Posted by Jim E (24.117.251.11) on October 07, 2004 at 16:40:49:
A common new fly fisherman mistake
Many new fly fisherman struggle as to what to do when faced with moving water. They have had years of fishing conventional tackle for bass and panfish, as I do too. And, most likely, all of that fishing was in lakes or ponds. So to a new fly fisherman, when he or she approaches their first flowing trout water, everything is as if they are starting over. With a rod in their hand that works like no other rod that they have cast before and a fly that is the smallest bait that they have ever tied on. Add a body of water that they could easily chunk a rock from shore to shore and it’s easy to see why a newbie would be frustrated.
The first step is to remember that you are not fishing for bass. Casting to dead trees and grass close to the bank will rarely yield any trout. Also, the backwater with no current and trash floating in it will most likely be troutless. Yes, I agree that areas like this look “fishy”, but they are “bass fishy” not “trout fishy”. Now, there might be times when a trout could be found there, lurking or sulking. But actively feeding fish will be elsewhere. The old adage “90% of the fish are in 10% of the water” applies to trout also. So, don’t waste your time in those spots unless you only want to practice your casting. But, the faster that you realize and accept that trout are lazy the better off you will be.
Trout are able to find current breaks in even the fastest and most turbulent of currents. They just sit there and wait for the current to bring their food to them. That way the only energy that they have to expel when feeding is to dart out and grab said food and then back to their current break. Earlier I called them lazy, but really they are efficient and smart.
So as a general rule of thumb, don’t look to the banks for trout, but to the middle of the river. This combined with a few hours of casting practice can get you well on your way to fly fishing for trout, the quiet sport.
Thanks for reading and comments are always welcomed.
Jim Enns <*;)))))))))))><