Tenkara – no – Oni — Masami Sakakibara’s World of Tenkara —

Oni Blog

How to fish for trout in quiet pools

Posted on | September 30, 2014

This time I would like to focus on some questions sent to my web site.

Mr. Dale asked me to tell him how to fish in the quiet lake which is located near his house.

I basically do not fish lakes on Tenkara.

I am sure that lure fishing is more suitable for lake fishing.

Therefore, I want to answer this question by replacing lakes with pools in rivers.

Imagine the pool that is as quiet as mirror.
For this type of spot, most productive time would be just after sunrise or just before sunset especially in summer.

For this type of spot, most productive time would be just after sunrise or just before sunset especially in summer.

The bottom line is to fish during the most active time for fish.

 

What you first have to do at the spot is to spot fish without being spotted by them; do not take your fishing stuff for fish spotting.

If you cannot locate fish, just imagine where they may be holding and check those areas.

If you still struggle with spotting fish, here are some tactics.

 

 

Tactic 1: SASOI 1

Tie on an unintimidating fly such as #13 fly in black or brown.

What is the most important is not to cause any disturbance on the water surface: tippet and fly should be landed softly.

Then as depicted in the picture A, move the fly as if it were a living insect crawling on the surface.

Attract fish by moving the fly rhythmically ? too, too.

Check for any response.

Do not miss out anything even a small rise ring or riffle.
Do the same thing again everywhere. If you still do not see any response, move onto next tactic.

 

Now you know fish are not in a mood for eating.

Next tactic is SASOI 2. Refer to picture B.

Sink your fly 20 to 30 centimeter under the water and move it harder with a jerk.

I stick with a traditional Tenkara style; therefore I do not use a sinker or shot but you may as well use weighted flies or shots.

Still you should present the fly softly without causing any disturbance on the water.
Do not make ripple on the water.
If you still have no success, it is probably due to the unfavorable time or because some fishermen already educated the fish before you.
In that case, you should leave the place and head for another spot.

Quiet pools with mirror like surface are often difficult places for Tenkara fishing.

Waiting for fish to become staving might be a better strategy.

However, just before dust in summer fish become very voracious and you can have a lot of fun.
For fish it is a dicey decision to bite on uncertain bait.

They are also as cautious not to be fished as we are for fishing.

The reason I am so careful about casting is that I feel it not rude to fight with fish if we fishermen also make the best efforts.

Casting without causing disturbance can be achieved by anybody if practice is continued.

For that presentation, level lines and PVC taper are probably ideal.

They (fish) risk their lives; why not fishermen.
That is the way of my Tenakara.

COMMENTS

2 Responses to “How to fish for trout in quiet pools”

  1. Dale
    October 2nd, 2014 @ 3:47 AM

    Thank you very much for taking time to answer my question on fishing quiet water. Your suggestions are very helpful. Thank you for the diagrams. Continued success in all you do.
    Warmest regards,
    Dale Myers, Georgia,USA

  2. Oni
    October 2nd, 2014 @ 10:37 AM

    Dear Dale Can I help you? You can ask me anytime.Thank you too. Enjoy Tenkara!

Leave a Reply





Copyright © 2012- Tenkara no Oni - Masami Skakibara - All Rights Reserved.