Written by Jason

“Trout Hangouts” is an ongoing series in which I highlight one specific element or structure of a river, stream, creek, or lake where trout like to hold and talk about how to approach it. Many fly fishers might know how to fish, but not necessarily where to fish. By dissecting the complicated infrastructures of different types of waters into more focused, manageable pieces, any angler can learn how to read the water and figure out exactly where to cast and apply their skills.

There’s probably nothing more alluring to a fly angler than a deep pool lying below a picturesque waterfall.  They’re relatively easy to fish, are usually big enough to hold a significant number of trout, and often hold bigger fish that are wise enough to know it’s good to hold in deeper water.  Deeper water might seem like a challenge to a tenkara angler fishing in the traditional manner with an unweighted fly, but luckily, waterfall pools offer a unique way to easily get your kebari down to fish holding closer to the bottom.

In a recent Trout Hangouts post, I talked about fishing the edges of white water.  Basically, the same rule applies beneath waterfalls which often spill into a pool and generate whitewater.  That type of presentation would apply to areas 1 and 2 in the photo above.  But it’s area 3 (right in the heart of the white water) that presents a unique opportunity to get an unweighted fly to fish holding deep that I’d like to focus on.

A couple of years ago, Daniel wrote a post about how tenkara anglers use rushing water to sink flies.  It’s a simple technique and waterfall pools are the perfect place to do it.  Basically, all you do is cast into the waterfall, lower your rod to create slack line that will allow the plunging water to drag your fly into the depths.  You should see the line getting pulled under and once you see it start to drift downstream, you raise the rod tip and make your presentation.  I like to move my fly so for me, this means pulsing it with the rod tip raised.  But if you want to make a dead drift presentation, simply keep the rod tip up, line tight, and move the rod to follow the speed of the line being taken by the current.

Every time I approach a waterfall pool, my imagination runs wild with what might be lurking in it’s depths.  Waterfalls are magical places that are iconic of our sport.  And even if I only dredge up a few 10-inchers from the depths, it’s at least still fun to indulge in the fantasy.

written by Jason

“Trout Hangouts” is an ongoing series in which I highlight one specific element or structure of a river, stream, creek, or lake where trout like to hold and talk about how to approach it. Many fly fishers might know how to fish, but not necessarily where to fish. By dissecting the complicated infrastructures of different types of waters into more focused, manageable pieces, any angler can learn how to read the water and figure out exactly where to cast and apply their skills.

Some streams have large boulders with flat sides or “rock walls” that line the banks.  These geographical features can take many shapes but often create good holding areas for trout since they provide shelter from the current, sun, and predators.

Look at the picture above.  The green arrows show where I would focus my casts.  Let’s look at each area a little more closely.

1.  Because of the angle of this particular rock, this is area is an ideal holding spot.  It offers slower current, protection from predators, and shade, while still offering a good vantage point for picking up drifting food.  We might not often think about fish seeking protection from sun (and it’s not really the sun they are trying to hide from), but sunlight makes the trout visible to predators.  Shade helps them hide.  Of course, shaded areas will change throughout the day as the Sun moves through they sky.  If I were a trout, this would be my preferred hangout (unless a bigger trout bullied me out of it).

2.  Still pretending I’m a trout, this would be my second choice.  It’s not as good as #1 because it doesn’t offer the shade (right now) and camouflage of #1, but it’s still a pretty good lie.  If I couldn’t get #1, I’d take this as the next best thing.

3.   Trout will also hang out here, especially if there are multiple fish in the same run and the prime spots are already taken.  Fish holding here will often try to flee to #1 if spooked (even if it’s already occupied).  But in my experience, the wiser (and sometimes larger fish) will take over area #1, leaving area #3 for the smaller, less educated fish.  But it’s still worthy of a few casts.

So, how should you prioritize your casts?  I would probably hit #1 first (or #2 if that happens to be the shaded area at that particular time of day).  Of course, you run the risk of putting down fish by casting across #3, but as I said, #1 and #2 will probably hold the bigger fish so I’m willing to run that risk.  Also, with a long tenkara rod, it’s probably easy to keep the line off the water and not put down any fish in #3.

So the next time you’re out, keep your eyes out for rock walls.  And remember that the best holding spots change throughout the day so they might be worth hitting a couple of times a day.

Written by Jason

 
“Trout Hangouts” is an ongoing series in which I highlight one specific element or structure of a river, stream, creek, or lake where trout like to hold and talk about how to approach it. Many fly fishers might know how to fish, but not necessarily where to fish. By dissecting the complicated infrastructures of different types of waters into more focused, manageable pieces, any angler can learn how to read the water and figure out exactly where to cast and apply their skills.

How to fish whitewater runs

In a recent post, I talked about how fish seek out slower water when rivers are high and muddy.  The same rule applies under normal conditions in faster, whitewater runs.  While it might be tempting to throw your fly right in the middle of a fast run (because that’s probably the deepest part) it’s not a good holding spot for trout.

First of all, it’s too fast.  Trout seek out places where they don’t have to spend a lot of energy to stay in one place.  But, they also want to leverage the current to carry insects and other food to them.  Essentially, they want to find a lie with a good balance between energy spent vs. energy received.  Holding in whitewater just takes too much energy.

Secondly, whitewater is, well, white.  With the water churning so violently, it becomes opaque, making it difficult for the fish to see potential food.  So even if they did want a workout, they wouldn’t be able to see a nymph if it were right in front of them.  Or, by the time they did, it would be long gone because of the speed of the current.

Take a look at the picture above.  The green arrows represent where I would focus my presentations.  Notice I’m targeting the slower water around the edges of the whitewater.  These are the best holding spots for trout in a run like this.  Notice too that I’m not only fishing the edges, but the very tail of the run.  Fish will hold here too even if it is a only short distance because they get the benefit of the whitewater above them stirring up insects from the bottom, without having to struggle to hold in the faster water.  Essentially, you want to carve out the whitewater with your presentations.

Leave whitewater for the kayakers.  For the fly angler, the slower moving edges are the more exciting part!

Written by Jason

“Trout Hangouts” is an ongoing series in which I highlight one specific element or structure of a river, stream, creek, or lake where trout like to hold and talk about how to approach it. Many fly fishers might know how to fish, but not necessarily where to fish. By dissecting the complicated infrastructures of different types of waters into more focused, manageable pieces, any angler can learn how to read the water and figure out exactly where to cast and apply their skills.

Bridges are curious things. For trout, they can either be safe havens or danger zones and a lot really depends on something pretty far removed from a piscatorial perspective.

If you’ve fly fished for any length of time, you’ve probably waded up to a bridge at some point and the water beneath it probably looked pretty fishy. Indeed, bridges can provide great holding water. After all, they offer impenetrable protection from predators, shade when it’s hot, and usually slow down the current enough to provide a comfortable lie. In theory, that all adds up to a perfect place for trout to hang out. But what I’ve discovered is that the design and type of bridge makes a big difference.

The bridge in the picture above is a good example of one that trout might find appealing. It’s very robust because it’s made of stone. Even if cars drive over it, there is probably minimal vibration that transmits into the water that might scare fish (or, they’re just used to it). Also, it has solid stone side walls that prevent shadows or flashes from shiny parts on cars to go into the water. So, that would be a good bridge to fish under (I happen to know because I have). But the people who built this manmade structure probably weren’t thinking about creating a trout hangout when they put this bridge up. It was just coincidence.

Now imagine a bridge made for foot traffic along a busy jogging trail or tourist hotspot. It might have been constructed out of slatted wooden boards with gaps that let light, shadows, and vibration project into the water below every time a pedestrian passes by. That’s not a great place for trout to hunker down in. Actually, with all the activity, it’s kind of scary. So even though the flow under that bridge might be prime, the constant threat of perceived “predators” from above, will make it a troutless stretch of stream and not worth fishing.

The first thing you need to determine when approaching a bridge is if it’s viable or not. If you determine it’s good structure, then you need to figure out your approach.

Unless the bridge you’re encountering is really, really big, then most likely, you’re going to be faced with the possibility of only two presentations: upstream or downstream. When fishing a traditional tenkara presentation, I usually favor a downstream presentation. It really depends on the height of the bridge. Whether it’s a short or tall bridge and you’re fishing downstream, you can probably make a normal cast, let it drift down a little, then start pulsing the fly once it’s under the bridge.

But if you’re fishing upstream, that’s a different story. Since you can’t use the flow to get your fly into position, the casting will be tighter. You can’t really do an overhand cast when you’re trying to fish in a tight tunnel so something more like a side-arm cast or slingshot cast might be the way to go (watch this video at 5:43 to see how to make the slingshot cast).

So, the next time you encounter a bridge, think about if it’s really worth fishing or not. It could be a great opportunity, or a waste of your time.

How do you approach bridges?