View Single Post
  #11  
Old 12-03-2022, 10:01 AM
commieboy commieboy is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Calgary
Posts: 408
Default

My question goes towards how well you're able to read water. You could be the best caster in the world, but if you're using that cast to target the wrong type of water then that cast is useless. It took me a while to learn that.

Understanding stream dynamics will put you into fish. I have a friend who can barely cast 15 feet past the end of his rod. His leader is almost always bunched up and his flies land with no grace. But he works within his limits, targets high probability areas and he hits fish. But he doesn't always land them with that bunched up leader. Totally different issue.

The problem with reading water gets compounded on the Bow because it can actually be very subtle in its changes. A change of perspective can give you a lot of insight into a piece of water. Meaning that when you're in the water, the flow dynamics will will look very different when viewed from above like on a bridge.

Seeing a river from above will let you see where seams/structure/depth changes etc are. Then get onto the shore or in the water and see if you can still see those same identifiers. They'll look different from this on-water perspective and that's what you need to learn to see.

Once you can read the water and then understand where the fish hold in relation to that (also considering the time of year), you'll start hitting fish.

Will a good cast help? Absolutely. I love long bomb casts but I also have shoulder problems from work so somedays I rely on stealth. I have a favourite seam to work full of rainbows. I can walk to within 5 feet of it and hit fish. I barely have to cast. I just make sure to approach it from the right direction.

Tons to talk about on this topic. But hopefully that helps a bit.
Reply With Quote