I don’t even want to know how many times over the years, I have had to come up with some sort of lame excuse as to why I didn’t catch anything on some of my fishing trips.
The wind had churned up the waters and the fish couldn’t see my fly. The fish were too full from having gorged themselves on the hatch that occurred the day before. And then there’s my old standby: for some reason, that I can’t seem to figure out, the fish just weren’t interested in anything anybody on the waters had to offer. I like that one because I can share my failure.
The reality is, quite simply, that all of my excuses only serve to mask an underlying problem: I just don’t spend enough time on the water.
There are, however, a number of things an angler can do to not have to rely on excuses.
First of all, before heading out on the water, take a good look around you. Look among the reeds and foliage along the shoreline. See what insects are moving around in the riparian zone. Look for insect shucks or cases floating on the surface of the water. This will give you an indication as to what insects are in the process of emerging.
Just because you had luck catching fish in a specific area on one trip, doesn’t mean that you will be able to motor right over there and catch fish again. Fish are constantly moving throughout both lakes and streams in search of food.
Once you have decided on an area to fish, explore all options.
Even when there does not appear to be any sort of hatch coming off at the moment, there will, in all likelihood, still be activity below the surface. Select fly patterns that represent the nymphal or pupal stage of the same insect that was most recently emerging.
It is also important to fish your fly pattern at different depths with varying retrieval speeds.
If you are still not getting any takes, change the size and shade of colour of your fly pattern before changing to a different pattern altogether.
Remember, too, that you have a better chance of catching fish with your fly in the water than you do with it out.
Too much time spent changing back and forth with different patterns is valuable fishing time wasted. The same holds true for time making too many false casts. It may look good to other anglers, but it doesn’t catch fish.
One major oversight on the part of many anglers is they do not check the points of their hooks or the knots in their leaders often enough. Every snag and every fish hooked puts wear and tear on your terminal tackle. Dull hooks, damaged, weakened leaders and strained knots account for too many lost fish. I know. So sharpen your hooks and check your leaders often.
Even the best of anglers will experience days when they simple can’t get the fish to bite. That’s why it’s called fishing and not catching. However, a little observation and a few precautionary measures can make a huge difference when it comes to not having to rely on lame excuses like I have had to do – far too many times.