Seeing Fish – Part 2 of Fishing Where the Fish Are

If there is one thing, we all should do when arriving at a fishing spot it is to stop and look. I mean really look. Get a feel for what is going on around you and most importantly in and on the water you are about to fish.

The biggest surprise about fishing is how much of it is visual. When you take the time to study your surroundings you will start seeing fish. The step from seeing more fish to catching more fish is a short one because now you will be fishing where the fish are.

As a youngster starting out, fishing with bobber and worm, I rarely saw fish. I would watch my bobber intently and seek to translate its movements into clues about what the fish were doing but unless caught, they were invisible.

During the first year of trying to learn to fly fish, I started seeing fish. I would notice a rise here and there or a strange motion in the shallows as a trout flashed at a minnow or snatched a hellgrammite.

As I became more proficient with the fly rod, I also became better at spotting fish. The two things seem to go together. It certainly adds an element of fun and challenge. Having seen the subtle bulge of a big trout feeding on emerging nymphs, the same effect happens to the fly angler as happens to the trout. Both key in on their quarry.

Seeing fish is about knowing where to look and what to look for. The reason I began seeing fish when I started fly-fishing was that I was paying attention to what the fish were feeding on.

By studying the insect life around the banks seeking to imitate it, I also began to see the feeding activities of the fish that were preying on the insects. From those observations, certain patterns started to make sense.

For example, if a trout is laying in a particular spot waiting for an insect to blunder into the brook and I notice him because he takes a bug from the surface I will take a moment to think about what makes that spot a good place for him to be lurking. The same characteristics of current speed, available food supply and nearby shelter that makes this a place a trout holds will usually apply anywhere else you find those specific conditions.

Each observation adds to your bag of tricks and your success rate but “fishing where the fish are” is where it all starts.