The Art of the Chase: Reading Water and the Retrieve for Predatory Fish

As fish hunters we sometimes see the fish we're after, other times we encounter "searching water" where we ply our trade, and hope the fish come looking for us. These are places where you say to yourself, "If I were a predator, this is where I would feed," and you engage in the act of visualizing how your fly looks moving above or below the surface. Whether you are hunting rooster combs on a beach in Baja, the wolf-shaped head of a pike in a windy bay, or a navy blue pocket surrounding a rock you hope is the home of a giant brown, reading the water in front of you helps reveal what food sources you should mimic, and along with that, how you should move (or not move) your fly.

Often...

Continue Reading