Tips and Tactics for Fishing Big Water
Many
anglers know small streams and are able to locate fish and catch them,
but when it comes to the bigger rivers they are stumped. One of the best
tips we can give if you find yourself fishing a larger river is just
try to break the river down into smaller sections. For example, if I am
fishing for steelhead in the spring when fish are looking for places to
spawn I am going to get away from the parts of the river that have
strictly shale bottoms and I am going to look for gravel.Let’s say you have a river that is a hundred yards wide and 3/4 of the way across is all shale, then I am going to just be looking for the 1/4 that is gravel. Now break it down further and start to look for the prime places that should hold the fish at that particular time of year. If it is very early and the water temps are still cold they will be in the deeper holes below the gravel beds waiting for the optimal temp for spawning.
Another thing you will want to do when breaking down the river is to look at the water currents. There will be more that one current in most rivers, even the small ones. You could have a deeper section with a flat bottom which will make for a slower and smoother water surface. You may have a section that bottle necks down and the current will be faster. If you look at the surface of the water you will see bubbles and bubble lines which will help in identifying the different water currents to help find the prime spot to drop your line.
Sometimes finding the fish will also depend on the pressure that the fish have been under.
I have been out many times and the fish were in shallow riffles where
most people will not see them because they don’t take the time to look.
If the fish are supposed to be in deeper pools, according to the time of
year, the weather and the water conditions, that is where the anglers
will go. But in cases where the fishing pressure has been high, the
pressure will drive fish out of those holes and they will look for a
place that doesn’t have the activity and where they feel safe.One of the places they hide is in the riffles because the water surface is broken out and most people don’t even see the fish when they are right in front of them. This is where a good pair of polarized glasses and some patience will come in handy. We have logged many hours on the streams and sometimes you just have to look in one spot for a few seconds longer to find the well hidden fish. I have walked up on fishermen that were fishing for a rock because at first glance it looked like a fish.
You may have to stare at a spot for a few moments to look for movement because fish can’t be perfectly still in the moving water. I will look for tail movement and this is a key to spot fish if they are tucked close to the bottom where they water is moving slower and the water’s surface is broken up.
There is something to be said about putting a little extra time in looking the water over. You can even use these tactics in a smaller river. You will find that the small amount extra time you spent paying attention to the water will pay off with a better day of fishing.
