Today we are going to dive into part II of how to read a river. If you haven’t already, follow the link to read part one of how to read a river, so that you are all caught up.
We are going to look at each of the 12 areas we talked about in part one, define them, and talk briefly how to fish each one. This is a lot of material to cover, so let’s get right down to business.
1. Depth Changes
Depth changes in a river can occur all over the place. The most common will usually be a few feet from the bank, and in other pockets toward the middle. These depth changes can be very helpful to fish, because they can move from deep water, to shallow water easily.
When the hatch is on, and you are fishing dry flies, look for the shallow end of the depth change, as the fish will move there to feed. Drift your fly downstream, and allow it to get right in front of the feeding fish.
2. Back Eddies
A back eddy occurs when the current near the shore is going in the opposite direction of the main current of the river. It almost creates a circular pattern where the water just seems to die.
Drifting in this type of water is very difficult, and can be frustrating, because the water will take your fly in all sorts of different directions. But if you can get through that, it can be amazing fishing.
Because a back eddy is slower than the normal current, they can hold enormous amounts of fish. Stay with it, and try not to get frustrated because the rewards could be great.
3. Current Seam
A current seam essentially happens when to currents of differing speeds meet. They create a momentary “pause” in the water that fish will use to expend less energy, and allow food to come right to them.
These are very easy to fish—all you do is allow your fly to dead drift down the seam, just like a natural food item.
4. Tributary Streams
When small streams enter larger rivers, they can bring cooler water, more food, and create a current seam. Since tributaries will tend to be slower than the main river, fish will often jump in and out, to get a rest.
Look for the seam and for calmer water around a tributary and drift your fly into it.
5. Undercut Banks
The river’s current creates erosion, and this can be a fantastic place to catch big fish. As the banks erode, it becomes very inviting for fish to hide underneath, and wait for food to come by. Let me reiterate—this is a favorite hiding spot of BIG fish.
Take care not to walk over a bank you are trying to fish. Wade from the bank opposite the one to which you want to cast. Get as close the the undercut as you can, and either allow it to drift along, or retrieve it upstream. Either can work.
Be patient fishing the undercuts as they can go on for a long way and you never know exactly where the big fish are holding.
6. Overhanging Flora
This is a fancy way of saying trees and bushes!
Trees provide fish cover from air born predators, and become somewhat of a buffet. Ants and other terrestrials drop off of them and into the water. As long as the branches aren’t hanging deep into the water, all you have to do is cast upstream, and drift underneath.
If the branches are submerged, dry flies are out of the question. But you may still be able to fish it with a nymph.
7. In Front Of Rocks
When water hits a rock, it creates a dead zone, often called the “cushion” or the “pillow.”
This brief pause can, and often does, hold fish. They can wait, without having to fight the current, and allow food to bounce off the rock for an easy meal.
Take special note that this area will usually only hold fish that are actively feeding. If the hatch isn’t on, and you don’t see pops on the surface around you, you may want to skip this one.
8. Bank Blockage
Anything that falls or creates an irregularity on the bank can cause changes and breaks in the current, and hold fish.
Look for logs, rocks, down trees, and other such changes to signify changes in the current near the shore. Don’t overlook this!
Beginners often wade too far in, and overlook the incredible opportunities right near the shore.
9. Riffles
Riffles don’t hold fish all day, just like the rest of the list. But if you do find fish in the riffles, you are in luck, because they are there for one reason—to feed!
They aren’t trying to rest, they aren’t hiding from ospreys, they are eating. Use big dry flies and streamers like the Clouser Minnow in these areas. If you are nymphing, use split shot to give your nymph weight.
Riffles may look fast, but they are cause by lots of rocks and gravel on the bottom, which causes lots of current breaks. If you don’t have enough weight on the nymph, you won’t get down past the quick current to where the fish are feeding.
10. Tail Of A Pool
Deep dark pools are a wonderful place for fish to hide out.
When it’s time to feed though, they move to the head or the tail of that pool to do it. When on the tail of a pool, it can be tricky to drift it. You may be standing in a fast riffle, casting upstream to slower water, which will cause your line to drag and ruin your drift. The faster water grabs the line ahead of the fly, which creates an unnatural presentation, and makes it difficult to set the hook.
Make sure to control the line and allow enough slack.
11. Head Of A Pool
The area above a pool is generally going to be constricted in some way. It might be a narrow channel, or a shallow riffle.
Either way, fish key in on these areas to bring them food, and get a good rest from the current. These areas are much easier to drift than the tail of a pool
12. Behind Rocks
Last but not least, we have fish behind rocks. This is probably the easiest to find, and the easiest to fish. I have all beginners look for big rocks so that we can find the fish behind them.
Cast upstream of the rock, and let the fly drift down as a normal food item would. Don’t stop your drift too soon! Fish can hold well downstream of a large rock so get a good, full drift and you might be surprised what you find down there!
While this article has certainly been a long one (and I applaud you for making it through!), this list is not exhaustive. Every river is different, and every river will hold fish differently.
Before jumping in, look around. Look for a few of these 12 places in your local water. Identify them, and then decide how you are going to fish them. Look before you leap, and definitely look before you wade!
See ya on the water…
[…] lower Chattahoochee will give you plenty of opportunities to practice reading a river. Look for large rocks sticking out of river at angles. They will be sitting perpendicular to the […]