Intimidation

[garb72]

I have been fishing for about a year and one half, all small streams and small ponds and i love it and am very comfortable. Well after a lot of research i went for a drive up to the kings river to a spot known for large fish, but thats not the point, the water was 10x bigger than i have ever fished. I was intimidated.... faster moving water, lots more water, and faster moving water, and deeper water. I felt lost.... i plan on going back with better weather and attitude as well time to devote to fishing, and my 6wt instead of my 4 wt.... Is this just all in my head? I know that it didnt help that i felt rushed do to the fact that i had a non fisher riding shotgun waiting in the jeep while it rained. any advise would be greatly appreciated.

[kbproctor]

There are places I am not comfortable wading and the bank isn't all that great, either. I skip them. There are plenty of other places to fish.

If a non fishing type is riding with me with full knowledge that we are headed to a fishing hole, they best have brought a book or be capable of entertaining themselves for a while.

[garb72]

There are places I am not comfortable wading and the bank isn't all that great, either. I skip them. There are plenty of other places to fish.

If a non fishing type is riding with me with full knowledge that we are headed to a fishing hole, they best have brought a book or be capable of entertaining themselves for a while.

i saw spots from the road that looked very nice to fish... im just going to have to go with a fishing buddy and put the time in.

[Jackster]

Break that river down into small, manageable sections and it might not be so intimidating.
Since you say you are relatively new to this, learn what you can about reading the water. You'll see each river has many likely places where fish will tend to congregate. Almost all rivers, regardless of size share the same types of places fish like to hang out in.
Oh, and don't go in over your hat. That can be dangerous!

[JeffHamm]

Take a good long time before going to the water. Just stand back, with your rod set up, and look at the river. Focus in on the details. Even in a small stream you cast to a particular spot, you fish a particular line, etc. Just because there's more water "over there, and up there, and and and hey, back here too" doesn't change the fact you look for a likely fish holding spot, and you cast to it, and fish it. Focus your attention in on what you think are fish zones, and fish them while filtering out the rest. If the one you chose doesn't produce, look for the next closest fish zone and repeat.

In otherwords, with your observations, break the big water into small streams.

- Jeff

[flywatersmallie]

Sound advice so far! I'll add this... You mentioned faster moving water, get a staff and or a pfd. Nobody wants you to be dead!

Some of my home waters are fairly large, I fish them the same as I do smaller streams, as was stated. That said, I always go back to the little creeks, even though the fish are smaller on average. Just a certain charm there

[sagefisher]

garb,

As indicated, break the river down into small manageable sections.

When you fish the small streams you fish the seams and the soft pockets of water, it will be the same in a river.

Look for the seams in the water, those will collect insects both on the surface and under the water. The fish will be near the seams looking for food. Find the soft pockets of water near many of these seams and around the rocks, excellent places for fish.

If you are fishing nymphs, make sure you can get the fly down to the bottom as quickly as possible. Drag free is critical.

Don't try to fish the whole river, just a few small sections at a time.

Go there when you are not pressed for time, have a nice selection of flies, both dry and wet/nymph and enjoy the exploration.

Larry ---sagefisher---

[ScottP]

Best advice I ever recieved on fishing the Madison River - "if your boots are wet, you're in too deep". Got that from one of the guides at Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone. It's a big, fast river and there's so much water, but as others have said, if you break it down into manageable, bite-sized chunks, you can turn it into a series of connected 15-20 foot wide sections that are a lot easier to fish. Although I do get in the water often on the Madison, I've never felt the need to be a hero (or idiot) and try to wade to the middle of the stream when there's so much good water closer to the bank.

Regards,
Scott

[redietz]

Best advice I ever recieved on fishing the Madison River - "if your boots are wet, you're in too deep". Got that from one of the guides at Blue Ribbon Flies in West Yellowstone. It's a big, fast river and there's so much water, but as others have said, if you break it down into manageable, bite-sized chunks, you can turn it into a series of connected 15-20 foot wide sections that are a lot easier to fish. Although I do get in the water often on the Madison, I've never felt the need to be a hero (or idiot) and try to wade to the middle of the stream when there's so much good water closer to the bank.

Some of the best advice I ever got was something to the effect that "as far as the fishing in concerned, the Madison is only 10 feet wide -- the five feet from either bank."

[JohnScott]

When I first started fly fishing, I had a similar reaction when I fished any new big water. Not intimidation but a feeling of being overwhelmed.

One suggestion I read somewhere is very similar to most of the comments already made above - fish it like it is thirty feet wide.

A couple other suggestions.

First, try to get the best information you can on places where there are a lot of fish. That way you will find out if your results are based on your timing, tackle, and technique or the water you are fishing. You can do everything right in water with no fishies and go home empty handed, having learned nothing at all. If you know the fish are there, you will be able to learn, through observation and experimentation, what works to hook up with them.

Second, consider fishing streamers ( or wet flies ) to explore new water, especially big water. I find it a lot easier to cover a lot of water with a streamer fished off a full sinking line cast across or down and across and swung / stripped through as much water as I can cast to. You may not get as many fish on a streamer as you would nymphing or fishing dries, but you might be able to detect patterns of where the fish are. Same principle with wet flies ( on a floating line ), which might be better than a streamer if there is definitely a hatch in the works when you are there.

Don't be concerned about getting wet. It's going to happen at some point in a big river. Just be aware of the water depth and speed below your position at all times and use common sense. Be in condition to deal with getting dunked, and be prepared to deal with the consequences of getting wet.

John