Casting To Fish In Shallow Water

[Brownstone]

Lately, I've found myself targeting fish in really shallow water (mainly because of where ive been fishing), the fish are there but I can;t always get close enough w/o spoking them..I'd imagine it quite difficult to cast to a 25" trout in 6" of water and not spook him. The water this close to the shore is pretty much still and presenting on the swing is almost impossible, I tried casting from the side and behind with a long leader but still spook the fish either with the fly or getting into position....would the fish even be feeding in there or maybe just sunning? I believe they are feeding on tiny fry close to the shore in the weeds cause there are an awful lot of fry in close..

[DutchDryfly]

Try to get above the fish, fish downstream and put a lot of slack in the flyline.

That is how I fool difficult trout in shallow water.

[toolman]

Were these fish actively feeding on small fry or rising occassionally to feed, or were they motionless and just lying there.

If they are not active and there is little flow to get a drift, I would move on, as I have emptied my fly boxes learning the hard way.

[Brownstone]

Were these fish actively feeding on small fry or rising occassionally to feed, or were they motionless and just lying there.

If they are not active and there is little flow to get a drift, I would move on, as I have emptied my fly boxes learning the hard way.

 

 

They were not rising, but i could see backs/tails when they moved (i think because of the super shallow water). Only time i seen them move is when I spooked them..and where they were hanging out was infested with small fry but they did'nt seem to move to far to chase them if they were feeding on them..I'm thinking the same as you said Greg, move on..I've wasted lots of time in the past casting to fish I knew were there with no results..It's just so hard to see such nice fish sooooo close...I tried to convince myself they were suckers..but i guess im to smart for that nonsense...

 

Thanks for the advice, I know they'd be hard to take on the level..just needed someone else to say so..and I trust you..thousands would'nt, but i do..j/k...

 

Gregg

[troutlover]

The fish you speak of are highly educated fish.

[Conor]

It sounds like it is your presentation that is the problem. Try practicing a soft presentation in slack water. The trajectory of the cast is important when a soft presentation is key. Too low and you smack the water; too high and the line splashes. Turn over is poor in both cases, shortening the effective length of your leader.

 

I am not a great caster, by any means, so any other tips that people might have might help.

 

Also, take your time approaching fish. Think about how many hours of blind nymphing it takes to land a 25" fish. Spending 10-20 min on an approach is not a big deal from that perspective.

[OneMoreLastCast]

One thing I like to do when I encounter difficult fish in Shallow water is cast a smaller streamer, like a good old "Mickey Finn" or very small clouser from downstream, but off to their side about 5 to 8 feet. Cast it to the side and up ahead of them only a couple of feet. As soon as it hits the water, start stripping it back with erratic little strips.

 

Even if they aren't actively feeding, this often will entice a strike and get them to leave the comfort zone they are sitting in.

 

Another option is to loop around upstream out of the fish's site lines and belly crawl to about 5 feet from the shoreline. Now cast a fly that will skate on the surface and cast slightly upstream and out, letting only the leader hit the water and skate the fly to the fish in a downstream swing. You will have to sneak in fairly close to the fish and you might have to use a sling shot cast in order to stay hidden, but it works. You can also try casting from downstream from back away from the shoreline, letting only the leader hit the water, (Assuming the fish is fairly tight to the bank).

 

Another technique I've had success with is, assuming the shallow water you speak of has a fairly slow current as well. Tie on a heavy weighted streamer like a leech pattern or Wooley Bugger and cast it off to its side as described above. Let it sink to the bottome and leave it there.

If the fish spooks a bit, or if it doesn't, let the fly sit for a couple of minutes and then start to strip it back to you. Once the fish has gotten comfortable, it will be more likely to strike your fly. Just remember, the fish most likely knows you are there, or that something different is there, so the goal is to trick it into thinking everything is as much back to normal as possible.

 

The last advice I can give is to know when you're beat. I can't count the number of times I spent valuable fishing time casting to fish that weren't going to be caught. On the other hand, it's a great feeling of accomplishment when you do succeed with these difficult fish. You just have to remember that it's only one or two fish, and there are thousands of other catchable fish out there.

[rhuseby]

As long as the fish are moving a little and hence probably feeding, I've often had luck with a small soft-hackle wet fly. Like the other guys say, sometimes, you have to smile and move on.

[maxwell]

missinthe bow has some killer techniques...

 

swinging down is great and a light dry dropper rip upstream would be my prefered methods...ive found the biggest thing when stalking fish in the shallow the past while have bin moving slow, staying low and not grinding too many rocks or disturbing the water..if ur spooking the fish casting u may be a little rough on the laydown...

 

try too get ur distance by casting 10 ish feet too the left or right of the fish so u dont gotta worry about spooking the fish trying too figure out if ur too long or too short...lighten and lengthen ur tippets too.

 

goodluck dude

[Hawgstoppah]

Max pretty much said excatly what I was going to add to thyis. Make sure you false cast to get your distance right. And try a small dry / dropper (one of my favorites for picky fish like that is a #16 ehc, with a #20 red bloodworm about 18 inches below it on 5x tippet). One other important factor in your spooking fish, may be the size of line / rod. I use a 3wt for situations like that, and find I spook waaay, waaaaaaaaaaaaay less trout than I did with my 5wt when I used a 5wt for dries.

[maxwell]

i second that, playing with big fish and light tippet lighter rods are a must, ive bin using a 9foot 4but but want a 8ft 3wt in the future...u will bust off less fish...jsut dotn let them get way the hell across the bow cuz then...urdone

[Hawgstoppah]

i second that, playing with big fish and light tippet lighter rods are a must, ive bin using a 9foot 4but but want a 8ft 3wt in the future...u will bust off less fish...jsut dotn let them get way the hell across the bow cuz then...urdone

 

 

Not neccessarily Max. I've played lots of big fish on my 3wt. As long as you don't get stupid and use 7x or something, you can fight the fish just as well as you could with a 5wt or so. You just get a much quieter presentation. People that tell you lightweight rods kill fish, have only seen guys who don't know how to fight fish use 'em. Tippet's play fish, not the rod size.

 

Imagine an 8wt, and some 5x tippet. You gonna bring that fish in any sooner? LOL... not a damn chance.

 

**sets hook...... SNAP goes the tippet**

[Guest rusty]

**sets hook...... SNAP goes the tippet**

 

Sounds like that time in the Carseland channels with Steve, eh Brian? I'd narrate what was said afterwards, but there are young impressionable minds here.

[Hawgstoppah]

LOL.... one of those Ahh you %($^ %&*)%*)& #@$&%&( !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :lol: :lol:

[lonefisher]

I sometimes like a long leader for fish like this..... No indicator and usually a unweighted nymph, flymph, or soft hackle. Toss upstream with a reach/curve cast (usually in such circumstances you have to deal with a current between you and the fish) and watch for the flash of the fish and for light tics in your line. Once you lose track of where your fly is though you are basically hooped.

[SilverDoctor]

For fish in shallow water sit back and study the trout for a bit. If you actually see the fish feeding then try to figure out what they might be taking. Something to remember is shallow water fish have lots of time to study a fly and a PRESENTATION. The only occasional success I've ever had is to swim the presentation well ahead of the fish to entice a forward movement and strike. Remember a lot of these large trout are really wary and unlike in faster water where they may need to make a quick decision on what is drifting by them. Shallow water brown tends to be the cagiest ones. Make a pass if unsuccessful admire the fish and move on.