Fly Fishing A Lake

[Rp3flyfisher]

Rick: "..............like on streams."

 

Sorry yourself; reading hatches and insect activity is a different chapter.

j

 

 

Yes and No IMHO.

 

Yes Reading the water on a stream is looking for the pocket water, hydraulics, back eddies, convergence zones etc..., but in a lake you need to be able to read where Drop offs are, weed beds, shoals etc... I know you said you consider that more about reading structure, (which it is) but is that not the same as you do in a river?

 

If you know the structure of a river (boulders, pools, wells, etc...) it is the same as knowing the structure in a lake. This is what most people think of as "reading the water" on rivers, Really, it is just reading underwater Structure, just like in a lake so, if this is true for moving water, then it should also be called "reading the water" on lakes, No?

 

This being said, if you can read the structure in moving water, you will know where to look for certain insects, (thus hatches) the same is true for lakes is it not?

 

Rick

[jack]

No.

To put forward the idea that reading stillwater and streams, as it equates to fish behavior, is essentially the same, is to do a disservice to anyone attempting to learn the variants of fly fishing and a terrible misdirection. The idea that both stillwater and streams have structure, therefore the understanding of fish behavior and feeding habits is similar is to ignore the most obvious difference between the two habitats: flow.

Only the farthest stretch of the imagination and several false assumptions created by over-simplification can conclude that: "...... if you can read the structure in moving water, you will know where to look for certain insects, (thus hatches) the same is true for lakes is it not?"

 

Again, for anyone trying to learn the stillwater "game", structure is just about everything. The basics for a fish are: oxygen, temperature and food. Structure relates to all three. As long as a lake water has nutrients to support an aquatic insect food chain, it is structure that will dictate where and how fish feed and where they travel in safety. Once a lake has stratified in the open water season, depth(as dictated by structure) dictates the oxygenated aquatic environment, sunlight penetrating to the lake bottom(to an approximate depth of 30' in the average lake) is what dictates where aquatic insects will be emerging from the bottom to begin their migration to the surface. It is structure and the insect species that dictates that migration route. Applying only a brief understanding of insect underwater emerging migration to a detailed knowledge of the structure of a stillwater, with a good dose of common sense, will yield success for the fly fisher.

 

I don't know how many times, during a season, I will discover something "new"(to me), to do with insect behavior and a trout's reaction to that behavior. Invariably, the discovery is followed by a "Well of course!", because the discovery of insect behavior, when revealed is so logical. Keen observation is another important tool and will lead to many "I'll be damned" moments.

 

That's where you are absolutely correct, Rick. Whether you want to call it "reading water" or I want to call it "observing and understanding insect activity", the eyes, combined with deductive reasoning is essential in understanding the stillwater "game".

j

 

 

 

[Rp3flyfisher]

No.

To put forward the idea that reading stillwater and streams, as it equates to fish behavior, is essentially the same, is to do a disservice to anyone attempting to learn the variants of fly fishing and a terrible misdirection. The idea that both stillwater and streams have structure, therefore the understanding of fish behavior and feeding habits is similar is to ignore the most obvious difference between the two habitats: flow.

Only the farthest stretch of the imagination and several false assumptions created by over-simplification can conclude that: "...... if you can read the structure in moving water, you will know where to look for certain insects, (thus hatches) the same is true for lakes is it not?"

 

Again, for anyone trying to learn the stillwater "game", structure is just about everything. The basics for a fish are: oxygen, temperature and food. Structure relates to all three. As long as a lake water has nutrients to support an aquatic insect food chain, it is structure that will dictate where and how fish feed and where they travel in safety. Once a lake has stratified in the open water season, depth(as dictated by structure) dictates the oxygenated aquatic environment, sunlight penetrating to the lake bottom(to an approximate depth of 30' in the average lake) is what dictates where aquatic insects will be emerging from the bottom to begin their migration to the surface. It is structure and the insect species that dictates that migration route. Applying only a brief understanding of insect underwater emerging migration to a detailed knowledge of the structure of a stillwater, with a good dose of common sense, will yield success for the fly fisher.

 

I don't know how many times, during a season, I will discover something "new"(to me), to do with insect behavior and a trout's reaction to that behavior. Invariably, the discovery is followed by a "Well of course!", because the discovery of insect behavior, when revealed is so logical. Keen observation is another important tool and will lead to many "I'll be damned" moments.

 

That's where you are absolutely correct, Rick. Whether you want to call it "reading water" or I want to call it "observing and understanding insect activity", the eyes, combined with deductive reasoning is essential in understanding the stillwater "game".

j

 

I agree with you Jack, I am not trying to say that reading a river is in any way the same as reading a lake, but the general Idea is the same to a point. If you understand where the trout would hold, and where the insects would inhabit, then........

 

Yes my answer is simplified, but by the sounds of the question posted here, it is better (IMHO) to simplify it to an extent. You are 100% correct with the fact that Oxygen levels, nutrients, etc... are VERY important things to learn in a stillwater lake setting, but I personally try to stay away from these details when I am teaching the beginner (too confusing).

 

Personally, I think that knowing the behaviors and movement of the insects in relation to the feeding habits of the trout are FAR more important to the beginner than the oxygen levels, nutrients, etc..... this is more for the Flyfisher that already has the basic knowledge of the insects and the trout behavior, again (IMHO)

 

Once a New Flyfisher knows that a Dragon fly Nymph will tend to be found in areas that are weeded or have debris that the dragon can hide in ambush for hunting purposes, then he can have a better understanding of when the trout will be able to feed on them Along with this, The new Flyfisher needs to understand how a particular insect behaves when it comes time to emerge into adulthood.

 

Again Jack, I do agree with you 100% that all the aspects you mentioned are VERY important and that EVERY Flyfisher should know the in's and out's of them, but for the beginner, there is plenty to learn in just getting to know the trout and insect behavior.

 

I guess we are in a way saying the same thing, just in different ways.

 

Rick