How to Approach a Trout Stream & Avoid Spooking Fish
Before you wade in and start casting, spend a few minutes observing the water, looking for likely trout lies, as well as any signs that fish are feeding on something specific. Photo: Charles Hildick-Smith
Excerpted from Phil Monahan’s new book
The Orvis Quick-Start Guide to Fly Fishing
Fly-fishing success starts before you make the first cast. Did you choose the right stream or section of river? Did you bring the right equipment and rig your rod in a way that will help you make the right presentation and land the fish? Did you remember where you put your car keys?
Once you’ve got all year gear on, it can be tempting to rush down the water and start casting. Avoid this impulse. First you must use your most vital pieces of equipment: your eyes. Approach the water slowly and cautiously, and try to avoid silhouetting yourself against the sky. Crouch, if necessary. Trout don’t have great eyesight outside the water, but they know how to identify a potential threat from above
Stop well back from the water’s edge, so you don’t spook any trout that may be holding close to the near bank. It’s a natural impulse to focus first on the best trout lies–along cutbanks, near big boulders, below drop-offs–but it pays to scan the water closest to you, even if it doesn’t seem particularly fishy. You might be surprised to spot a trout where you didn’t expect one, and you may end up making your first casts without getting your feet wet. During my time as a guide, I regularly had to stop clients from wading into the very fish we were trying to catch.
Once you’ve checked the water close to you, start looking for likely trout-holding spots, based on what you learned in the last chapter. Where are the trout most likely to be? As you identify each spot, consider where you’d like to stand to try to deliver a fly there. Make a mental map of where the trout are, and then start planning how you are going to get into position to cast to those lies. You want to work your way from near to far, so you don’t spook one trout while you’re trying to catch another.
Wade carefully (not like this guy on the left), trying to make as little wake as possible, and pay attention to where your shadow falls on the water. Photos: Charles Hildick-Smith (left) and Phil Monahan
If you see a trout rising, of course, you know right where it is, but that doesn’t mean you should wade right in and start casting. Instead, take a few moments to simply watch when and how the fish is rising. Is it rising in a predictable rhythmic manner, or are the rises sporadic? If the trout is rising with a steady cadence, that means that there is a steady supply of food, such as an insect hatch or a spinner fall. Observe the water’s surface to see if you can identify floating duns, spinners, or nymphal shucks.
If rises are irregular or sporadic, the hatch may be sparse or the fish are feeding more opportunistically. Sometimes, there are several insects on the water at the same time, but the trout have keyed on just one of them. You may have to change flies a few times before you hit on the right imitation. These are the kinds of variables that make fly-fishing endlessly interesting, and sometimes frustrating, but the first step is always observation.
This initial period of observation goes a long way toward helping you slow down and really think about your approach. I know several anglers who, as a rule, never tie on a fly at the car. Instead, they spend a few minutes looking at the stretch they’re going to fish, and only then rig their leader and fly. This measured, considered approach will help you catch more trout.
How to Avoid Spooking Fish
Trout have to worry about predators, so they are often very wary and easily spooked. In general, once you’ve spooked a trout, your chances of catching it are almost zero, so it pays to be stealthy. Because most trout predators–such as ospreys, herons, bears, and humans–attack from above, the fish are particularly attuned to what’s happening above the water, and they also have a series of organs called the lateral line, which is incredibly sensitive to vibration. One thing that works in your favor is that the fish in a river or stream are facing into the current, which is why it’s usually best to approach them from downstream if you’re fishing a dry fly or a nymph.
Things that make trout even warier than usual include bright sun, clear water, and low water, all of which make the fish more visible to predators. Whenever you encounter these conditions, stay farther away from your target and be extra careful about your movements. Conversely, on cloudy days and when the water is high or off-color, the trout let their guard down a bit, which means you can get closer and you don’t have to worry as much about shadows and flashes from your gear.
As we discussed in the last chapter, those places where the water’s surface is broken, such as in riffles and heads of pools, make the fish feel safer than they do in flat water. So the trout holding in the shallow, flat tail of a pool are often much more skittish than those at the head. Keep this in mind as you plan your approach.
Keys to Stealth
Watch a heron stalk its prey in the shallows of a pond or a river, and you can clearly see why stealth is so important to anglers of all kinds. A good fly fisher is always aware of his surroundings and how his place in them may be tipping off the fish that something’s amiss. Here are five ways you can be more like that heron:
1. Blend In
This starts with your fishing clothes. Try to wear stuff that’s drab and won’t set you off against the streamside background. You don’t need full turkey-hunting camo, but wear both a shirt and hat of neutral colors. It’s also important to avoid wearing anything reflective or flashy. That chrome hemostat looks great dangling from your vest, but it reflects the sun on a bright day. If anything on your person is sending out such signals, tuck it in a pocket or attach it under your vest.
2. Avoid Sending Out Vibrations
If a trout is tipped off to your presence, it will go on high alert, even if it doesn’t spook. If possible, don’t wade into the water at all. The splashes of your footfalls and the sounds of waders against the rocks on the bottom can give you away. When you are on the streambank, walk slowly and carefully, as heavy footfalls send out vibrations. When you are in the water and moving upstream, wade carefully and slowly, trying not to throw a wake ahead of you. In flatwater sections, even the smallest surface disturbance can stop trout from feeding.
Trout fishing is all about presenting your fly in a way that draws a strike. You can help the cause by not spooking the fish before it has a chance to see your fly. Note the angler’s drab clothing and low profile. Photo: Sandy Hays
3. Keep a low profile
Trout can detect movement along the banks, so if you crouch (or even crawl, if necessary) as you approach a good lie, you’ll increase your chances of moving under the radar. Try to break up your silhouette by staying close to bushes and trees. When you are moving to a different part of a pool or run, stay well back from the water’s edge.
4. Watch your shadow
Don’t let your shadow, or that of your rod or fly line, fall over the fish. Since many of their predators come from above, fish are terrified of shadows. Position yourself relative to the sun to keep shadows away from good lies. This is especially vital in the morning and evening, when the sun is low in the sky, casting longer shadows.
5. Slow Down
If you walk, wade, and move more slowly, you’ll make less noise and less commotion in the water, and you’re less likely to alert your quarry of your presence. Moving slowly also makes you more observant and less likely to make mistakes.
