Posted by Jim E (69.92.166.54) on January 13, 2005 at 19:37:19:
Fish’s Security
I think it all could be summed up into one phrase “fish are cowards” !! Or they could be also called “scardy cats, wimps”….etc. You know, any of our old school yard terms would do. One difference though between trout and our school friends of yore is that the bigger the trout is, the wimpier he is. What I am referring to is not fish to fish relations, the bully factor is alive and well there, but the fish’s relation/reaction to everything else. So just boiling it down it is the fact that trout need security. Security only found from some sort of cover. They’ve got to be hidden or at least think that they are hidden to be comfortable.
Really a better term for their actions would be wariness, an instinct necessary for their survival. Without it they could easily succumb to all sorts of dangers, not the least of which might include the skillet.(For the record I’m pretty much 100% C&R) This instinct tells them when things are safe and when things are not. For these reasons, fly fisherman are often excited when they find active, surface feeding fish. Such fish, at the time, are very comfortable with their surroundings and are feeding at their leisure feeling secure. But that comfort factor can easily be disturbed. One loud noise, one bumbled cast or even the wrong fly can send them scurrying for their coveted cover and depending on the individual fish, they may not come out again for 30 minutes or even the rest of the day. So, considering the above, it would behoove us to look for such areas that offer the fish all of the things that they need to exist; cover, food and current breaks.
Focusing on cover, the first obvious good cover would be shear depth. Deep water has less light. It has more distance between the fish and any possible surface predators, more choices of a hiding place (they don’t have to rely on just structure) and deep water, containing less current. But, it may not hold that much of a readily available food source. Next would be structure.
Structure can be anything that blocks some current and/or provides overhead protection. Rocks, boulders, trees, moss, grass etc. can qualify as structure. Often food is a little bit more abundant in these areas, be it trying to find it’s own cover and protection or flowing through with the current. Broken water would also count as cover.
By saying “broken water”, I’m referring to rapids, waves, current stressed water and even wind blown water. All of these somewhat reduce the penetrating light and give the fish a sense of security even though it’s often the “ostrich’s head in the sand” kind of thing. They can’t see anything above the water so it must not be there. Right ? Cloudy, overcast days can give some of the same effects also.
Cloud covered days can offer better fishing and it is well known to be a better type of day for catching browns with their inherently excessive wariness. Again, less light penetration is the reason. As you probably already know, it is harder for us to see “into” the water on darker days than sunlit days and it is the same for the fish thus again adding to the their security.
As you can tell, rapid, turbulent water areas can offer so much to the fish. This is the reason so many fisherman flock to the available shoals found in different rivers. With all of the habitat available there and the ability to hold so many fish, why not ? Many factors come into play when fishing and choosing the right spot ranks right up there at the top. “Fish where they is not where they ain’t”. Look for these features and hope the rest falls into place but not leaving “too” many things to chance !!!
Thanks for reading and please comment as you like.
Jim Enns <*;)))))))))))))><