By James Murray, Observer contributor
Time spent fishing on any of British Columbia’s Interior lakes involves a lot of time just sitting there – waiting.
Not that there isn’t anything wrong with being out there in your boat, taking in all the sights and sounds and smells that surround you. After all, the time spent between casts does provide an angler with the unique opportunity to observe everything that is going on around them.
I know I have spent a fair amount of time figuring out how to read the waters of each lake that I have fished. It continues to be a work in progress.
Learning how to read the waters of any lake requires having an understanding of lake structure and the ability to identify fish-holding waters. It is achieved, in most part, by making observations and remembering or, better yet, recording your observations in some sort of journal so that you can refer to them on subsequent trips.
Over the past 50 years of fishing the lakes and streams of B.C.’s Interior, I have often found myself being drawn back to certain waters. In part because of past successes, and also because I have come to understand the seasonal changes that take place above and below the surface of these lakes.
Although it has taken many years, I now have a fair understanding of the structure of these lakes – where the drop offs are and where there are underwater islands, where there are shoals and where there are weed beds and, equally important, what sub-aquatic insects inhabit the weed beds.
I have also come to learn when certain insect hatches are likely to come off as well as where on the lake they are likely to happen. Through observation I have come to learn and retain a fair amount of understanding and knowledge about these lakes, and that has proven useful when fishing other, less familiar lakes.
Ultimately, being able to read the waters of a lake, any lake, is knowing how to add together all of your knowledge and observations so that you can make a calculated guess as to where the fish might be and what they are most likely to be feeding on at any given part of the day and/or season.
Although fish are relatively opportunistic feeders, they can also be quite selective. Fish are also, by their very nature, relatively wary creatures. Here in are two important clues as to where they might be feeding. While fish are constantly seeking food, they also continuously seeking protection from anything which might be inclined to feed on them. Fish tend to cruise through areas where there are both the prospect of a meal and a certain amount of safety from predation. Fallen trees, weed beds, sunken islands and marl provide protective cover for sub-aquatic insects and forage fish. They also provide both cover and food sources for larger fish looking for something to eat.
Look for areas where there is natural protective cover for both insects and fish, and you will find fish hanging around that feel safe enough to go after anything which ventures out from within. Fish will also often cruise the shallows along the shoreline after sunset under the cover of failing light. Creek mouths, where the surface of the water is broken by moving water entering the lake, are always a favourite spot for opportunistic fish to hold while waiting for food.
Just as there are really ardent anglers, such as purist fly fishers who know the taxonomic names of all the different insect species and can effectively match pretty well any hatch, there are also anglers who are equally adept at casting and/or trolling lures and spoons that represent bait fish.
I am not a purist. I have probably caught as many fish on lures and spoons as I have on the fly. All I know for sure is that any way you look at it, being able to read the waters quite simply translates into catching more fish.
When it comes to fishing and spending time on the water, again, I am not a purist. I enjoy catching trout on the fly every bit as much as hooking into a carp on a spinning rig.
I guess, when it comes right down to it, I’d have to say that I enjoy fishing, quite simply, for the pure and simple pleasure of being out there on the water taking in all the sights and sounds and smells that surround me.