The following series is presented with the kind permission of the Cumberland And Westmorland Herald.

Think Like A Trout

In he autumn terms of 1994 and 1996, I was invited to run short fishing courses at our Further Education Centre at Ullswater School, Penrith and at Trinity School, Carlisle, respectively. They were designed to introduce beginners to fly fishing for trout, and to encourage those who already had some knowledge of the sport to learn more about the trout and its habitat in order to make the best use of their acquired skills.
In such a short space of time, even with my capacity for discourse, it was not possible to explore all that was relevant to the subject, so, the lessons were aimed at helping students to assimilate the basics and to stimulate them into 'thinking like a trout'. Some might regard that as an insult, as we are lead to believe that animals are incapable of thinking, but the class knew what I was trying to say.
At the outset, I said that anglers learn their craft in a number of ways. The fortunate have an angling father, uncle ( lady anglers will have to forgive my choice of gender ) or family friend sufficiently skilled to pass on the right information, and to demonstrate, correctly, the art of casting a fly, controlling its drift, timing the strike and playing and netting the quarry etc.
The extremely fortunate may have a guide or tutor who is also a naturalist. If so, then the attentive beginner should soon learn sufficient about the trout and its environment to enable him to make a fair fist of tackling any angling situation in which he may find himself.
Some anglers learn from experience, by their own efforts in the main, and as a result of continued study of the trout and the sport which has built up around it. Sadly, as I demonstrated at the first class, that sort of knowledge, self-taught skill and river-craft, is often amassed along with a crop of grey hair!
There are quicker, more direct routes to the goal of knowledge, and I suppose the best is found by coupling enthusiastic study ( I emphasise enthusiastic study ) with practical help from an angler of proven, all-round ability -- I avoid use of the word, expert. I have to say that with some experts, like some teachers, sometimes the best may appear to be only one or two chapters or so, in the book of learning, ahead of the class. That is not too bad a state, however, as it can help establish empathy and mutual respect between tutor and pupil. Each may more readily recognise and respect the other's requirements.
In order to think like a trout, the angler needs to know what makes a trout tick, and to do that, he must know something about the food cycle of the trout. The angler who knows what a trout may eat can then confidently present the fly or lure of his choice, knowing that it was selected to match a food item normally on the menu for the particular stream, pool or lake under attack at a given time.
If the angler also knows the other requirements of the trout -- adequate aeration of the water, shelter from strong currents, shelter from predators , etc -- and the habits of the various food forms in and over the water, including their development and movement season by season, then he will be able to deduce where the fish are likely to be, and why. Then, the angler can claim to be able to think like a trout!
Unfortunately, some anglers devote little or no time to study of the trout or the sport of fly-fishing. They may often catch fish despite their lack of knowledge, getting by on experience alone. Some also manage to catch trout in spite of their shortage of casting skill.
During the close season, I hope to provide a succession of articles which will help both the beginner and the less knowledgeable of the more experienced anglers among our readers. Nobody knows it all, and one of the greatest attractions of our sport is that anglers who have an open, receptive mind never stop learning about it. Writing about river-craft is, for me, truly, a lesson in learning it all over again.


I have typed this post, laboriously, just to get things going; but I hope to be able to upload the rest of this series in a more efficient manner. I'm a really slow learner, please bear with me. I can't even dump my signature from this page. TC