Prospecting New Water

How does one go about prospecting a new stretch of river to fish? Good question.

Loyal "Babe"Back during the “days of Babe”, when I hunted with my loyal German shorthaired pointer, I made it a rule to find at least one new woodcock covert each year. As cutover woodlands matured, they would lose those “birdiness”. It was always smart to keep adding new hunting spots to replace the ones that became unproductive.

Generally, rivers don’t go through that same type of maturing process, where they lose their fish holding capacity. Nevertheless, it is still fun to find a new “honey hole” once in a while. It’s often said that trout don’t live in ugly places. So, why not explore, and find a few new, nice places to fish? Makes good sense to me. Here’s the process I use:

As a fly fisherman (or woman) develops through the years, they will naturally go through a series of amorphous developmental stages (not in any particular order) . . . the I just want to catch a trout stage . . . the dry fly stage . . . the brook trout stage . . . the nymph stage . . . the fish a spinner fall stage . . . the monster brown phase, etc.

This is all fine and great! There is no right or wrong. Fishing is for personal enjoyment. So, whatever it is that you want to accomplish to add to that enjoyment . . . good for you!

Start reading. Go to the internet and type in a Google Search for “Trout Streams of Michigan”. DOZENS of listsings will appear. Book after book talking about Michigan’s great trout fishing streams. Order a couple to read.

As you read, certain passages will “click” with you. Some are close to home. Some are close to where you vacation. Some talk about great brook trout, and you happen to be “into” brook trout. Great. It doesn’t matter. Find those stretches of stream that seem to line up with your interests. Mark them. Then, find an access map that describes that stretch of river. What you’re looking for, is access that allows you to “put in” at one point, work down stream for a quarter to half mile, then “take out”, with an easy trail, gravel road or railroad grade to walk back to your car.

WHENVEVER I investigate and fish a new stretch of river for the first time I have three rules: (1) Rig for streamers; (2) Carry a wading staff; (3) Have an escape route.
Streamer Fishing: A fast and effective way to explore new water.
My first mission is to investigate the stream, make observations, and determine if it is all that I hoped it would be. The quickest way to fish a stretch of river is with streamers. I can cover a lot of water, make my observations, and still know that I have a decent chance of hooking up with some handsome trout. Plan on fishing streamers.

Never having fished that stretch of river before, I have no idea what to expect. So, I carry a wading staff. Often times, it can be as simple as an old fiberglass cross country ski pole that you picked up for $1 at a garage sale. So what! I want to have something along that will help me probe questionable, dark water before I step into it. And, if I venture too deep, I want something that will help me push backwards against the current. Carry a wading staff on these exploratory missions.

Sometimes, within the first hour, you “know” that this stretch of river is NOT what you were hoping for. Your planned “take out” point is still 3 hours away, but you want to abandon the river, and get back to your car NOW. What’s the plan? Is there a trail? Will you have to trespass across private land? Do you have a compass? Or are you planning on walking back to the car against the current? Before you start, have an escape route. (Hint: Walking out against the current is not a good option.)

These are the observations I make while I’m exploring a new stretch of river:

1. Is it suitable for the type of fishing I was hoping to do? If there are a lot of sunken logs to step over, it may be suitable for streamers and dry fly fishing, but not for nymphing. Also, if I’m looking for “hex water”, but there isn’t any soft muck or ooze along the riverbank, I’m probably not going to find much hex activity, either. In other words, does this stretch of river have the characteristics that you need to do the style of fly fishing you were hoping to do?

2. Is there room to back cast? If I want to do a lot of dry fly fishing, and need room to make a back cast, evaluate that situation. Is the river wide enough? How much brush is along the banks, etc?

3. Is the water wade-able? If I can’t spend 80% or more of my time IN the river, I won’t fish that stretch. I’m not there to walk along the shore. I’m there to fish. If there’s too much deep water . . . if there are too many logs obstructing the river . . . I’m outta-there!

4. What other possibilities exist? Besides streamer fishing, I love “mousin” after dark, nymphing, fishing spinner falls, and steelhead. As I wade this stretch of river, I’m also looking for opportunities to do all my favorite fly fishing activities. I’m looking for deep pools and slow runs for mouse fishing. I’m looking for knee-deep to waist deep gravel. I’m looking for dried out spawn bags hanging in streamside vegetation (indicating that other people fish for steelhead long this stretch).

5. I’m also looking for signs of too many fishermen. Besides catching trout, I enjoy my solitude. So, I’m analyzing that aspect as well.

By the time I reach my take out point, I have formed an opinion as to whether or not I’ll be back.

Try to make it a habit to explore at least one or two new stretches of river each year.