Fly Fishing Lesson – Reading The River Part1
This article gives fly fishing beginners some good basics on where fish typically hold in rivers and streams. Reading a river or stream is a very good fly fishing lesson all beginners must learn to be effective.
When I started to learn fly fishing, a good friend once told me that 90% of the fish are in 10% of the water. This has always stuck with me. If there are no fish where you are presenting your fly, then you’re going to have a difficult time trying to catch them. All good anglers fish the spots that fish are likely hiding in.
In small streams and shallow rivers you may be able to fish by sight which is a whole different ball game. But in a lot of the rivers and streams you cannot see the fish so you need to look for where the fish will be.
Fish in rivers and streams have two primary instincts. 1) Find shelter from predators and the current. 2) Maximizing their feeding ability.
Everything the trout and bass or typically any territorial fresh water fish does is based on the above two principals.
That being said, fish are smart, they know that the fast moving current brings more food like a conveyor belt, but they also know there is a cost, that it’s a lot of energy to stay in the fast moving water. So they try to seek shelter from the fast moving current in various places we will cover but still ready to enter the fast moving water for a quick meal.
Trout and bass also seek concealment so that they do not become a quick meal themselves. They hide in places that are often difficult to reach like under a bank, at the bottom of a hole, behind a rock in white water or under an overhanging tree branch.
Because of this constant balancing act between being with the food source and being concealed from predators while at the same time not having to work too hard for it. Because of this the logical places to start looking is where there are current changes; places where trout can dwell in slow water but still have easy access to fast moving water that they can quickly move into, grab a light snack and return to their spot.
Here is a list of a bunch of the best spots for finding bass and trout.
Rocks; are great places for fish, a good sized rock in the middle of the river or stream offers two places for fish to hold in. With medium to large rocks, behind the rock will be a sheltered spot that they sit in and wait for food flowing past on either side of the rock. The rock can be fully submerged and still offer this protection. Also in front of the rocks where the water hits and pauses for an instant before flowing to the side offers a dead zone or cushion of water that they like to also sit in and wait for food.
Current Seams; This is where to currents meet, often when a tributary or side channel enters a main stream. This is where fast current meets slow current and this offers the protection from the fast current they need while still having the fast current close by to harvest food from.
Look for our next article where we will continue exploring more hiding spots.
