Maximizing your time on a new river
Back before the times of the internet, fishermen went out in search of that illusive trout their dads or grandfathers told stories about over Sunday dinner. Walter of the river was always much bigger and meaner each and every year. It seemed like the more wine they drank, the lager that fabled fish would turn into. Dad would get up Saturday morning and reach for the shovel, then walk to the back yard into mom’s flower garden and proceed to dig up a whole jar of worms. He would do this before mom got out of bed in the morning, presumably so mom would not find out and read him the riot act. Then we would drive to the river and throw out the worms on a hook and hope for the best, more often than not we would come back empty handed with nothing but dirt and worm guts on our hands. Sometimes we would switch the worms out for that old Len Thompson red and white spoon and heave that out there for an hour. Don’t get me wrong, those old Len Thompson spoons work if you know where to look for fish or you are familiar with your local river. What happens when you don’t know the river you intend to fish, how do you increase your chances of hooking up?
With the advancements in technology, namely the internet, we do not even need to leave the comforts of our own homes to retrieve the information on the river or stream we are looking to fish. Back in the old days, fishermen went to the local tackle shops for information regarding the current river situation; or they would just have to go through many months of personal trial and error to actually catch one fish. That is what is referred to as “the good old days”. There was no internet and the advancements in fishing tackle are not even close to what they are now, but they were the good old days for sure. Now days, we can save the time and effort and search the internet for information. Usually there is great information readily available on forums, Blogs or local websites that speak about the river intended to fish. Most often you can pull up info on what lures or flies are working that month or day, how other fisherman are faring, and what areas of the river they are fishing. With most fishing, each and every day is a new adventure, and one really never knows what’s going to happen unless the lure is in the water. As my good friend always reminds me, “you can’t catch them if you do not cast”. But where to cast and what to do when fishing new water? Continue reading