Where are they!
By Didymodon
One of the hardest skills for a novice angler to master is knowing where to find the aloof trout, that is a cross between a brown and a rainbow. On my travels I regularly see other anglers fishing water that I wouldn’t expect to see fish in, not to say that there won’t be the odd one lurking about . The more fish per square metre the more chance of a hook up. Even if there are plenty of fish it doesn’t mean that you will catch any. There are many other factors to take into account.
How many of you have been asked after a day on the water “did you get any” and your reply would be “nothing! didn’t see anything at all”. As I have mentioned before, it comes down to a number of factors.
It’s all about food. Let’s assume that we eliminate all other factors and just look at the fish habitat alone. A good analogy would be to use Queen st Richmond as an example. Around Dinner time most people will be hanging around the restaurants and takeaway places waiting for food. Food premises generally seem to be concentrated in smaller parts of the street. No one hangs around Jewelery shops and Banks at Dinner time unless they’re up to no good. Our rivers are no different.
Without going into too much detail, food is spread across certain areas of the streambed and also concentrated in parts of the flowing current. These areas need to be identified when on the river to increase your chances of success. Trout will be where the food is.
We will have a look at the riverbed. Generally if there is a lot of structure on the bottom as in small to large rocks and even overhanging trees, a good place to start. This habitat is great for producing food and a home for the wyllie trout . Big large areas of just fine gravel or sand tend not to harbour many insects and trout, not to say that there won’t the odd one about.
The correct velocity of the current is something that takes time to recognise. The right current speed is the conveyor belt of food coming to the trout. Easy pickings. Too fast and the fish have to work very hard to stay there, too slow and they also have to move more than they would like. The right flow would be when the fish can stay in the current using very little energy to feed. The flow also varies with depth as well so it can be a 3 dimensional situation which adds complexities to the solution. Picking the right current and flow will increase your hookup count by a factor of 4.567 for some people. If your name is Patric then only 0.54.
When on the water, recognising the right flow requires a bit of trail and error if you’re new to trout fishing. Every river has its own idiosyncrasies to where you might find a fish feeding . Find an experience angler to help you with this. I offer Mentoring days to club members to improve their experience.
This is just a simplistic look at one aspect of trout tucker. It can be a very complex subject so more time on the river will make it easier and more fun. Don’t tell the Fun Boss otherwise you will be rostered on lawn mowing duties every weekend.
Happy Days . President Donald
