nickparish.bsky.social
Born to fish, forced to skeet. Author, editor, and angler from the Great Lakes, currently ranging near the Columbia River drainage in the Cascadia bioregion. Fly-fishing koans, mantras, yarns, and parables: currentflowstate.com/subscribe/
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Getting Started
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So, think about lakes like big rivers. Then, as you get to know them as lakes, where fish live will be more clear.
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I fish the east side when the wind picks up, because it blows a beautiful foam line along at about that 18' gradient and I can just float along on the boat and pick fish out of the foam, stockie rainbows and native browns alike.
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during the day, the wind picks up, almost always from the west, and I fish the lee shore (the west side of the stem of the T) when it's hot, and fish need cooler water.
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I fish the west wide spur (the left side cross, of a letter T) in 6-18' of water in the morning and in the evening. In the morning, because it's flat, with little wind. In the evening, because in late summer you can get big Hexagenia mayflies that come up and remind me of Michigan.
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Here's how I fish it:
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Here's an example. Lost Lake, in Oregon. I fish here every year, in July and September, during family camping trips.
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Take a few minutes to study the lake. Watch it across various times of day. And, for crying out loud, vary the depth of your flies, if you're fishing subsurface. Once you find where fish are hanging out, you'll have a lot more success.
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Trout, at least, tend to cruise around lakes, and move from place to place as the day progresses and as the food moves around.
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Changes in current and temperature. These go along with depth. Water moves around, no matter the container. Are there inlets and outlets to the lake? Does the wind move it in a particular way?
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Structure, and things to hide under. Sunken logs, underwater shelves, old docks, whatever.
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Depth, and specifically changes in depth. Fish hang out in places where they can feel safe, and depth changes help them hide out.
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There are critical differences, but let's think about the similarities:
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But, for most lakes you'll flyfish, you're going to be thinking of them in a similar way to rivers. Lakes are, after all, in some ways, big rivers.
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We're two days late for #greatlakesawarenessday and one day late for Bob Seger's birthday (happy 80th) so we're not going to talk Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, Superior, or Fire. Those lakes are too big / metaphorical.
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You hate to see it, but this sort of thing could turn into an exciting judicial litmus test if advocacy groups play their cards right.
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You'll find fish in and around various places that feel obvious: logs, under overhanging grasses, behind and in front of rocks. But start with foam. See any? Fish in there.
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"Foam is home" is a guide mantra for a reason. Trout hang out in rivers near foam because foam is a byproduct of distinct layers of water interacting, where the flotsam and jetsam get shoved together and come down the stream in a nice tidy line.
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So, look for food fish eat. How do you look for food? Look for anything that isn't water traveling down the river. It's hard to see minuscule insects, but what isn't hard to see is foam.
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Combine both of these, and you have a prime lie, or a place where a fish can safely gorge themselves, like that little nook right outside the kitchen at the function, where you wait and get first dibs at every tray of passed apps.
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So, lies (not just the ones anglers tell):
Holding lies, are places a fish can conserve energy and stay safe.
Feeding lies, are places a fish can position themselves on the proverbial the conveyor belt sushi line.
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If you unlock the different kinds of lies fish use to stay secure and save energy while eating, you'll be able to find them, lickety split.
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"They weren't biting" is fishing's greatest misnomer. Fish always have to eat. Just because you weren't seeing them doesn't mean they weren't eating. They were just eating underneath the surface.
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Today, we're focusing on finding where fish are in a river.
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So don't stress about having to cast super far. Try to place the fly where you think a fish might be, then just let it sit there.
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Guides experience this more than anyone: "poor" casts still catch fish. And, most fish are caught 15-20 feet from the angler, not on the huge 60' hero casts.
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Did the fly not go as far as you wanted? That's OK. let it fish. Did the leader and tippet land in a pile? That's OK, let it fish. Stay still, let the current carry the fly. Let it fish.
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If you could only cast every ten minutes, you'd make them count. Approach your first few casts that way.
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The lighter your touch, the better. Imagine taking all the time in the world between casts. Imagine every time you cast, nature gets out of joint for five or ten minutes, and you have to let everything settle back to normal.
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So if you're using your stealth, and sneaking up on fish, it's not as much about casting properly as getting the fly onto the surface of the water in a way that doesn't spook fish.
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Well, he's called Dapper Don because the method by which he catches trophy browns is called "dapping", or lightly placing a fly on the surface of the water. There's no casting involved, just sneaking around and proper placement.
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Remember on Day 12, when we talked about not spooking fish, and Dapper Don with his 20-foot rods?
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You don't need to cast far to catch fish. In fact, you don't even need to cast well to catch fish.
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Find a place with a good vantage point, get comfortable, and watch. The fish will show themselves. Just wait.
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So, when you get to the lake or the river, the first thing you're going to do is: absolutely nothing.
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I've lost more big fish by aggressive moves near the water than I care to count. It's the most depressing way to miss out on an angling opportunity, because you don't even get to test the fish with a fly.
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What a king. Anyway. Don't wade too aggressively, if at all. Keep it shallow. Do you even need to be wading?
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Second, approach the river or lake carefully. Don't go hell-for-leather into the water. Nine times out of ten you can fish just as effectively from the bank. Your idol here should be Dapper Don: www.currentflowstate.com/learn-to-fly...
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Additionally, the bank of a river isn't like the edge of a swimming pool. The river extends under the bank, sometimes literally, sometimes through the microchannels and spongy earth that transmits pressure. Your footsteps along the bank go directly into the water, and spook fish. So stay back.
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Let's start by staying low. You don't need to crouch or kneel, even though I've seen several successful anglers that do most of their casting from their knees. But, recognize that due to the angle of refraction of water, you, on the side of the river, loom large to any fish.
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What you do want to do is keep a low profile, approach the river or lake carefully, and not wade too aggressively, if at all.
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This will be hard. You definitely won't be able to see them at first. If indeed on your first trip you see fish, it'll likely be because you spooked them. So don't worry about seeing fish yet.
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What you really, really don't want to do now is spook the fish.
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If you've been following along you have a rod, have figured out how to make a passable cast, have bought some flies, tied on your leader and tippet and found a place to fish.
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Know your knots, be less frustrated. Give it some practice and it'll pay off.
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Here's more on knots: www.currentflowstate.com/learn-to-fly...