Don’t Just Fish the Water — Read It: The Rodfather’s Guide to Autumn Trout
There is something rather special about an autumn morning beside a trout lake. The air has a nip to it, the leaves are beginning to turn, the summer haze has disappeared and, if you are lucky, there is just enough breeze to put a ripple across the water.
But autumn fishing isn't simply summer fishing with a jumper on. The water is changing, the insects are changing and, most importantly, the trout are changing their behaviour. If you carry on fishing exactly as you did in July, don't be surprised if the trout have apparently decided to take the autumn off.
So before you cast, stop. Look. Because autumn is a season when reading the water can be more important than choosing the perfect fly.
Start With the Wind
One of the first things I look at when I arrive is the wind. Not because I enjoy having it blow my hat into the lake — although that is always a possibility — but because wind can tell you an awful lot about where the food is going.
A breeze pushes surface food, insects and other natural debris towards the downwind end of a lake. On many still waters, that can make the windward bank a very interesting place to investigate.
And don't just look at the water itself. Look at the margins. Look for birds working the surface. Watch for rising fish. Check for insects being blown across the water. Look at areas of weed and structure where smaller fish might be holding.
You are building a picture. Only then should you decide where to fish.
Autumn Gives You Clues
One of the joys of autumn is that the lake can become surprisingly revealing. The dying vegetation around the margins can concentrate food and provide cover for small fish. Trout may also become more active as water temperatures fall from the highs of summer. Autumn can therefore bring opportunities both close to the bank and around structure.
This is where observation beats optimism.
If you see trout cruising the margins, don't automatically march twenty yards into the water and cast as far as you can. You might already be standing on the fish.
That is one of the great mistakes in fishing: assuming that because you can cast further, the fish must be further away.
Sometimes the best cast of the day is the one you don't make.
Don't Ignore the Fry
Autumn can also be a fascinating time to watch for fry-feeding trout. Small fish can become an important food source, particularly around weedbeds and other areas offering cover.
When trout are feeding on fry, their behaviour can be quite different from the gentle rise of a fish taking a small insect. You may see swirls, boils, sudden flashes or even trout charging through a shoal before returning to pick up stunned prey.
If you see that happening, pay attention to where it happens.
Is it always beside the same weed bed? Does it happen when the wind hits a particular bank? Are the trout moving along a specific depth?
Those observations are far more valuable than simply thinking, “There are fish over there.”
There is a difference between seeing a trout and understanding why it is there.
Change Your Retrieve Before You Change Your Fly
Here's another little Rodfather rule: if you're getting follows but no takes, don't immediately change the fly. Change what you're doing with it.
Speed it up. Slow it down. Pause it. Alter the depth. Change the angle of your retrieve.
A trout following a fly has already told you something. It is interested. Before you rummage through the fly box looking for another pattern, give the fish a different presentation.
Autumn conditions can call for everything from imitative nymphs and buzzers to larger patterns and fry imitations, depending on the water and what the trout are feeding on.
The important thing is not to fish the fly in isolation.
Fish the situation.
The Two-Minute Rule
Here's something I recommend to my clients. When you arrive at a lake, give yourself two minutes before making your first cast.
No rod waving. No frantic fly changing. No standing there wondering where the fish have gone.
Just watch.
Look at the wind. Look at the margins. Look for rises. Look for movement. Look at the surface. Look for insects. Look for birds. Look for anything that tells you where the food — and therefore the trout — might be.
Then make your first cast with a reason behind it.
It might not be the perfect cast. But it will be an informed one.
And that's the difference between fishing and simply casting.
Autumn Is a Conversation
For me, that's what makes autumn fishing so enjoyable. The lake is constantly giving you little clues, but you have to be prepared to listen.
The wind tells you something. The ripple tells you something. A rise tells you something. A follow tells you something.
Even a complete lack of activity tells you something.
The trick is putting those little pieces together.
So this autumn, don't arrive at the lake thinking, “What fly should I use?”
Arrive thinking: “Where are the fish, what are they eating, and why are they there?”
Then choose the fly.
Because the fly is only part of the answer.
The real skill is learning to read the water.
And once you start doing that, you may find that the lake isn't nearly as mysterious as you thought.
It has been talking to you all along.
You just needed to stop casting long enough to listen.
