate for a brown to hold its feeding position. Recognising food lanes is one of the easier and basic skills to master and are pretty evident on most waters.

The clues for us in our stream are all on the surface of the water .and that for me on, our water,is the key to success.

However,when I was in NZ i got great advise from a guide David Murray Orr, on many of the waters with larger trout they were more sporadically placed and 'fishing the likely water' wasted a lot of time and probably spooked what was there. You need to spot the trout. Never easy.
Getting some elevation or shade you need to watch the river bed and look for shadows of fish moving, its usually the tail with give them away , then trace upwards and you'll see the trout. I found this worked great in Aus too.. but never managed to do it in the UK.


advice from our stream in England is a bit basic and maybe a bit obvious but here goes:-

(Im not a great fishermen, im not very adaptable, there ain't many strings to my bow, but i really know my home stretch of stream.)

For most members that go down for a few hours a couple of dozen times a year the average return is about 1.5 trout per visit , 20 or 30 a season, My average is usually 5-8 per visit and over 200 a season, so i get members trying to find the secret. or whether i fish it loads, what equipment what flies, what wonderful technique etc... Even daft excuses like am i using really expensive equipment ( an old Im6 blank at present)

a few times a year ill take someone down and fish next to them wading up stream together and ill try and see whats going wrong, Occasionally its technique, but if theyre getting 20-30 a season there not much wrong with technique for a small stream. By the far the commonest difference is watching the water,, You have to be a good detective!

I try and get it over that the clues are appearing sporadically up stream , if your not intent on the water ahead your missing clues.If im speaking to them im watching the water, if im unhooking a snagged fly im feeling it and watching the water.iif i have an obstacle like a log to get over , i try to never take my eyes off the water ahead. If i am casting i dont look over my shoulder unless its a quick glance for snags...

Metronome rising fish are pretty rare in all but the most brilliant rises than are as rare as hens teeth on our water, often a rising fish will only rise every few minutes , if you not watching you dont see them, if you only catch a glimpse of the ripples traveling away you don't have the location.

I explain that even for tricky tasks im always watching
For unhooking or changing flies , i try to run the analogy of when we used to drive with cassette players in the car,

On the motorway ( freeway) You'd eject he cassette, youd find its box, rummage for the one you want, reject a few, find a favorite unbox it and feed it in the machine put the box away. All the time glancing at the road as often as possible between taking tiny looks down to manage the tape exchange, im sure we've all done it searching for something while driving ... i do the same changing flies or unhooking,, the stream being the road ahead,
Building up a picture of the targets ahead I usually have the next three or four potential targets noted , positioned referenced by proximity to the food lane and some distinguishing bankside feature or foliage, as i approach get more intent on those zones looking for further clues to give away the presence: the obvious surface disturbance of a rise:, and smooth bulge appearing where there should be ripple, a dip or fold appearing in the surface, a slide or shift in the surface contrary too rhythm of the water, Often it could be an eddy or reaction to some shifting weed , sometimes its a nymphing fish not breaking the surface.

i hope that makes sense.

The other difference is what happens when they catch the fish. lets say a typical place is the tail of a pool before it narrows into a rifle or run , they play out the fish in the pool move forward with the net , and unhook it.
Im aware that usually those concentrations in food contain more than one good lie for a feeding trout and there maybe a few feeding in the proximity at that moment of activity,
My first reaction on strike ( or Lift really ) is to simultaneously walk back down stream and the fish usually follows like a dog on a lead, once im back a few yards in fished water , where i can deal landing it measuring weighing and scale sampling if i need to, and the pools and water ahead is not disturbed.

Unless im concentrating on a spot i watch the water with more of a general 1000 yard zombie stare sort of mesmerised by the rhythms of the water, i find i get more peripheral vision that way and anything that occurs out of kilter immediately becomes apparent and you zoom in
best pom

[Paul Arden]

Yes the other way is to work backwards of course. When you see a rise or catch a fish, you need to work out what brought it to that position.

NZ is very much about reading the water to find the fish. Occasionally a lie screams fish but impossible to spot. Then a quick cast through the run and move on. Typically on the backcountry stuff I’d fish 10km/river in one day (plus walk out). There were some huge days with 15km of fishing. The one I’m thinking of has 35 fish. That one I regard as “prolific”.

However this chap lives in Ireland!

Cheers, Paul

[VGB]

I think this is a process we all go through

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OODA_loop

[Boisker]

Is that a long winded version of suck it and see

[VGB]

My “stick a f’ing big fly” on was a calculated decision