Spooking Fish - Tactics/Techniques to Avoid It

[Dmicali81]

I spend most of my time fishing Valley Creek. As most, if not all of you know, it is a limestoner that runs clear and low 90% of the time. On top of that the stretch I love to fish is narrow, on this site I often hear it compared to a brookie stream.

One of the biggest obstacles I have encountered is spooking fish. I do all my spot switching on the bank and never wade in the water, I always wear neutral colors and have even gone to camo. Most the time I am roll casting as size of stream does not allow overhead casting, so my false casts are at a minimum. However, I still spook lots of fish when entering water.

What are some other techniques the experts on this forum can share with us newer guys to limit the amount of fish that run away before I even have a chance to catch them?

Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Foxgap239]

I think at certain times it is almost impossible to not spook fish on VC. I met a guy one day and he told me he only fishes dries on VC and spooks them when getting in position but that he simply waits them out because they are so used to people they will rise again in 10 or 15 minutes. I have caught fish by keeping a low profile and coming upstream to them but I still spook fish. I am going to try the waiting them out routine on my next trip.

 

[PACOFRANSICO]

I know guys do this on spring creek. The fish are so used to being walked on there that they go back feeding in about 10 to 20 min. But low and slow approach to get into psotion is best.

 

[SBecker]

Low, slow, and come from downstream up. Army crawl if you have to.

 

[csoult]

Makes a difference.

 

[govtmule]

if it's sunny and low and you are working upstream, your false casting will spook them. limit the false casting or fasle cast to the side if possible. I find that taking your time and positioning yourself upstream of the fish and just casting 10 ft in front of you then pumping line down works better. Don't plan on catching every fish in a pool. You can always fish the fast water, try swinging some soft hackles through them....

 

[Fishidiot]

Dmicali,
Good advice above.
In my experience, shadows are a main reason for spooking fish. I think the verdict is still out on clothing but I avoid light colors (esp white) if I'm fishing in a forest. You want to blend in.
Finally, keep in mind that VC is a tough stream that gets pounded. The fish are spooky and selective. As others have pointed out, once you're in position, give the creek a break for a few minutes and the fish should resume feeding.

 

[csoult]

govtmule wrote:
if it's sunny and low and you are working upstream, your false casting will spook them. limit the false casting or fasle cast to the side if possible.

Learned this lesson on a brookie stream in my area. One false cast scattered 4 fish, never again.

 

[scotto]

Move as a heron, if you see a wake ahead of you when wading you are going to fast

 

[tig]

Leave the fly line at home..Put a spinning reel on you're fly rod use 4lb test or 2lb test. Still use flies and see if that don't make a difference. You would be surprised how much that fly line scares stuff.Do everything written above this post. hopefully this works.

 

[zerodrag]

When wading spooking fish is inevitable but like the others said the fish will likely return to their original holding spots. But one piece of advice I can give you is when fishing over a pod of rising fish make a long down stream presentation with a long leader.

 

[Chaz]

Well, this is easier said than done, but try to always enter a stream in a riffle, never in a pool. And always make a few casts in the tailout of pools. Trout love to hand at the tails of pools and if you spook one you've pretty much have spooked the entire pool.

 

[afishinado]

I went back and found this post about fishing Valley or any stream with spooky wild trout:

Slow down...you move too fast....

 

[PaulG]

You are always going to spook fish, can't be helped. Just stay low, wade close to the bank, move slow, little false casting as possilbe and ware the right kind of clothing.

Move slow as you can!

PaulG

 

[ryguyfi]

HIDE!

reduce false casts

longer drifts if possible, so you're not plopping your fly a few feet above the fish's lie

wear camo or dull colors

take your time before presenting a fly. There can be a more opportune moments once a fish is spotted.

If you spook fish, move on. It's very difficult to catch a fish after it's spooked. But if it's a good fish, come back to it later.

 

[quillfly]

find ripple ,nymph till fish is caught , nymph again . at a ripple you can really get away with a lot. this memorial day me and my dad were fishing big springs he was practically standing on top of the spillway water and ended up hooking into the one of those notorious monsters . after that he jumped out i jumped in and caught a 17 in rainbow same hole he had just caught a fish out of five minutes before .

 

[pcray1231]

FWIW, spooking fish is a fact of life. You're simply not going to avoid it completely. Accept it, and when it happens, don't waste another second on spooked fish and move on.

But yeah, there are things that can help you do it less. Some of which you're already doing with the shirt color and all. Valley isn't a tiny stream, and I can usually backcast there, though there are places where small stream methods are necessary. My hints:

1. This is #1 for a reason, it is MOST important. Distance is your friend. As you become a better caster, you'll be able to fish that same spot from a little further away, and that makes all the difference.

2. Don't worry so much about wading. I mean, be quiet and go slowly when you do, and yeah, its better to be on shore, all else being equal. But #1 is more important. If wading allows you to approach a spot from a few more feet away, it's worth it.

3. Where possible, approach fish from downstream. They face upstream. That said, it's not always possible, again see #1. If you can get significantly better distance from upstream, do it.

4. Stay as low as possible, including the rod. Go sidearm if you can, avoid false casts as much as possible. Fish are conditioned to look out for danger from above.

5. Pay attention to shadow direction, see #4.

6. Seek out water and holding lies where it's a little easier. Slow, glassy water is tough for anyone. Don't get me wrong, there's fish there. But if the name of the game is to catch as many as possible, then you aren't trying to catch every single fish, but rather, spend as much time as possible in high % places. Move and take lower hanging fruit. Seek out current and a riffly surface. Cover is also good, those root systems and such.

7. VC fishes 1000 times better after a rain. It comes down real quick. If you get a 3 inch gulley washer, the next day is when you want to be there. For lower water conditions, there are other options. A large part of being a good fishermen is having a stable of streams, and knowing WHEN each is going to fish well.

 

[Swattie87]

Good advice already here, but I'll add the following:

I agree with pcray's point #2 about not wading being overrated. If it is more practical and you stand a better chance of catching the fish from shore, then do it, but if not then wade. I think this is especially true in small mid to high gradient Brookie streams. A lot of times the only way to get a casting lane is to be physically in the gulley carved by the stream itself. This often means fishing a hole or riffle and then standing in it to cast up to the next hole or riffle. In addition I've noticed that I spook MANY more fish in a small stream by attempting to make a cast from shore next to the hole, than from in the stream but below the hole.

While I think not wading is overrated, the role of shadows is severely underrated IMO. It is my experience that if a fish sees your shadow, or your rod's shadow, for all practical purposes it has seen you and you should move on. If the fish are spooky in general (headwater Brookies for example) they usually bolt for cover right then and there, which is clear visual evidence to the angler that the fish is spooked. If the fish are more accustomed to people (like Valley Creek) the fish may not bolt until you approach it, but it knows you're there and you might as well move on. The general idea with shadows is to try to keep the sun in front of you (and your shadow behind you) as you approach the spot you want to fish...easier said than done I know.

A lot of times these concepts are at odds with one another when you're on the stream. Meaning you generally want to fish upstream, but what if that means in this case the sun will be behind you and your shadow will cover the hole as you approach your casting lane. Each scenario is different, but on the stream it's funny how your brain works. The more you fish, the more angles and options your brain starts to see on how to fish a spot and how to make the best cast and presentation.

IMO Valley is a midsize creek (unless you're fishing way upstream into Chesterbrook, which you may be), albeit on the smaller end of that range. There should be enough room there in most cases to get some decent length casts in though. Valley's tough, the fish are pretty, but well educated. My advice with Valley is to try to focus on the riffles and midstream eddies made by larger rocks. These areas often have more broken water and give you a little extra stealth before you'd spook the fish. The deeper pools and runs are tough to fish there period when the water is clear.

 

[tomitrout]

looks like the consensus is to approach from downstream...I'd suggest doing the opposite. Since the trouts are probably conditioned to the classic upstream presentation, change it up on 'em and show them a presentation they're not accustomed to, approach from upstream, w/ a downstream cast. Or even fishing from the opposite bank than what is the norm can be enough.
I've seen this plenty on the Letort and the Breeches, have never fished Valley though...

 

[pcray1231]

tomit,

What you are talking about is not spooky fish, it is finicky/picky fish. They are two very different things.

1. Spooked - Upon seeing a human, or a shadow passes over, they bolt for cover and stop all feeding activity. The fisherman see's darts.
2. Finicky/Picky - Fish that have seen plenty of imitations, and have become extremely selective. They are generally less spooky as they've become accustomed to humans, and will often hold position or even keep feeding when they see a fisherman. But they are ultra careful about exact imitations, drag, etc., and seeing a human may make this especially so.

The idea of changing sides of the stream, trying new approaches they haven't seen, etc., perhaps is good advice for #2. I think we were all assuming/commenting on the situation for #1.