Fishin’ like an Indian!

“Thanks a lot for  your great company this week, i enjoyed a lot my stay and have to come back for the really big one who showed his nose behind my lure ! I’ll fish more “like an Indian” next time !” – J.LaJournade

Pinging off an 80 or 90 foot cast over the horizon may also, I’m afraid, be over the fish! I wrote a little about my thoughts on low tide fish positioning in this post here emphasising it is often unnecessary to cast frequently or far in order to catch nice bass on the fly.

And then I added some thoughts on loop and turnover and timings and things in this post here. It was Juliens’ note to me about fishing ‘like and Indian’ that made me think a little more – a little more in fact about what we did during the week and what I find myself doing by default when I’m fly fishing for bigger fish a lot of the time.

Fishing like an Indian means many things but loosely refers to your positioning in relation to the fish you are trying to catch. Not the line, not the fly, not the distance, but where are you positioned what are you doing and thinking how are you approaching the stretch of water in front of you? Early and mid tide strategy?

Its time to think and to imagine that a fish potentially lies behind or in or in front of every likely spot you can see. You also have to believe that fish lie close to shore. If that is the case, of course its not every spot, then you begin to treat each lie in a different manner. You approach it as if the fish is already there and you are simply not prospecting with random casts and poor positioning.

Some help for the flyfisher cause its always a lot easier on lure!

• Move along the shore away from the waters edge and examine each stretch to determine where there is a likely holding spot.
  • Look at wave patterns, height and direction, depth of water, strength and direction of wind. If you can place yourself slightly upwards of the location and make a cast that will bring your fly onto the location before the line or even possibly drift it into the location whilst staying low, wow! A small pair of binoculars is helpful.
• Look and determine if you can see any current in the location, this will help bring your fly to the fish a lot of the time OR it could be two currents working against you in fact 
  • If you can cast the fly into a current that will bring the fly to the ‘location’ at the same speed as the current running where you are positioned then this will help greatly. Confusing counter currents or two different speeds affect and increase the difficulty of your presentation to the fish.
• Can I make the cast from where I am whilst still staying low?
  • Each location could hold a fish. You do not want to dump the fly or the line on the fish but rather you would like to give him the fly. You see a spot you like, go back a bit and try a cast away from where you think the fish is BUT as if you are fishing the spot, try it once or twice until you know and feel what you need to do then move into position and make the cast!

Remember if you see fish and you spook or miss them but see them then you know that they live there. This type of fishing means you have few opportunities, one or two per location but, you can always comeback and try again! Stay low, be accurate, don’t rush, you are a hunter, walk like an Egyptian but fish like an Indian!