Last weekend, I went fishing with one of my sons. He had hooked a couple, but was casting without any strikes. So I got out on the bank and started watching him. “Cast just upstream of that “V” wake in the water”, I said, “and drift down into the middle of it.” He took a trout almost immediately, then another from almost the same spot.
“Now, see that big rock on the shore over there?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he answered.
“Throw upstream of it and fish the area between it and where I’m standing on this side of the river.” He took three more trout.
How did I know? As you look at the photo below, follow the fly line out directly in front of where the fisherman is looking. See the rock? Trout face upstream, into the current; to avoid fighting the current, they take advantage of the natural features of the river. The rocks produce areas of still or slower moving water just behind and to the side. With submerged rocks or logs, you can see a V with the point of the V facing upstream. Between the “legs” of the V is often a good place to fish for trout. The fish will expect to see food in the water streaming around the sides of the obstacle.
My son took 5 in about 45 minutes on a day that was too warm using this method. Try it!
