Stop. Wait. There’s a fish there. You see him?
To me, the riffles are every bit as exciting as any other part of the river. I think of the riffles as connections between sections on the river. You cannot catch fish if you are not fishing as you move from section to section.
I love targeting trout tucked in tight along the banks of a river. Especially, grassy banks. Especially, grassy banks with vegetation overhanging. Especially, grassy banks, with vegetation overhanging, that are difficult to cast to without losing my fly.
Wading along the bank of the Bighole River, I found myself in an unfortunately familiar and somewhat sub-optimal position of biting off a bit more than I could chew by way of wading out a bit further than my stature allowed in pursuit of an upstream seam that I knew held fish.
It was August on the Bighorn River when I learned that trout are lazy.
“I bet there’s a trout in there.” If you have ever uttered these words, odds are you were right. At the same time, if it looks too hard to reach, it probably is. I say there is a middle ground, and you might just surprise yourself. If the spot is truly challenging, chances are you are the only one to go for it. That can be a big advantage in more ways than one.
Across the river a trout is happily filling his belly with bugs.
It is one thing to not catch fish while nymphing. It is another to be hooking up all day and then come up short on a great spot.