MOVE That Water!

Often the image most people have when it comes to fly fishing is someone standing in a river, stagnant, casting line out over and over. I think this image has been really harmful for beginning and even experienced anglers. 

There are a lot of things we cannot control on the water that might influence whether or not a fish will eat our fly. Water temperature, angling pressure, barometric pressure, weather conditions, and time of day can ALL have a pretty big impact on the fish we seek and every region, stream, and species is going to react very differently to all these situations. 

With this uncontrollable nature of the sport it can sometimes be hard to accept our situation and we can waste a lot of time casting and waiting. However I think that if our pursuit is to get out on the water regardless of conditions and catch fish we have to focus on what we can control and maximize our time as much as possible. 

Now that being said, there are a lot other choices we can make on the water that can also influence if a fish will take. We make decisions on what fly we use, how we approach the water, what direction we fish, and of course where we cast. If there is a plethora of things outside of our control there are is at least cache of things we can control. With this overwhelming amount of choice it can be hard to make decisions that lead to consistent numbers in the net. I will often see anglers wasting precious minutes on the water tying notes over and over, trying a fly for a few casts then deciding they must just not be biting so they are on to the next, feet firmly planted in the ground. 

This of course used to be my approach as well. Starting out I was taught all about the different kinds of flies I could use so I made it my mission to always have the perfect fly for any situation. I would try a fly and then if in a few casts I didn’t get any hits I would change my fly. Often times I still wouldn’t get any hit and many days I went home never even seeing a trout. Days like this were disappointing and so I knew I was missing something. 

To change this I made it my mission to learn to what water fish would eat in. I simplified the situation. I have found in fishing and in life that often if you can limit the amount of choices and focus on just a couple of things you can have a much larger impact on your outcomes. It become my goal to cover as much water as possible and fish everything I could, and. I learned a lot. Of course I discovered water types trout would eat in and I found places where trout could strike but fishing would slow. However the biggest thing I saw was the number in my net skyrocket. 

Now it is very rare for me to go a day without catching a fish, of course it happens - that’s why it’s “fishing” not “catching” right? Still when these days come I can feel good about the things I accomplished in a day when I moved a lot of water. It's like I am in control, like I can make something happen. My favorite approach is very simple, I like a dry dropper or double nymph rig tied onto a long leader. With either of these set ups the mission is the same, tie it on and then go for a hike!

I am not talking about a few hundred yard either, no I’m talking 1-2 miles of stream in a session. SEE THE RIVER. Don’t get stuck on one run that you may think “just has to hold fish”. Throw a few casts into it, find the bottom with your nymph try some different level and then move on. If you’re fishing quality trout water most likely you are right, there is a fish there. Maybe it didn’t see your fly, maybe it’s eating something else, maybe it was just caught and now is spooked, or maybe that trout just isn’t hungry, who knows! You could sit there and try over and over for that one fish and one situation or you could move on, pick up and hit the next whole. This can very typically make a HUGE difference. The fish in the next pocket might be keying in on your fly, or maybe they are hungrier, or maybe the angler before you stopped just before that pocket, again who knows! Just get out there and explore that water! 

There is another benefit to fishing faster and exploring more eater as well…

In this endeavor of covering more water I have also gotten to see more of the world and fish places I might have missed. Spots further from any access or any road than I had planned to hit. I have seen breathtaking landscape hidden just beyond the river bend. Elk taking a drink from the water, ram high above a secluded valley, even bears hiking through the forest stealthy through an untouched, truly wild spot most would miss. Some of my best experiences out there have been just beyond where I thought I should stop, just beyond where I thought fish would be.

My plea to you would be to just MOVE water. Tie on a nymph and drop a midge then just take a hike. Throw a couple casts in each pocket and then move on, see the next spot. You will learn more, see more, and of course catch more fish. 

Fish well friends, see you out there.