Boulders can often be found in areas of a river called a “rock”
or “boulder” garden. In these gardens fish can be found gravitating
in front and behind them so being able to “read” the surface to
find submerged boulders is fairly important.
The illustrations in the photo show the direction of the current, the location
of the boulder, and the disturbances at the surface called “boils”.
The most vital thing to focus on is the position of the boulder and the boils
at the surface, which could easily be called riffles as well. To fish around
these boulders it’s important to cast well above them to get down to the
bed where offerings can then be drift-fished in front and behind each boulder.
The water here is crystal clear and should be fished from as far away from the
hold as possible, but under most fishable conditions the water will have some
color to it hiding the positions of the boulders and large rocks. As the leader
passes the boulder your mainline will do one of two things, it will either come
within contact of the boulder as it passes over it, or it will pass by it on
the close side to you and never come within contact. In both situations the
mainline will have a slight increase in resistance and pull on the rod just
a little bit. What you’re waiting for is the subtle strike. Striking fish
will make little hits that feel like “ticks” that you’d expect
small trout to make, but don’t make the mistake of not setting the hook
when it comes. Very large species of fish can make such subtle hits as those
ticks and a poorly set hook means the fish will be able to throw the hook the
much easier.
Garnering strikes while fishing around boulders should come within two to three
passes so long as the presentations are made correctly. It may take you a couple
of drifts to figure out what is the boulder versus what is fish, but it something
you learn very quickly the first few times you fish this kind of structure.
If the water was colored and you couldn’t see the boulder you would still
be able to see the effects at the surface as water passed over and around it.
Most times of the year it’s virtually impossible to see the bed of the
river due the limited visibility; therefore, it is important to research each
system, which I refer prominently to as a “recon” trip.
Most recon trips are performed when rivers run low and clear, such as here in
this photograph. This allows anglers to ascertain what kind of river conditions
to expect when the water runs high and turbid. When waters are turbid with limited
visibility being able to read it is essential to find holding fish.
Functionally, surface disturbances remain the same regardless of the color and
visibility so when you find these “rock” and “boulder”
gardens don’t pass them up. Fishing around boulders can put fish on the
hook within just a couple of casts. If you haven’t fished around boulders
before don’t worry. Fishing this kind of hold can be mastered in a single
day.
© Timothy Kusherets, 2007
