-
- Species
- Whitetails
- Rut Reporters
- Deer Camp
- Big Game
- Small Game
- Birds
- Special Methods
- Bow Hunting
- Conservation
- Heroes of Conservation
- Hero for a Day
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
- Land for Sale
-
- Species
- Bass
- Trout
- More Freshwater
- Saltwater
- Catchbook
- Special Methods
- Fly Fishing
- Hook Shots
- Conservation
- Heroes of Conservation
- Hero for a Day
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
- Land for Sale
-
- Health & Fitness
- F&S Adventurer
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
-
- Rifles
- Shotguns
- 2nd Amendment
- SHOT Show
- Outdoor Skills
- Total Outdoorsman Challenge
Five Ways to Spot More Trout
Recent Comments
Categories
- Alaska (2)
- Animal Attacks (1)
- ATVs (2)
- Bass Fishing (43)
- Big Game Hunting (2)
- Bird Hunting (2)
- Bow Hunting (1)
- Camping Gear (1)
- Close Calls (2)
- DIY (1)
- First-Aid (1)
- Fishing (512)
- Fishing Gear (50)
- Fly Fishing (690)
- Gear (45)
- Guns (1)
- Hunting (7)
- Hunting Gear (2)
- More Freshwater (86)
- Optics (2)
- Other (7)
- Quick Tips (2)
- Saltwater (80)
- Shooting Gear (1)
- Shotguns (1)
- Small Game (1)
- Survival (4)
- Survival Food (1)
- Trout Fishing (196)
Recent Posts
- Video: Filming a Free Swimming Black Marlin
- Winner Announced in Name This Fish Contest
- Video: 20,000 Trout in a Bucket
- The Greatest Lesson in Fishing Streamers
- Tie Talk: Tying the Banksia Bug (Step-by-Step Photos)
- Low Water Levels Cause Worry in CO, What Will Happen to Fishing?
- Giant Lake Trout on the Fly?
- Tarpon May be Ideal Tenkara Fish
- Video: Trout Hatchery Feeding Frenzy
- Photo Contest: Name This Fish, Win a Pair of Costa Sunglasses
Archives
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
Syndicate
FlyTalk
in your Inbox
January 18, 2010
Five Ways to Spot More Trout
By Kirk Deeter
I love sight fishing. There is nothing better than picking out a fish camouflaged among the weeds or against a gravel river bottom, then making that cast and earning the bite.
My young son is getting into it also. He has his first pair of little polarized glasses now, and we like to walk along the river, sometimes without a rod or flies, just looking for fish. He summed up the game of spotting fish perfectly last summer when he said, "Hey Dad, this is just like playing Where's Waldo!" Indeed... while fish don't wear little red and white striped shirts and beanie hats... the approach with spotting fish is the same as it is when you are playing the game in the children's book. What you ultimately want to key on with your eyes is the slight inconsistency that gives your subject away amid a jumbled pattern around it.
Here are five tips to help you spot fish better (especially when they don't pop out like these rainbows).
1. The secret to spotting fish is knowing where to look. Sounds like a Yogi Berra-ism, I know, but if you know where trout hang out... on current seams, in tailouts of pools, on cushions in front of rocks, and fix your gaze in those spots, you'll see fish. Think of looking through a 3-foot by 3-foot window pane that moves with your eyes from one fishy spot to another.
2. Put the sun behind you, without putting your shadow in front of you. Do that, and the river lights up so you can see better.
3. Look through the water column, not only at the bottom or the surface of the river. Looking through the water allows you to pick up motions that reveal a fish's presence.
4. You're looking for a star, not the whole night sky. In other words, focus your gaze, and realize that what you are really looking for is a fin, or a shadow, or a glint reflecting off scales. You don't see a whole fish (usually) until you learn how to spot part of a fish.
5. Learn to recognize what is NOT a trout. If you teach yourself what wagging weeds and sticks on the bottom and so forth look like, you hone in on finding the trout through the process of eliminating distractions.
Do you have any sight fishing secrets? I'm all ears (er... eyes)...
Deeter
ADVERTISEMENT
Today on Field & Stream
Loading...
Visit Our Sister Sites at Bonnier Corporation
| Enthusiast | Kiteboarding | QUAD | SKI | Skiing | Scuba Diving | Sport Diver | TransWorld Ride BMX | TransWorld Business | TransWorld Motocross | TransWorld SKATEboarding, | TransWorld SNOWboarding | TransWorld SURF | WakeBoarding | WaterSki | Warren Miller Entertainment | WindSurfing |
|---|---|
| Travel | Caribbean Travel & Life | Destination Weddings & Honeymoon | Islands | Meeting Traveler | Resorts & Great Hotels |
| Lifestyle & Shelter | Florida Travel & Life | Garden Design | Home Ft. Lauderdale | Home Miami |
| Luxury | SNOW | Spa |
| Marine | Boating Life | Cruising World | Fly Fishing in Salt Waters | Power Cruising | Marlin | Motor Boating | Sailing World | Salt Water Sportsman | Sport Fishing | Yachting | NewBoats.com | UsedBoats.com | YachtBroker.com |
| Outdoor | Field & Stream | Outdoor Life | SHOT Business |
| Parenting | Babytalk | Parenting |
| Science | Popular Science | Science Illustrated |
| Saveur | Saveur |
| Working Mother Media | Working Mother |
| Entertainment / Events | World Entertainment Services | World Sports & Marketing |
Fieldandstream.com is part of the Field & Stream Network, a division of Bonnier Corporation.
Copyright © 2012 Bonnier Corp. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
Comments (14)
Learn to recognize unusual objects. Just last year I picked up 2 pairs of sunglasses (One was a nice pair of Costa Del Mar's that I now wear), a cheap zebco rod/reel, wallet (Returned it to owner), Lures, weights, A gaff, canoe paddle, and other objects. By learning this, it also helps you locate fish, and learn to look for shapes (Ex. Carp. Look for a football shape) it helps alot. Polarized glasses are a MUST have to spot fish well, and invest money in them (And a neckband, so you don't lose your 80$+ glasses) better polarization comes at a cost.
I agree that polarized glasses are essential to any good fish spotting outing. Sometimes nothing beats a time spent walking a river with a close friend, or alone to help clear your mind.
I spot a lot of my fish when they rise. This may sound way to obvious but the truth is that many anglers do not spend enough time watching the water. My habit is to just stare at a long stretch of river looking for any signs of fish movement. I'm looking for rises or minnows jumping out of the water. I pick the fish off one at a time, methodically, while working my way upstream.
A lot of times if you are close enough to see a fish below the surface, the fish can see you which makes waiving your fly rod all the more difficult.
Cast less, watch more.
This might be the year I break down and buy a pair of expensive polarized glasses. The way I see it the 5 pair of $30 specs equals one good pair.
I will also add that I have climbed high banks to get a good look into the water from directly over head.
On the subject of watching trout rise. An older gentlemen who fishes my local river gave me some great advice. Before you get in the river and get your line wet, sit and watch the river for at least 10 minutes. This will enable you to see any hatches, any actively feeding trout around, and give you a better sense of the river conditions. Once you are in the water you get distracted by casting and feeling for strikes to notice the subtle aspects of the river.
Alex, sounds like you found the Big Box of rivers! I find that 'not looking directly for fish' gives me the upper hand. Peripheral vision helps you catch a tail flick, the glint of sunlight off the body and those extra pair of glasses last by some forgotten soul.
I'll never forget the time I snuck into a hole from downstream and was just standing there waiting for the hole to come alive. Maybe 10-15 minutes passed with me just standing still when I looked down to my feet and a 5+ lb brown trout was snugged up against my right boot. It was an amazing sight.
1. 95% of the fish are in 5% of the water. That means that more than 3/4 of a river is not the place to look for fish. I worked for various fisheries agencies for some years, fish are far easier to catch when you know where they are.
2. Take a lesson from Buckhunter. Sit still or stand still for 15 minutes. No arm flapping, no head bobbing. Don't move anything but your eyes. Fish, trout in particular, will give themselves away.
Great tips...Seems like alot of people lately spot fish after I catch them then things get a bit crowded for me.
Tips #1 and #4 are my money makers.
I am real good at spotting them when I spook them and they shoot off fast as heck lol not a good tip though
I look for a flash of white mouth, which means I might be fishing upstream and in danger of getting spotted myself.
There are times when I wish for one of those remote cameras encased in a plastic perch. How to get it motorized and remote controlled? That would certainly open up a new world now limited to searching from above with polarized glasses. Don't worry, I just can't get myself to do that, though an underwater camera would be nice.
That's fishing downstream not upstream. I need to get back out on trout water - maybe next weekend if it gets above freezing.
Tip number 4 mentions looking for shadows, but only in a passing sense. I would have included it in a category all itself. Doing everything else, the little waggle of the fish's tail and the shadow cast by the fish, especially in the small to medium glass-clear streams of the Lehigh Valley, are THEEEE very clutch way to find fish during the day.
I've heard it said many times that to spot trout, keep the sun behind you without casting your shadow in front of you. Would somebody please explain how to do that without laying flat on the water?
ike, I should have been more specific, and said keep the sun behind you without casting your shadow over where you are most likely to see fish (or something like that)... the point being that you want the sun on your subject, as if you were taking a photograph, but you don't want your own shadow then blocking your subject's face... I hope that makes better sense. And yes, yes, yes... if people would wait and look for a minute (10 is better) before they make the first cast, they would hook SO many more fish, especially on dry flies when the hatch is on. KD
Post a Comment
Learn to recognize unusual objects. Just last year I picked up 2 pairs of sunglasses (One was a nice pair of Costa Del Mar's that I now wear), a cheap zebco rod/reel, wallet (Returned it to owner), Lures, weights, A gaff, canoe paddle, and other objects. By learning this, it also helps you locate fish, and learn to look for shapes (Ex. Carp. Look for a football shape) it helps alot. Polarized glasses are a MUST have to spot fish well, and invest money in them (And a neckband, so you don't lose your 80$+ glasses) better polarization comes at a cost.
I agree that polarized glasses are essential to any good fish spotting outing. Sometimes nothing beats a time spent walking a river with a close friend, or alone to help clear your mind.
I spot a lot of my fish when they rise. This may sound way to obvious but the truth is that many anglers do not spend enough time watching the water. My habit is to just stare at a long stretch of river looking for any signs of fish movement. I'm looking for rises or minnows jumping out of the water. I pick the fish off one at a time, methodically, while working my way upstream.
A lot of times if you are close enough to see a fish below the surface, the fish can see you which makes waiving your fly rod all the more difficult.
Cast less, watch more.
This might be the year I break down and buy a pair of expensive polarized glasses. The way I see it the 5 pair of $30 specs equals one good pair.
I will also add that I have climbed high banks to get a good look into the water from directly over head.
On the subject of watching trout rise. An older gentlemen who fishes my local river gave me some great advice. Before you get in the river and get your line wet, sit and watch the river for at least 10 minutes. This will enable you to see any hatches, any actively feeding trout around, and give you a better sense of the river conditions. Once you are in the water you get distracted by casting and feeling for strikes to notice the subtle aspects of the river.
Alex, sounds like you found the Big Box of rivers! I find that 'not looking directly for fish' gives me the upper hand. Peripheral vision helps you catch a tail flick, the glint of sunlight off the body and those extra pair of glasses last by some forgotten soul.
I'll never forget the time I snuck into a hole from downstream and was just standing there waiting for the hole to come alive. Maybe 10-15 minutes passed with me just standing still when I looked down to my feet and a 5+ lb brown trout was snugged up against my right boot. It was an amazing sight.
1. 95% of the fish are in 5% of the water. That means that more than 3/4 of a river is not the place to look for fish. I worked for various fisheries agencies for some years, fish are far easier to catch when you know where they are.
2. Take a lesson from Buckhunter. Sit still or stand still for 15 minutes. No arm flapping, no head bobbing. Don't move anything but your eyes. Fish, trout in particular, will give themselves away.
Great tips...Seems like alot of people lately spot fish after I catch them then things get a bit crowded for me.
Tips #1 and #4 are my money makers.
I am real good at spotting them when I spook them and they shoot off fast as heck lol not a good tip though
I look for a flash of white mouth, which means I might be fishing upstream and in danger of getting spotted myself.
There are times when I wish for one of those remote cameras encased in a plastic perch. How to get it motorized and remote controlled? That would certainly open up a new world now limited to searching from above with polarized glasses. Don't worry, I just can't get myself to do that, though an underwater camera would be nice.
That's fishing downstream not upstream. I need to get back out on trout water - maybe next weekend if it gets above freezing.
Tip number 4 mentions looking for shadows, but only in a passing sense. I would have included it in a category all itself. Doing everything else, the little waggle of the fish's tail and the shadow cast by the fish, especially in the small to medium glass-clear streams of the Lehigh Valley, are THEEEE very clutch way to find fish during the day.
I've heard it said many times that to spot trout, keep the sun behind you without casting your shadow in front of you. Would somebody please explain how to do that without laying flat on the water?
ike, I should have been more specific, and said keep the sun behind you without casting your shadow over where you are most likely to see fish (or something like that)... the point being that you want the sun on your subject, as if you were taking a photograph, but you don't want your own shadow then blocking your subject's face... I hope that makes better sense. And yes, yes, yes... if people would wait and look for a minute (10 is better) before they make the first cast, they would hook SO many more fish, especially on dry flies when the hatch is on. KD
Post a Comment