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Q:
What is the best technique for fishing for trout in streams and rivers? Do you cast upstream or downstream etc? Any other stuff i will kneed to know.

Question by Tom hill95. Uploaded on October 06, 2009

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from WVOtter wrote 6 weeks 2 days ago

I know my knowledge is pretty limited to the basics and/or to the waters I fish. But I typically cast upstream about 45 degrees and let my fly drift down with enough slack so the line drag in the current doesn't affect the fly, then retrieve when it goes taught at the end. Streamers about the same, working them across the current as the drift down. That all varies depending on eddies, accessability, fishes' likely position vs. mine, water speed/depth, etc.

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from buckhunter wrote 6 weeks 2 days ago

Casting upstream is almost always best. The fish will be looking away from you and cannot see your movement.

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from WVOtter wrote 6 weeks 2 days ago

One rule of thumb that dictates all is you want to place it where it will naturally pass the trout. So gauge the waters speed and depth and how far you do or don't want the fly to sink. You don't want to slap it down on top of his head or have it pass across the flow because a cross current has drug your line that way and your fly with it.

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from jeffo52284 wrote 6 weeks 2 days ago

Great advice for fly fishing. If you are fishing with lures then the answer is yes cast upstream and downstream. i also like to cast straight across and pull it across with the current

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from coho310 wrote 6 weeks 2 days ago

If you're usin' spinners or little crankbaits in fast current, cast downstream and don't reel in.This is called hanging,the current does all the work.

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from LesserSon wrote 6 weeks 1 day ago

To catch fish, do everything you can imagine. Stop doing things that don't work. If someone says you're doing it wrong, ask them to show you how. If they catch something, try it for yourself. If they don't catch anything, just smile indulgently.
My grandparents taught me to cast and wade upstream using dry flies on floating line. This keeps them floating and the water ahead clear. You can take up the slack line as it comes toward you, and if some of it gets around you, well, it's behind you and not in your way. A dry fly will pop under at the end of its run if you let it float downstream, and sometimes that's when a fish hits it. But if you leave it there, it will just look like something caught at the end of a line. And it gets wet, and stops floating. The idea of dry flies is to make them look like they are drifting, not swimming.

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from LesserSon wrote 6 weeks 1 day ago

If you are using line or bait that does not float, fish it downstream. Upstream, the current is in control, not you. Floating line just keeps it up where you can deal with it.

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from Tom hill95 wrote 6 weeks 1 day ago

what about spinning for them?

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from LesserSon wrote 6 weeks 1 day ago

That's a lure that is supposed to work. I have not caught a trout on it. Caught smallies on spinners, but I've gravitated to soft twister jigs as cheaper and without treble hooks, less prone to fouling themselves.

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from LesserSon wrote 6 weeks 1 day ago

If the concept of bait doesn't trouble you, canned corn or salmon eggs work great, floated without weight among stones and small eddies. I've caught the most trout in small streams with pockets of deeper water. The trick is being alert to the slightest tension on the line.

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from SexiFishinGirl wrote 5 weeks 1 day ago

Casting upstream is best...fish typically swim upstream not downstream..

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from beaverlog wrote 3 weeks 5 days ago

I use spinners and spoons alot when using spinning tackle.I usually cast across stream and let the current swing the lures in front of or behind cover.

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from Fluger wrote 2 weeks 4 days ago

When fly fishing, the goal is to have your fly look as real as possible. If you cast down stream and strip it up stream, well fly's just don't do that. Fish now this and will not go for it. If you cast up stream and let it float down, this is what fly's do. The trout will go for it and u will hook them.

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from jestr1 wrote 2 weeks 1 hour ago

I cast slightly upstream so I can get the bait down to the fishes level. Live bait I use enough split shot to get it to bounce off the bottom but not sit on the bottom. Always try to keep a tight line.

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from jeffo52284 wrote 6 weeks 2 days ago

Great advice for fly fishing. If you are fishing with lures then the answer is yes cast upstream and downstream. i also like to cast straight across and pull it across with the current

+3 Good Comment? | | Report
from coho310 wrote 6 weeks 2 days ago

If you're usin' spinners or little crankbaits in fast current, cast downstream and don't reel in.This is called hanging,the current does all the work.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from LesserSon wrote 6 weeks 1 day ago

To catch fish, do everything you can imagine. Stop doing things that don't work. If someone says you're doing it wrong, ask them to show you how. If they catch something, try it for yourself. If they don't catch anything, just smile indulgently.
My grandparents taught me to cast and wade upstream using dry flies on floating line. This keeps them floating and the water ahead clear. You can take up the slack line as it comes toward you, and if some of it gets around you, well, it's behind you and not in your way. A dry fly will pop under at the end of its run if you let it float downstream, and sometimes that's when a fish hits it. But if you leave it there, it will just look like something caught at the end of a line. And it gets wet, and stops floating. The idea of dry flies is to make them look like they are drifting, not swimming.

+2 Good Comment? | | Report
from WVOtter wrote 6 weeks 2 days ago

I know my knowledge is pretty limited to the basics and/or to the waters I fish. But I typically cast upstream about 45 degrees and let my fly drift down with enough slack so the line drag in the current doesn't affect the fly, then retrieve when it goes taught at the end. Streamers about the same, working them across the current as the drift down. That all varies depending on eddies, accessability, fishes' likely position vs. mine, water speed/depth, etc.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from buckhunter wrote 6 weeks 2 days ago

Casting upstream is almost always best. The fish will be looking away from you and cannot see your movement.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from WVOtter wrote 6 weeks 2 days ago

One rule of thumb that dictates all is you want to place it where it will naturally pass the trout. So gauge the waters speed and depth and how far you do or don't want the fly to sink. You don't want to slap it down on top of his head or have it pass across the flow because a cross current has drug your line that way and your fly with it.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from LesserSon wrote 6 weeks 1 day ago

If you are using line or bait that does not float, fish it downstream. Upstream, the current is in control, not you. Floating line just keeps it up where you can deal with it.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Tom hill95 wrote 6 weeks 1 day ago

what about spinning for them?

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from LesserSon wrote 6 weeks 1 day ago

That's a lure that is supposed to work. I have not caught a trout on it. Caught smallies on spinners, but I've gravitated to soft twister jigs as cheaper and without treble hooks, less prone to fouling themselves.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from LesserSon wrote 6 weeks 1 day ago

If the concept of bait doesn't trouble you, canned corn or salmon eggs work great, floated without weight among stones and small eddies. I've caught the most trout in small streams with pockets of deeper water. The trick is being alert to the slightest tension on the line.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from Fluger wrote 2 weeks 4 days ago

When fly fishing, the goal is to have your fly look as real as possible. If you cast down stream and strip it up stream, well fly's just don't do that. Fish now this and will not go for it. If you cast up stream and let it float down, this is what fly's do. The trout will go for it and u will hook them.

+1 Good Comment? | | Report
from SexiFishinGirl wrote 5 weeks 1 day ago

Casting upstream is best...fish typically swim upstream not downstream..

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from beaverlog wrote 3 weeks 5 days ago

I use spinners and spoons alot when using spinning tackle.I usually cast across stream and let the current swing the lures in front of or behind cover.

0 Good Comment? | | Report
from jestr1 wrote 2 weeks 1 hour ago

I cast slightly upstream so I can get the bait down to the fishes level. Live bait I use enough split shot to get it to bounce off the bottom but not sit on the bottom. Always try to keep a tight line.

0 Good Comment? | | Report

Post an Answer