Fishing Articles
Fish on by a Foot
I told him that if he too wanted to catch fish all
he had to do was move to the left one single foot!
Timothy Kusherets
Often, the difference between getting hookups and going home skunked
can be as little as moving down or upstream by a foot. The battling
fish, in the photograph, would not have been possible without simply
taking a single step to the left to make the best possible presentation.
With the sun high overhead fish were seeking shelter of deeper waters.
The pressure of direct sunlight made it difficult to tempt them into
biting anything, which is why constant probing of the water garnered
the strike. Here I’m racing to get downstream of a fish trying
to get into a submerged log on the other side of this river. Tipping
the rod to the side motivates it to swim deeper assuring that it will
stay away from the snag threat that bobs just beneath the surface.
Steelhead, Salmon, and Trout can be caught by as little
as a foot of movement and there are a lot of fishermen who fight the
ease of the idea. It’s true that the presentation we make for
each cast can have critical consequences. Either fishermen fish the
water properly and get fish or don’t and get nothing but snags
and bad attitudes from bad casts and poor presentations. Most of fishing
really comes down to being able to read water because the surface can
tell you where fish are and what kind of casting technique to employ
for the most natural presentation. Fundamentally, anglers really should
care about seams because seams are where the greatest amounts of fish
can be found, interestingly enough, most fishermen don’t equate
seams with tributaries, slots, and eddies, which is where you can find
a horde of fish in a short period of time. One of the difficulties I’ve
faced over the years is convincing fishermen that sometimes the easiest
answer is the most productive. You’d be hard pressed to find fishermen
who believe a statement like that so, showing them the errors of their
ways can be as simple as putting a fish in your hand, and sometimes
that’s what it takes.
“Did you see the video about drift-fishing? You know the one;
it talks about all the flat spots.”
“No. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“How can you be fishing here correctly if you didn’t see
the video? It has everything you need to know. I think the author is
the best there ever was.”
“So, what did you learn about the flat spots? Do you know what
they look like or where to find them?”
“Sure, the whole video seemed to be centered around it. I learned
a whole lot about it.”
“Can you look at the water here and tell me where the flat spots
are?”
“Well, I can’t really see well here because it’s overcast,
but the video was really good.”
“What else did you learn? I mean, did you find out about the tackle
to use, where to find fish, and what it takes to get them to bite, or
did you learn more about the species than anything else?”
“You know, you shouldn’t be bad mouthing this guy. He’s
a really good fishermen and I’d swear by him that he knows what
he’s doing.”
“Look, I don’t know anything about this guy, but I do know
how to fish and I’ve got twenty dollars that says you can’t
find a flat spot anywhere here on the river. Show me one, no matter
how small it is and the bill is yours.”
“What do you know about it?”
“I know that I’ve gotten six fish since you showed up, and
two since you started blowing your horn. You sure talk a lot for a fella
who hasn’t had a fish on.”
“Well what do you expect? This is my first time out.”
“Let me get this straight. You’ve never read another book
on the subject, saw a video, went out and got the first gear you could
get your hands on, hit the water, and after just a few minutes you’re
telling me how to fish? You don’t know anything about me. You’d
think with all the fish you’ve seen me with you’d want to
know how I’m getting them instead of criticizing something you
know very little about.”
It was true. Some know-it-all fan was telling me how to fish after I
had been doing it for over twenty years and he hadn’t been at
it for twenty days let alone twenty minutes.
After watching his shoulders slump it occurred to me that perhaps this
was his twisted way of asking for help. Sucking it up and holding my
breath, I thought about giving it a try.
“You know what? You’re not really in a bad spot. If you
get tired of casting without knowing what you’re doing let me
know. I’d be happy to show you what to do…that is…if
you want any fish.”
“Well, I could use a little help.”
“First, let’s get rid of the idea about flat spots. You’re
on a river and rivers flow down hill. Second you have to fish the same
seam I am and the best way to do that is move about a foot to your left.”
“No way! You’re telling me that that’s all it’s
going to take? If it was that simple then why didn’t they talk
about that in the video?”
“You know what? I’m getting a little tired about this video
and I haven’t even seen it. Look I know why you’re here.
You saw me getting fish and you figured that if you watched me long
enough you’d figure it out right? Or maybe, you thought I was
fishing the flat spots, right?”
“I just think you’re wrong, that’s all.”
“I really want to help you. Do you believe that?”
“Sure I do. So what?”
I put down my rod and walked over to him fast. I grabbed him with a
bear hug and moved him to the left and faced him towards the river about
fifteen degrees to the left of where he had been fishing.
“Now cast past that seam. Let it drift until it gets directly
in front of you, flip the bail, put your finger on the line, and wait
for the tiniest nudge. When you feel the bump set the hook and you’ll
have a fish on! Why the heck do you think it’s that complicated?
Stop talking and start fishing!”
I was happily surprised when he did all I had said and decided to get
back to fishing. I only had to go upriver about ten feet, but before
I could get there he hollered.
“Fish! Fish on! Fish on!”
Standing there watching him battle his fish. I could see the panic on
his face as he asked if I could help him land it. Of course I was more
than glad to help the loud-mouth. He was happy with his fish on the
end of the line and I was happy for him too. After he fought it for
about ten minutes then brought in his chrome steelhead close enough
for me to tail it.
“Wahoo! I never had one of those before! Is it a steelhead? Man
am I glad I found you! You know, I’ve been out here all day trying
to find someone who knows what he’s doing and you were right!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!”
“Say, I’d like to ask something. In all your excitement
while watching the video, did you actually learn anything about the
water, time of year, species, and the proper gear to use?”
“No, not really. I was so jazzed by the video that I guess I just
got caught up in it and wanted to get to the river as fast as I could.”
“You know fella, there’s a lot more to drift-fishing than
finding holding areas. Let me tell you, there are some slick spots you
can find in pools and deep slots, but they certainly aren’t flat
the way you were describing them to me.”
“Can you guide me? I mean, can you take me out on other rivers.
Some buddies of mine are going to want to know about you. Hey, what’s
your name?”
I spent a few more hours with him sharing the finer points of the sport,
all the while telling him that he should take more time to learn. I
also let him know that sometimes the easiest answers were the most effective,
not all the time, but sometimes. It’s essential to be open minded
when you fish rivers and lakes. The faces of them change everyday and
if you don’t adapt you won’t catch fish. By the time he
left he fully understood that moving by as little as a foot really could
get fish on the hook and that includes all Steelhead, Salmon, and Trout.
Take a look at the guy in the background of these photographs.
He had been gracious enough to let me fish the same area he was in…at
least before I started hooking fish. I read the water and understood
that fish had been pressured out to the next farthest seam, rather than
the one directly in front of him. As soon as I hit the water, I shared
this information with the angler and that if he'd move another foot
to the left that fish would hit the offering due to "how" his offering
was presented. Initially he could not stand the idea of someone coming
into the area and out fishing him, but by the time I hooked my fifth
fish he was on board. Again and again I told him that the fish were
right in front of him and he’d be hooking them if he cast out
to the next seam. Deciding to take a break, he sat down and watched.
The moment he left the spot I stood into it and cast out. “Well
for Pete’s Sake!” was the lamentation I heard as I hooked
a fish on the first cast in his spot. He raced to his truck, got some
lighter gear, and was soon hooking fish. Isn’t it funny how simple
the answer to fishing can be and how stubborn we can be when pride is
on the line?
© Timothy Kusherets, 2006/09 |
