Proximity to trout

[JasonC]

From your experience, taking out any type of impediment or barrier, how close can you get to a pool or one trout before you cast to it? Without casting a shadow or making a loud enough noise to spook it of course

 

[wgmiller]

That's a tough question in which a lot of variables come into play. Are the fish wild or stocked? What is the water depth? Is it sunny or cloudy? Generally speaking, wild fish are VERY in tune with their surroundings and know you are near long before you think they do. Stocked fish on the other hand are, well, less wise in their early years.

It's important to remember that every movement can set off potential "trout alarms". Wading sends waves, which are picked up by their lateral lines. Studs on wading boots make noise on the rocks, which are another potential alarm.

The best thing you can do is move like a heron. Be the heron. Slow, steady, deliberate moves as you near the fish and you're far less likely to "put them down".

 

[Prospector]

It really depends on the stream. My first time on slate run I parked at the S curves and I had been told how spooky the trout were. As I fished upstream I came to the big hole on the bend that has 2 huge boulders that stick out of the water. I got into the woods about 10 feet, putting me quite a way from the water’s edge. There were lots of insects hatching and the water was up due to a rain the previous night. I stood there in the trees for a couple minutes and saw a 15”-16” brown rise about 10 times. I decided to crawl to a tree on the edge and I could kneel and keep my body behind the trunk and still be below the trout. Only my arm, rod and fly line would be visible. After my crawl I made sure he rose a few more times and I casted and had a pretty good drift. He never rose again either to my fly or a natural.

Conversely if you fish the bridge on Kettle FFO area the trout have no problem with you walking to a spot anywhere in the bridge hole and will rise within a few rod lengths shortly after you arrive. This is also true on the Willowemoc in the Catskills.

 

[JasonC]

Prospector, so do you believe they can distinguish from something benign from something threatening? Judging from how that fish behaved, still taking true flies but not your bait? Makes me think he was aware of you the entire time and just being selective.

 

[krayfish2]

How close? My first big fish at fisherman's Paradise was caught about 3 ft from where I was standing. I saw him coming down the bank feeding and I simply dropped an ant pattern in front of him. I don't think there was any fly line off the reel and my rod tip was only about two feet off the water. On the Tully below Blue Marsh, it's not uncommon to have fish feeding within 5 ft of where you are standing. Conversely, if you're fishing the letort and fart, every fish within 300 yards of you will take off sending wakes across the water. I think it has something to do with how pressured the fish are and sometimes very from fishery to fishery.

 

[Prospector]

JasonC wrote:
Prospector, so do you believe they can distinguish from something benign from something threatening? Judging from how that fish behaved, still taking true flies but not your bait? Makes me think he was aware of you the entire time and just being selective.

I believe that particular trout on slate run reacted to my fly line hitting the water on my first cast. I viewed that fish to be keenly aware of “foreign activity” and it definitely took shelter after my cast. No more rises for hatching insects after my cast. It was a tough drift with the rock creating slow/fast seam. I’d say that trout was the spookiest fish I ever encountered.

Replaying that situation many times in my mind, I think I might have fared better casting downstream to the fish so my fly line would hit the water far above the trout instead of contacting the water to his left. Unfortunately casting downstream would have required me to expose myself on the streamside gravel bar since I’m right handed and I was on the left side of the creek.

 

[discomidge]

Do you all think clarity affects spookiness? I've done a great job spooking fish on BFC when it's gin clear, and an okay job catching them (without spooking them) when it has some color. I've had my best days out there following a storm when BFC is on the drop, covered in mist, and a little green.

 

[Fly-Swatter]

DM: Yes, clearly. ;-)

 

[Van_Cleaver]

Reading Prospectors story instantly took me back to my only Slate Run experience; many years back.

Had been steadily missing small brookies (landed couple) and was on my way back up to my truck when I spotted a larger trout rising near the head of a pool. my confidence was shot at this point but I had to try.

First cast almost dead upstream was short and I waited for the current to bring everything back. Second cast was slightly to the side of where I had seen the rise and the fish took cleanly. After an epic battle on my 3 wt. I released a 15" brown. My takeaway was it was sometimes better to be lucky than good. Was casting from a crouch probably within 20ft, and the water was clear and no real hatch on.

 

[pcray1231]

Clarity definitely affects spookiness. This is why small stream guys love hefty flows, you spook less.

Also a factor seems to be the productivity of the stream, maybe size too. I've noticed on big limestoners (Penns, Spring, LJR, etc.), fish are rising nearly at your feet. You can walk through an area and they recover fast. You can watch fish meander around, even spook em a little, and they'll wonder back in place and start feeding again, maybe just get a little more selective. They just aren't spooky fish. Yet on a smaller, infertile freestoner, they'll scoot like darts at 30 yards and that pool is affected for the rest of the day.

I think as far as the fish are concerned, amount of food available and susceptibility to predators plays a major role. A lot of food = a lot of incentive to feed = less spooky. And smaller streams with shallow water = more susceptibility to predators = more wary fish. Then of course nomatter how wary the fish, the water clarity, current, etc. effects whether they can see ya or not.

 

[salmo]

When Euro-Nymphing you are practically on top of the fish, so my answer is: "It depends." Water depth, clarity, water surface conditions (riffle or flat), feeding activity, and more. That being said one of the largest browns I ever caught in Yellow Stone was about 6-8 feet away in shallow clear water. Better lucky ......

 

[Bamboozle]

“It depends” is the definitive answer…

The things I am most cautious about are shadows and vibrations. I avoid “clomping” around and always pay attention to where my shadow is falling.

However, because a botched or splashy cast will put fish down faster than anything will, I try to get as close to my intended target as possible to keep casts short in the hopes of minimizing problems, especially when one shot at a particular fish is all I might get.

For example, with the exception of a handful of fish, the majority of the fish I catch at the Letort are at distances around 10 - 12 feet away OR LESS because once I get to the spot I want to cast from, I wait…

…and wait…

Because, haste can be one the biggest contributing factors to failure when fishing at places where the fish are spooky versus proximity to the fish, water clarity or what color your hat or fly line is. It is times like these when fishing becomes stalking and patience is a virtue…

I do the same thing everywhere I fish and it blows me away how close I can get to feeding fish without spooking them by approaching S-L-O-W-L-Y, waiting and moving again applying a lesson on movement I learned from another “fisherman.”

One day while fishing a favorite lake, I spent a considerable amount of time watching a Green Heron “fishing.” What fascinated me was how the bird moved slowly forward horizontally, one partial step at a time, but its upper body didn’t move at. This allowed the heron to walk right up to the fish and grab them. Great Blue Heron do the same thing and despite being much larger & taller, it works for them too.

Since that time, I have tried my best to employ that style of walking toward fish I intend to target and it seems to make a big difference allowing me to get very close, keep casts shorter and more controllable.