Timing Aug. 2002

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Date: December 21, 2002 at 14:39:57
From: ken, [pool-64-223-39-246.prov.east.verizon.net]
Subject: Timing Aug. 2002

Often we go fishing when we have the time. That is an obvious conclusion. Sometimes we may hear that there are fish at a certain place and we find that we can go but when we get there there are no fish that we can catch. That does not mean that there are no fish there. It may mean that but not necessarily. Often fish feed at certain times and heights of the tide or wind directions or times of the day. Fish are not always active and feeding heavily. The more focused you become on fish behavior and learning their routines and movements and the behavior of the bait they feed on the better your chances of success will be even with fish that are not feeding heavily. There is always something to learn when you do fish even if the fish are not showing. Study the currents and the places where the current will focus the food and watch the waves and see where they break and try to imagine what the structure of the bottom is and why the waves are breaking there. Learn to study the water for its character and see its energetic role in locating fish that may be feeding quietly and in a hidden way. Develop a searhing eye that can see slots of current and small areas that may hold single fish or several fish because the current there brings food to them. Try to cast your flies to these areas with line control and let the flies be carried along by the currents. This way of seeing and being precise in your attempts to catch fish when they are not breaking the surface and activily feeding will result in your catching many more fish per hour of fishing than random casting ever will. Most of fly fishing salt water writing is not about reading water and fishing with the eye of a hunter. Develop that skill and learn to read the currents and your fishing skill will dramatically improve. Being a good caster helps but reading the water is how fish are found and caught. Random casting is based on the hope that a fish will come to your fly through aggression. It will but fish are not always aggressive. Depending on them being in an aggressive state is a handicap and is very inconsistant in overall long term result. Fish the water that appears to be alive energetically. Look for active water and the fish that are in that water will be active. A fish that is in a wave is an active fish. A fish in a slot is an active fish. A fish resting on the bottom of a deep hole is not an active fish. An active fish is not necessarily a feeding fish but it is a fish that is in an energetic energy level that is not dormant. It has to be energized to remain there. Shallow fish in moving water are by reason of the environment they are in active fish. Active fish can be caught. Dormant fish also can be caught ie. chunks on the bottom. I try to find active water because I know that if there is a fish there his energy is up and I may be able to catch him even if he is not feeding. Deep water can be dynanic and high energy such as the water in deep powerful tide rips and fish have to be active to remain there. Not all deep water is dynamic and not all deep water holds fish that will activly feed. Learn to see the differences by reading the energy of the water.

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