Fishing Technique
Seam Riding Fishing Technique
Timothy Kusherets
Seam riding is my developed fishing technique used to weave in and out
of a seam for an inordinately long period of time. It gives fish a longer
time to take a look at offerings. This drifting technique is perfect
for fishing in pools, deep eddies, and tributaries. The best way to
seam ride is to use spoons, spinners, and hot shots. These lures are
maneuverable and can be fished side to side and up and down.
Tie the mainline to a barrel swivel. Tie a leader to the other end of
the barrel swivel. Tie the other end of the leader to a snap swivel.
This setup can be used for all the mentioned lures. An important aspect
of the setup is not to use any added weight or risk sinking the offering
too fast and spooking fish. The dynamic of this technique is about making
every presentation natural bringing fish to the lure and not the other
way around. Using two swivels ensures that the constant twisting of
the leader and lure don’t cause the mainline to twist so severely
that it will bunch up when making subsequent casts. This is a newly
developed technique of mine that has never failed when fishing gets
rough.
To properly seam ride, get above the top of the seam and make a high
loping cast downstream. Let the lure hit the water and don’t reel
in the slack. After about thirty seconds pull on the line to see where
the lure is in terms of elevation. If, after the cast, the lure feels
too high, excessive resistance on the lure, let line pay out until there
is contact with the bed of the river. Reel in the slack and position
the tip of the rod so that it’s near the seam, but on the side
of the fast water. Slightly lift the tip of the rod so the lure can
start fluttering in the current. Fast water forces spinning and fluttering
lures to the surface quickly, so it doesn’t take much of a lift
to get them going. As the offering begins to ascend, angle the rod away
from the direction of the slow water; this will keep it close to the
seam without passing through it. Any location close to the seam is a
good place to fish since most fish will gravitate all along the height
of it. The premise of seam riding is to get fish to dart into the fast
water and strike the offering before making it back to the slow side
of the seam. If the lure makes its way into the slow water simply reel
in any formed slack and pull it back into the fast water and then let
out some slack. This will keep it in the strike area for as long as
possible. Paying out a tight line is a great way to keep offerings in
the water for as long as possible. The longer fish can take a look at
it the more hookups there’ll be.
This form of drift-fishing keeps constant tension on the line with the
mainline and leader in single formation. Every strike will be hard and
perceptible making this technique worth trying on every fishing trip.
More about Reading Water and Fishing Seams
Seams to See is Where Fish will
Be...
By Timothy Kusherets
Reading water is easy, once you know what to look for,
and finding seams is perhaps the easiest form of reading water. Seams
identify varying speeds of current and depth of holds. They are the
favorite holding places of salmon and steelhead. Once you know what
a Seam is, why fish prefer them, understanding the movements of Seams,
where they’re found, and how to fish them, you’ll know how
to read water. I guarantee that once you find seams you’ll find
fish, in particular Salmon and Steelhead.
Seams indicate varying speeds of current in the form of undulating lines
at the surface of any body of water. The best seams to fish are found
in tributaries, slots, eddies, and drop-offs. All of these will have
some form of seam, and if there is a seam there will be fish.
Salmon and Steelhead prefer seams for two reasons: baits, fly’s,
and small fish flounder in faster water; and on the other side of the
seam is slower water. It doesn’t matter where the seam is or what
is causing it, Salmonids prefer the slower water for holding and for
feeding purposes, and once you know that you can fish them.
To fish a seam is more art than science. Always fish the far side of
a seam, no matter what side of the river you’re on. It’s
all about the ability to cast at each seam and ensuring that your offering
gets in front of fish for as long as possible. So long as the presentation
is good, simulating either baits or debris, salmon and steelhead will
pick up the offering within just a few casts. Since each seam does offer
some kind of current, the best way to fish them is with any kind of
“Drift-Fishing” gear. Spinners and spoons are best to fish
from the mid-strata to the surface. The wide bodies of the lures flutter
back and forth causing friction on the blade keeping them up rather
than down, but they do work well. Corkies, Jigs, and Bait are best fished
near the bed of the river, where most fish prefer to hold. How each
cast is made determines how effective the hookups are. Assume that the
river is flowing from the left to the right. The Seam is on the far
side of the river. Cast past the seam to about the eleven o’clock
position by about six to seven feet. Let the terminal gear hit the surface
without flipping the bail over for about four to five seconds. Flip
the bail over, reel in the slack, all the while mending the mainline
as it makes its way closer and closer to the seam. Just before it enters
the seam stop reeling, put your finger or thumb on the line and allow
it to continue on through the drift to about the two o’clock position,
or until the mainline has passed to the inside of the seam (that portion
of the seam closest to you). Regardless of what you decide to fish with,
this is the only productive way to fish any seam. If fish are in the
water, a properly presented offering in the seam will be picked up fast,
so the technique won’t take long for you to find out. Remember;
if fishing at the surface isn’t working then try fishing near
the bed. The whole thing should take about five minutes or less for
you to find out, depending on the current, depth, and width of the river.
One of the mysteries of the seam is knowing when they’ll move
and then adjust fishing tactics. Most anglers don’t know it, but
as a river rises and falls so too does the fishable areas of the river,
with regard to seams. Where fishing is good one day, assuming that you’re
fishing a back-eddy, may not be good at all the next. If the river rises
or falls by as little as six inches it can be enough to move an entire
school of fish. When rivers lower the best seams to fish are downriver,
moreover, those seams down current will more likely be closer to the
bank, which also means you’ll have to fish it farther away from
the waterline, to keep them on the bite. Pressure will keep fish from
biting into anything, so when the seam moves downriver adjust your fishing
tactics to be more stealthy.
When rivers blow out, or at least rise, then all the good seams will
move upstream. More often than not, the fishable seams will move out
and away from the shoreline. Depending on the turbidity of the river,
fishing can be good or bad. Believe it or not, when rivers rise, the
best fishing is when the water is churning and roiling (turbid). The
further the seams move out the farther out you’ll have to wade,
within reasonable safety. Make sure to increase weight, test size, leader
and offering. In many cases the leader should actually be made shorter
since salmon and steelhead will not feel the pressure of visibly seeing
thick line, or anglers fishing from shore; but, this technique should
only be used when there is virtually less than an inch of visibility.
The ability to “Read” water is as easy as finding any seam.
Don’t forget that seams move back and forth, so don’t look
for a distinctly straight line where two currents meet. Rivers flow
and currents move everything in the water, including seams. Once you
know what seams look like, how their formed, why fish hold in them,
and then how to fish the water, you’ll be hooking into fish literally
any time of the year. When you can see seams you can bet that it’s
where fish will be, which includes Salmon, Steelhead, Trout, and Bass.
© Timothy Kusherets 2008/10
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