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, 2006/08