5/16/2008

Wading Upstream

Taking smaller steps ensures that holding fish do not get spooked by the increased
wake created by your legs in the water

Timothy Kusherets

Being as still as stone can make fish come right up to you.

Look at the wake that my legs are making. With each subsequent step upriver I’m careful to “side” step effectively diminishing how much noise the water rushing past my legs will make. Remember, fish can hear absolutely everything in the water and the first sounds they focus on are those that sound atypical, such as wading.
Did you know that if you stay as still as a stone for about fifteen minutes, salmonids, amongst many other species of fish, will swim right up to the wake that wading legs make? It's true! I've seen it hundreds of times and have video of hordes of fish surrounding me as I fish deep water.

Wading upstream should be done in half steps. Whatever your normal gait while wading straight and downriver is it should be cut in half when wading upstream. Outwardly it is obvious that taking reduced steps is a safety precaution, but there is another reason too. Taking smaller steps ensures that holding fish do not get spooked by the increased wake created by your legs in the water. Fish can sense the movements of fishermen using their lateral lines on the sides of their bodies as they move back and forth (side to side). Increased sound means that fish will be able to hear you better. Taking the time to take half-steps will keep fish on the bite while not doing it will keep them off for hours on end. A really cool trick with wading upstream is to side step rather than head straight into the current. Side stepping literally hides one leg from the torrents of rushing water, depending on the flow of the river or current, which can easily be applied to saltwater fishing making this technique an effective application everywhere.