You’re not going to catch a fish here.
I said it out loud. There were dozens of people on the beach behind me, but the sound of the waves on the rocks drowned out my voice.
You’ve only got a little time to fish, so why aren’t you going where you know there’s fish?
Again, I asked myself the question out loud. I didn’t answer audibly (that would be crazy), but I did reel in and walk out towards where I should have gone from the start. It was a longer walk. The rocks were bigger and sharper, and the waves were breaking higher. But it was where two currents were coming together to form a bait-trapping pocket. I was right. And I’m glad I listened to me. Because I caught fish.
We all have a finite time in which we fish. Existentially speaking, that’s a very sobering truth. More practically, we’ve got work and family and daylight to factor in. While you technically have a chance to catch a fish in any water, we all know that some is far superior to others. Certain spots are fishier. Cover, structure, etc. Thus, given these proven variables and limited time… why mess around?
Reading the water is probably the most important skill in fly fishing. Discerning where fish ought to be edges out casting and fly selection. Think about it: what does it profit a man if he can cast the right fly with precision but there is no fish to eat it? You’ve got to be able to read water.
So, how do you do that?
After fishing for a while this becomes natural. Trust your gut. Go where you think you should go. Lean into experience and pay attention to where you’re fishing as much as how you’re fishing. More often than not, fishing in bad spots is the result of laziness or lackluster effort. I find myself fishing in low percentage locations after not catching fish for a while. It’s illogical, but it stems from frustration. And that’s what happens when we’re not thinking acutely.
I think that talking to yourself helps. Of course, it doesn’t have to be out loud. But be critical. Why are you casting where you are casting? What’s special about this spot? Is there a feeding lane, and if so, is that where I can reasonably place my fly?
If you don’t have good answers for yourself – move. There’s no sense adding to the frustration and ticking away the moments that make up an angling day.
Read a book, watch a video, and get a guide. Those things all help. Once you’re out on the water all by yourself, it’s all going to depend on you telling yourself what to do. Don’t do what’s easy. Don’t do what’s novel. Do what you know you should do, and fish where you know you’re supposed to fish.
Just keep your voice down.
One last thing. Maybe I’m muddying the waters, but I think there is a time and a place for rolling the proverbial dice. Fish do weird stuff. More appropriately, we can’t comprehend the “logic” that motivates a trout. They’re supposed to be over there, but sometimes there here. That’s part of the fun of fishing.