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An Introduction To River Fishing - Part 2

Our May 2000 contribution from Terry Lawton

The successful river fisherman is the one who keeps his eyes open and takes-in what he sees and makes use of that information. One of the keys to successful river fishing is presentation which includes accurate casting and life-like retrieves.

This article is, predominently, about dry fly fishing, the importance of good presentation and river craft, as I have written a separate series of articles on the delights and mysteries of nymph fishing. These can be found starting at www.fishandfly.co.uk/tledit0999.html

The dry fly is used when fish can be seen rising and taking either hatching flies, flies on the surface already which are either alive (just hatched) or are dead or dying when they are known as spinners. Such flies are usually to be seen lying with their wings spread out and flat on the water.

As you spend more time on rivers and your expertise starts to grow, you will come to the realisation that presentation is of vital importance. In general, if you present a reasonable imitation of a fly or nymph in the right place so that the trout can see it and where he is expecting to see a food item, then there is a reasonable chance of catching that fish. A bad presentation - splashy cast, the fly lands too close to the fish or does not behave in the way the trout expects - will either frighten the fish away, at worst, or, at least, put it off feeding some some time. Accurate casting is vital: you need to be able to place your fly where you want it so that it will float over the fish you are trying to catch.

The importance of balanced tackle

If you try to cast a big fly, for example a size eight Mayfly, you will find it difficult and it is quite likely that the fly will twist your leader and tippet if the latter is too light. The reason is that a big fly needs a heavy tippet, perhaps six pounds. The rod should be used with the correct weight of line (some rods can be fished with a line one weight lighter or heavier), and leader and tippet that are matched to the size of fly being used. You can fish small flies on much lighter and finer tippets than big ones, particularly big bushy ones. When everything is balanced properly, casting and fishing is that much more enjoyable and effective.

Good presentation includes accurate casting and making sure that your fly, once on or in the water, behaves in as natural a manner as possible. Dry flies, with the notable exception of caddis or sedges, drift with the current and do not move about. Sedges, on the other hand, do rush about leaving a wake behind them and so a natural can be fished with some animation. When it comes to nymphs and imitation of other forms of underwater live such as shrimps, they will try to get out of the way of a trout that is about to swallow them. If you cast a nymph upstream of a trout and in line with it, the trout will expect your nymph to try to escape as you retrieve it and it approaches your fish. This is why the induced take is so successful as it imitates a nymph making a last minute escape. But if it keeps on going and threatens to hit the trout on the nose, that fish will probably rush off out of the way of this aggressive nymph. But - like most things in fishing - there are times when a direct, head-on approach is the only way to catch a fish.

Do you always need to cast to rising fish? What happens if there are no fish to be seen rising? Can you fish blind or "fish the water" in the hope of attracting a fish? Years ago the dry fly purist fished only to rising fish: anything else was beyond the pale. Today very few people would criticise someone fishing the water in a sensible way ie casting a fly over areas of water where a fish might be expected to be lying. This is different from simply throwing flies anywhere you can get them to land. As well as casting to likely lies, try areas where there are food lanes or good drifts.

The rings made by a trout as he rises to a fly do not show you where the fish is. He may well be lying further upstream: he may drift back as he rises to take a fly and also the rings are moving down stream all the time. When he has taken the fly he will return to his lie. This means that you may well have to cast that much further upstream than you thought originally. Equally fish do move sideways to intercept tasy morsels.

Different rise forms

The most spectacular rise is when a trout jumps right out of the water to take a fly, for example a damsel fly in high summer. A good hatch of Mayfly will also produce many spectacular rises, often from little fish slashing at these big flies. At the other end of the scale, there is the monster trout whose tiny sip hardly dimples the surface. Big flies and those that take off as soon as their wings are dry are most likely to be attacked by trout and these rises will be big and splashy. Smaller flies and flies caught in the surface film can be taken in a much more leisurely fashion as they are not going to escape quickly, if at all. How easily different rise forms can be seen will deoend on the speed of the river: slow flowing rivers being the easiest and fast and the often turbulent mountain streams hiding rises best.

The most common rise is when a trout rises up to take a fly and simply pushes his nose out of the water. This is followed by the well-known rings as the fish turns down.

The head and tail rise is another rise that is easy to see and identify. A trout rising in this way pushes its nose through the surface of the river, followed by its head, then back and finally tail as it turns down with a fly in its mouths. As this is often a slow rise, the fish is probably taking something that it knows is not going to escape: nymphs in the surface film about to hatch or spent flies that are dying.

The sipping rise is the most difficult to see as it causes the least disturbance to the water surface. Again this is a slow, quiet and purposeful rise to a fly that is not going to escape. Flies likely to be taken this way are spent flies lying dead or dying in the sruface film after they have mated and laid their eggs.

Bulging rises are made by fish feeding underwater, perhaps scooing-up snails or larvae from the river bed or taking swimming nymphs. As the fish moves about underwater and particularly up and down, it causes the water to move or be displaced which often results in a bulge on the river surface.

One reason some anglers will tell you that they have not seen one rise is that on many rivers, trout will rise so infrequently that they are known as "oncers". If you see one rise then you will know where to cast. If you miss its rise, you may not even know it is there, particularly if it is lurking under over-hanging vegetation close to the bank.

Hunting skills

Stalking fish is when you use your hunting skills to single out a really worthwhile fish and get into a position so that you can cast to it without, all being well, frightening it or scaring other fish first. If you identify a good fish, you may find that you cannot get as close to it as you would like because of another fish. In such a case, the answer is to attempt to catch the "other" fish first. If you succeed, you will have to do your best to ensure that when playing it, it does not frighten "your" fish. Try to get it downstream and out of the way so that you can play it and net it without worrying about other fish. You should always try to catch the fish nearest to you before going after fish further upstream.

With the first fish out of the way, you can now consider how to approach your target fish. The clearer the water, the easier if is for you to see the fish but the fish can also see you just as easily if you are not careful to keep out if its field of view. If the water is of a suitable depth and rules allow, it may be necessary to slip into the water and wade into a good casting position. Wading means that you are that much closer to the water and can be seen less easily than when standing, or even kneeling, on the river bank. Before you get into the water, make sure that you know just where your fish is lying, because when you are close to the surface of the river it is not always that easy to see a fish a little way away from you. So mark your fish's position in relation to any prominent features such as a fence post or a piece of weed on the river bank etc.

If you stay on the bank, make the best use of any bankside vegetation to disguise your approach. On a high bank or if the sun is behind you, beware of casting a shadow over the river and frightening fish. (This is something to keep in mind when walking along a river bank: keep back from the river so that fish cannot see you and be frightened. This is particularly important when there are other people fishing nearby.)

How long do you keep casting over a fish? If you spend too long, other fishermen may be waiting for you to move on before they move upstream too. There are club waters you may find yourself being accused of "hammering" a fish if you are seen to keep on casting time after time at or over the same fish with no success. But there are times when you will not be able to work out what fly the fish is taking and so you will need to try different flies. This takes time and can be very difficult if there are different flies on the water at the same time - one or more type of fly is hatching.

When a fish does rise to your dry fly, wait until you see the fish turn down with your fly in his mouth before you tighten your line. I don't like the word strike as to me it suggests something to aggressive. If you miss the fish and you think that you may have pricked him, leave him alone for a few minutes and see if he starts rising again. If he does, all well and good - have another go. But if he does not, then move on to another fish. If you cannot see your fly either because the light is bad or there are so many naturals on the water, always tighten your line if there is a rise close to where you think your fly should be. Sometimes you will find a fish on the end of your line.

The successful river fisherman is the one who keeps his eyes open and takes-in what he sees and makes use of that information. Yes, that little dimple could be a trout rising; that flash underwater may be a trout taking a nymph. Swallows and martins swooping low over the river will tell you that there are flies about. All these little bits of information when added together can make the difference between, perhaps, a fishless day and an interesting, action-packed day on a river.