Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Fish the seams, it seems.

So much water, where should I fish?
Fishing large waters can be somewhat intimidating. The shear volume of water flowing, those large boulders and the unseen drops and holes can make it a challenge to locate fish. When I fish such rivers I like to stop and give a good look to the way the waters are flowing. Rivers have varying speeds and create these seams that can be seen on the surface. Sometimes these seams can be readily detected and other times they are very subtle. The currents below the surface in these seams provide fish a holding spot for fish that may be moving upstream, they also provide an ideal place to ambush bait fish and insects that will get caught in the various currents.

To fish these seams can be a bit of a challenge because of the various speeds at which the river flows. To try and get that nice natural drift with a dry fly can be almost impossible and requires a lot of line mending. But the streamer and wet fly angler these seams can be a delight and very productive.

When a streamer is cast and allowed to drift through a seam the varying speeds of the river currents make the fly rush through at times and will make the fly look to be a darting bait fish trying to escape. Then there are times when the current will cause the streamer to swing through very fast and suddenly hesitate as it meets another current representing a tired minnow. These movements do not go unseen by the trout and a hard strike usually takes place.

There a 3 easily seen currents in this section of the Farmington river. I fished this section the other day and hooked several beautiful trout. Can you see the seams?


A wild Farmy brown, taken in a seam.
So the next time your fishing a larger river look for these seams and give them a try.



18 comments:

  1. Brk Trt, great post about a great topic. I actually read a book from Orvis ( Tom Rosenbauer ) called "The guide on reading trout Stream" with seems of a stream being a topic as well as reading other important parts of a trout stream. It really breaks down a trout stream to a understandable means. I highly recommend reading the book.

    Great topic............Phil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DRYFLYGUY,
      Thanks.
      Phil I have seen that book. He does put forth some very good insight.

      Delete
  2. i just always enjoy the scenes you share. so different from texas.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. TexWisGirl,
      Thanks.
      I know just what you speak of. Spent 2 years in San Antonio.

      Delete
  3. I don't fish big rivers much anymore at all. It's the Ol' Guy thing, I think. Balancing myself in a big stream is a bit difficult. That being said, current seams are something to take note of on those smaller streams I fish, too. Thanks for sharing, Alan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. pondstalkerblog,
      Thanks.
      I can relate to what you say, a little wobbly myself. And your right the same holds true for small streams.

      Delete
  4. Lovely and informative post Brk

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. John Wooldridge,
      Thanks.
      I appreciate that John.

      Delete
  5. Great advice Alan. I could spend half a day just fishing the water in that first shot!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HighPlainsFlyFisher,
      Thanks.
      It is a beautiful river. The photo was taken from a beautiful covered bridge.

      Delete
  6. Good advice Alan and I love the looks of that water you show.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Howard Levett,
      Thanks.
      A beautiful river indeed.

      Delete
  7. I like that image of a streamer drifting through the seams or "hallways" of a stream, checking the small apartments to each side, to see if any fish are home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Walt Franklin,
      Thanks.
      Walt I must say you are spot on, and you have said it so lovely.

      Delete
  8. Tenkara is a great tool for fishing streams like this, with a multitude of conflicting currents.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. tenkara ambassador,
      Thanks.
      I may actually try it in the next year. The long rod would be a plus.

      Delete
  9. teach us more...Master Brk Trt !!! Signed..Grasshopper..

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. penbayman,
      Thanks.
      Mike what a great show that was.

      Delete