tactics

It's Not Where, It's What

By Scott Richmond

Fly anglers will catch more fish if they think about what kind of water they should cast to, rather than where they are casting.

oo many anglers arrive a familiar river and remember all the places they caught fish. "At the bottom of that riffle," they think. "And in that backeddy. Then there's the drop off. And the big brute I nailed under those alders, and over there at the drop-off." All the successes of the past drift through their memory like leaves on the current. Problem is, those fish weren't all caught on the same day or under the same conditions.

  The most successful anglers, however, don't think about specific places to catch fish. They think about types of water. For example, on the Deschutes there are six types of water that are the best places to find trout:

1. Backeddies
2. Riffles and the deeper water just downstream from a riffle
3. Boulder fields
4. Near the bank just downstream from overhanging alders
5. Drop-offs
6. Near a current seam (where fast water flows near slow water)

An angler familiar with a stretch of the Deschutes will have a mental catalog of where to find each type of water. The trick is this: on any given day, at any given time, not all types of water are productive.

For example, during caddis season, the riffly areas and bank water are usually the most productive. During a midge hatch, current seams and backeddies are best. And so on. The hatch du jour, sunlight, water temperature, wind, etc., all have their effects, and they determine what type of water will hold receptive fish.

Therefore, when you arrive at the river and don't have a clear idea of what is going on, your first priority should be to figure out what types of water are going to yield fish. Instead of fishing all the same places--rounding up the usual suspects--sample each type of water until you find what is working on this day, at this moment. And once you get a handle on it, look for and cast to that type of water. If it turns sterile, look for a new type of water.

Of course, there are days and times when no water will yield fish, especially on the Deschutes; it's a moody river. When that happens, the best fishing strategy is to lie down under the shade of an alder tree, close your eyes, and fish in the streams of memory.

Scott Richmond is Westfly's creator and Executive Director. He is the author of eight books on Oregon fly fishing, including Fishing Oregon's Deschutes River (second edition).

Uploaded 08/12/1998.

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