5/16/2008

Hunting Fish

The explosion of water is perfect evidence that hunting the fish was well done

Timothy Kusherets

Fish on! Getting down near the surface of the water got me close enough to cast to a tail-out of holding salmon. The explosion of water is perfect evidence that hunting the fish was well done. Note that not only did I have to get down low and wade close to the log on my knees, before leaving for the river I made sure that my clothing and fishing gear matched the environment just like any good hunter would.

What does it take to be a fish hunter? It takes the willingness to think like a fish to catch a fish. Once the philosophies of the human condition have been shed then that’s when nature takes over educating those who would be intrepid anglers looking for the fight of a lifetime, or that special fish worthy of photographing and releasing back to the blue. To be a fish hunter an angler must know the fundamentals of getting the fall run to bite once these fish are found. To be a fish hunter you must understand and appreciate the value of how and why these basic applications work to routinely hook into fish even when other anglers can’t figure out what to do next, especially when you’re the only one hooking into them.
Understanding the nuances associated with a highly visible mainline, leader, water clarity and clothing are the fundamental steps to understanding how to think like a fish and not a fisherman. If done correctly other fishermen will immediately see there is something different about your approach to fishing; if the applications are prepared correctly then the success of landing fish will further distinguish you from other anglers identifying you as not only wanting to be a fish hunter, but a fish hunter indeed. One of the very first things to consider, aside from any fishing rod, is fishing line. Fishing line, when drift-fishing, is broken down into two parts: mainline and leader. Discussing the mainline is something largely glossed over when fishing for the fall run of fish but is perhaps the single most critical connection to ensuring fish are strung up at the end of the day. The kind of mainline, to first consider, should be highly visible. It may sound like I’m going to pound this into the ground, but believe it or not, most anglers really don’t treat the mainline with the respect it needs to successfully, and routinely, hook into fish.
Many fishermen ask me each year about the X-T solar fishing line I use for the mainline as I fish rivers, lakes, and basins and the answer is the same every time.
“What fish are looking for is on the end of your leader not the mainline. Your mainline could be purple for all salmon and steelhead care”.
Any mainline used while drift-fishing should be highly visible enough that it can be seen an hour past dusk or an hour before dawn. You’re going to need that ability to see the line during those times of the day because those times are critical. Anglers from all over the world agree that the most reliable time to hook into salmon and steelhead is at dusk and dawn and watching your mainline is the only hope you have of hooking one of those fish. Crepuscular rays are nothing to anadromous fish since they can see well into the Ultraviolet spectrum. Humans can see visible light, but the closest the U.V. and Visible light come together is during early morning and early evening; but that still not enough to have an advantage over fish. It’s really the other way around. Since fish don’t need to see well during the day you can bet that their sight actually increases at dawn and dusk, and that means they can see you while you cannot see them. The mainline easily seen is the mainline that puts drift-fishermen on a level playing field as fish. If you can’t “feel” the strike you should be able to “see” the strike. Hands down, the best color to use for any mainline is green. Green blends well with banks of rivers and lakes, and when the water turns brown as water levels rise the color of the mainline becomes irrelevant to fish since they can’t see it anyway, so you win whether the water runs clear on not when using green for the mainline. Every seasoned angler will tell you that fish that are pressured are hard to get strike from, which means that any strikes are going to be so subtle that even veteran fishermen will have a hard time detecting them even if each leader is invisible.
The leader is the most critical component of any presentation. If the fishing line of your leader is not entirely “invisible” fish will leave the offering alone for snags to get a hold of rather than the chromer we’re all looking to hook. An invisible leader can be as long or as short as you need it but is largely determined by the clarity of the water. A good rule-of-thumb is to add a foot of leader length for every two feet of visibility. If the leader starts out at three-feet and visibility is five-feet then the leader should be increased to four-feet. While there have been circumstances where I used very long leaders, the longest most leaders should ever be is six-feet. I recommend not going past six-feet for a fundamental reason; anglers who use longer leaders are apt to void any possibility of recording huge fish under the International Game and Fish Association guidelines for recording state and world record fish. The size of each leader is dependant on the clarity of the water that is intended to be fished.
Watching the undulating levels of rivers and lakes is part of the process of being a fish hunter. The rising and falling waters tell fishermen just how turbid or clear rivers, lakes, streams, and estuaries are going to be. The darker the water is the shorter the leader is going to be; which is done because the sight of fish is greatly diminished so lures with larger profiles are recommended. The clearer the water is the longer the leader should be, but take care, leaders too long are hard to set when the bite comes. Long leaders can form bellies in them that are aside from that you’d expect to find in the mainline. Leaders that form bellies diminish the ability for fishermen to feel striking fish. If you notice that a belly forms in the mainline, when using a long leader, then the likelihood your leader also has a belly in it becomes all too real. If the leader isn’t too long then try flipping the bail over just before your terminal gear hits the water. The weight of the terminal gear will straighten out the belly and give you back the sensitivity necessary to feel striking fall run fish. All of these issues really just touch on some basic stuff for drift-fishing for the fall run of salmon and steelhead, but they do point you in the right direction to becoming the fish hunter every angler should be to routinely hit into fish.
Becoming a fish hunter can only be accomplished by those who are willing to stop with conventional fishing tactics. Fish don’t know anything about current trends of each shiny new lure that comes along. They only know about the fundamentals of staying alive and propagating; that’s all they care about and you should to if you want to catch these fish.
I’ve been a fish hunter for over two decades now. All of the applications I use work well and typically out fish many other fishermen. As I head out into the field I’m prepared to share any information other anglers might want to know about, but in many cases, they find the techniques so incredible that they simply cannot believe that they work even as fishermen watch me land that honey-of-a-fish. The last thing I could possibly say about all of this is to take the time to see the obviousness of the truth. If a fish is being landed then the fishing technique must work; how else could each fish find its way to shore?

Here is some obvious fish sign. Whenever a fish is on the move like this you can bet that others will follow in relatively the same submerged pathway so to successfully fish for them look for the closest hold upriver from the sign. Remember, how a fish travels is every bit as important as where it holds; since fish tend to follow the same patterns figuring out the location of these pathways is relatively easy. Consider these elements of fish sign to reliably and routinely find migrating and holding positions.

Whenever the sun is out and there is heavy brush overhanging the river, slowly walk or crawl up to the water. In many cases fish will be looking for cover when the sun is directly overhead and that means shade; however, take care not to disturb any bushes or risk spooking fish out of the hold. Look carefully and you'll be able to spot "three" fish in the photo to the right rather than just the obvious two. The close proximity to the foliage provides outstanding cover even as bank angler’s amble along side the bank, so sneaking up on catchable fish must be done with stealth.

Here I’ve boldly waded up to an eddy formed by a fallen log. The log sticks out from the bank into the main stem of the river creating two distinct current patterns: one fast and one slow. Most predator fish will hold on the slow side of the “seam” and wait for baits to swim in from the fast water.