In my opinion, the ability to read water in a river or stream environment is the single most important skill for a fly fisherman to master if he or she is in search of consistent success on the water. I often witness very well outfitted fishermen cast and manage their lines wonderfully, select appropriate and effective flies, have good knowledge of stream entomology, yet spend much of their time fishing water that has a very slim chance of holding fish at that particular time of day, weather, and season. When fishing an unfamiliar river or stream, reading water becomes even more essential, often drawing a line between anglers who are sometimes “lucky” and those who are consistently successful no mater where they fish.
There are many facets to reading water effectively. In order to have a complete approach, you need to consider stream flow, water temperature, season, weather, ambient light, stream born insect and fish reproductive cycles, just to name a few. Trying to get your brain around all of these factors can be overwhelming for new fly fishermen. It is my hope that I can break down the skill of reading water into a few key elements. This article will be devoted to the skill of using a river or stream’s natural color variations to locate the holding and feeding areas for trout. Let me reiterate, color analysis is only one of several important skills necessary to become a competent reader of water. I would like to start by discussing color because your ability to naturally sense and perceive color is an ability of which you are already an expert! Now all that is needed is a connection and application to water, trout, and fly fishing.
As a general primer to this and future discussions on reading water, let’s review the four basic needs of any stream dwelling fish. This will help us understand why a fish chooses to hold, feed, and feel secure in one location instead of another. Once we have a grasp on the needs of the fish, we will see how observing stream color can help us read and locate these prime fish holding locations.
· Oxygen: Like all air breathing creatures, availability of oxygen is of the highest priority for comfort and survival. Fish will only hold in a location where dissolved oxygen levels meet their respiratory needs and comfort level.
· Food: All fish need access to a source of energy. Whether the food is brought to them via the current, or they are hunting it down themselves, if a fish does not have access to food, the fish will not stay in such a location for any length of time.
· Protection from Predators: Fish can find protection from predators by holding in a location that has one or more of the following features.
a) Concealment: Thewater’s surface is broken or choppy. Predators cannot see prey.
b) Protective Distance: Fish hold in water with sufficient depth and distance from either bank.Predators, (land and air based) cannot reach prey.
c) Structure: Predators cannot see or reach prey.
d) Proximity to a protective location. Fish may hold in a “risky” location to take advantage of food or oxygen as long as they have a short and clear escape route to a protective location.
· Comfort: Fish do not want to hold and feed in a location that requires them to uselessly expend energy or has a water temperature that is not normal for their particular species.
Now lets look at how your stream’s natural colors can help you pinpoint these prime holding locations that contain one or more of the bulleted points from above.
Using Color:
During a normal flow situation, (not runoff, flood or spate conditions) every river creek or stream has visible color variations naturally caused by depth, bottom composition, water composition, structure, and surface disturbance. These color variations are visible as the angler looks “through” the water, from surface to streambed. With this idea of looking “through” the stream, the higher the angler can view the stream from, the more he or she can take advantage of color when reading water. Standing on a high bank or in a drift boat makes observing color quite easy. On the other hand, when standing hip deep in the middle of the stream, color is much tougher to discern and can not be used as readily as a water reading tool.
James Capes photo
When stream conditions are high and turbid as shown, water and streambed tend to be a uniform color, making color analysis moot.
Consider depth. As you look through the water you are seeing all of the suspended particulate (algae, detritus, debris, etc.) that is present in the flow. The deeper the water, the more particulate you are looking through and hence, the water is taking on a darker appearance. Depending on the stream, this spectrum of darkening can run a range from gin clear to dark green, gin clear to dark blue, and on other streams with significant depth, the deepest cuts, runs and pools can appear jet black. The bottom line is; darker equals deeper. Because we have established that depth equals safety, we can now make a case that at the very least, dark water will hold fish looking for safety, if nothing else.
Now let’s think about structure. We are all familiar with the most common types of structure such a submerged rocks and boulders, vegetation, and wooden debris. One structure type that is often overlooked when reading water is bottom composition. Trout have a definite opinion on what they prefer to hold above, whether it be gravel, sand, vegetation, larger rocks or some combination of these. In general, trout will always choose to hold over a darker stream bottom when given a choice between light and dark. The dorsal surface of trout (and most fish for that matter) has evolved dark in color for a reason. The reason being to camouflage the fish from a land or air based preadator when such predator looks down through the water column. The lesson here is to not waste time fishing sandy bottom runs and eddies when there are adjacent darker areas of the streambed to fish. Nine times out of ten the fish will be holding over the darker bottom.
Continuing to link the idea of structure and color, it is also important to understand that many points of structure within a run, or what I like to refer to as “targets”, will also reveal themselves by their color. For example, you have located a nice run with decent depth and mixed streambed composition as identified by its deep green coloration when viewed from the bank. Within this run you notice several dark patches about three feet by three feet in size. These dark “bruises” in the run are usually large submerged rock or boulders, which will offer trout a current break and an ambush point. You now have used color to find a lie that not only meets one, but two of the trout’s criteria for an acceptable holding/feeding position. Depth, as identified by the run’s general dark green coloration as well as structure within the depth as viewed as the large brown/black bruises. I would spend most of my fishing time presenting my fly in front of, behind, and along both sides of the brown, “bruised” points of structure.
Oxygen and food can both be identified in any stream by the color white. “But I’ve never seen anything white on my stream?” Sure you have…. air bubbles! Observing bubbles on the surface of the water is absolutely a part of reading water and is sometimes overlooked by anglers. White, bubble filled water is the result of the natural aeration that occurs in many streams as water moves through areas of high gradient and is broken up by non- submerged rocks and boulders. If for some reason dissolved oxygen levels throughout the stream begin to decrease in some areas, (High water temps in summer would be the most common example) trout will often forsake their deeper, darker colored lies and move into the white water. When summer water temps begin pushing above the mid 60’s, you will find me fishing the white. Bubbles float downstream freely and are found in greatest concentration where the main stream flow is found. What else is carried along freely and found in greatest concentration in this flow? Food! Nymphs, larvae, emergers, drowned adults, and terrestrials will all be funneled down the same lanes as bubbles. The lesson here… find the white coloration of bubbles; find the food items……find the trout.
Putting it all together:
Each one of the previously mentioned locations and scenarios will hold fish at some time, at some flow, during some water temp and season. In order to find fish in these spots, you must develop an ability to evaluate all the present stream conditions and make yourself a game plan as to where you think the fish will be holding. Then, use color as your guide to identify these condition specific spots as you move about the stream. What will really put the odds in your favor is finding holding water that meets multiple if not all of the fish’s criteria simultaneously. What many refer to as a “prime lie”.
Let’s take a look at one classic example of a prime lie that can be identified by its coloration; a plunge pool. Since a location of this type usually has everything a trout could ever want, we will see our three colorations, (dark green/blue depth, structural browns/blacks and the white of aeration) all converging.
Luca Adelphi/www.tu.org photo
Notice the wide range of coloration in this stream shot. White aeration, green depth and structural browns can all be observed.
Picture this. As the main flow “plunges” over the lip of the preceding run or pool, aeration takes place and there is a high concentration of oxygen entering the water. We can identify this by the intense white coloration at the top of the pool. Due to the nature of a plunge pool, the plunging current spilling over usually has scoured a hole of considerable depth. This can be seen throughout most of the plunge pool by its deep green/blue coloration. As the current continues downstream a few yards, the chaotic explosion of bubbles seen at the initial plunge has now been organized by the current into a neat line moving downstream near the center of the pool. About two thirds through the pool this bubble line runs over a submerged boulder that appears as a large brown “bruise” when viewed by the angler. Although trout can and will be scattered throughout the entire plunge pool, this submerged boulder is the prime lie of the pool. Expect the largest, most dominant fish in the pool to be holding in relation to it. In this position the fish has depth, (dark green water) structure, (brown“bruise”) oxygen, (white aeration from the current plunging into the pool) and food, (the white line of bubbles).
Eric Walsh photo
Plunge pools have inherent qualities that make them year round prime lies. With all of the contrasting coloration seen here, it is easy to sort the water into sections that will or won’t hold fish at the particular moment you are fishing it.
Remember, color analysis is one tool of many that an angler needs in their arsenal to become proficient in reading water. However, on some days, color variants are almost completely absent from a stream because of turbid water. On days like this, we must rely on other techniques of reading water to locate the fish. We will cover these subsequent techniques in future installments. Also remember that every stream has its own unique range of colors. I used dark green to identify depth. In your stream, water of considerable depth may appear more blue, brown, or black. With that said, two constants do exist anywhere water flows: Darker equals deeper and white water indicates aeration of the water.
If you have never given stream color much thought, give it a shot next time you are on the water. Chances are, you will begin noticing characteristics and behavior patterns of your stream and it’s habitants that you may not have before.
A few tips when analyzing your streams color:
· Polarized sunglasses are a must when looking for water color variation. Don’t be caught on the stream without them.
· When possible, view the water you are about to fish from the highest ground possible. Scouting out a stream from higher ground is a great way to spend a day near the water when you can’t be on the water.
· Be mindful of shadows on the water. In some instances, shadows can raise an area’s level of concealment and trout may move in and take advantage of an otherwise “risky” location. On the other hand, shadows can trick an angler into fishing water that with sunlight would be revealed as sub-par for holding fish.
· The more you learn about and observe trout behavior, the more often you will know what colorations you should be targeting.
James Capes is a custom fly tier and river guide from New Jersey. He can be contacted through his website:http://www.autumnbrookangling.com/
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Hatches Magazine Subscription
Price: $6.95 for each issue
The Premiere issue is ready for shipping & the Fall 2008 issue will be available September 1st.
