Stillwater from the Bank

[Jeremy Allan]

 I was curious to know the different approaches people take to fishing lakes from the bank and the amount of time you'll put into it before you change technique. When you are in a boat you have the advantage to go anywhere you want to look for trout and use any technique you need for the water you have chosen. When you get a lake venue and it's from the bank you are stuck with what you get. You might get a great section of water or you might get a long flat structureless section. For me I have become a fan of the dry dropper for my opening search. Obviously it depends on what you can find out about the water and the beat you get but dry dropper or lightly weighted nymphs is usually pretty effective and you'll know within a short amount of time if you need to change tactics.    

[Todd Oishi]

Great topic Jeremy!

When arriving at a lake... I typically take the time to examine the shoreline or talk to local anglers before hand, in order to identify the natural food sources (aquatic and terrestrial insects, scuds, nymphs, leeches, crayfish, snails, stickleback, sculpins, fry, etc...) that the trout are most likely to be feeding upon at that particular moment in time. My fly selection is then made based upon this information and in anticipation of hatches that are about to occur or to imitate food sources that are vulnerable to predation.

If I am arriving totally "blind" to a lake venue, I begin by covering the shallower water with scuds, nymphs and pupae (dependent upon the time of year of course), and gradually work the deeper water with sinktips and faster sinking lines with longer casts if there are no obvious indicators or signs of hatches and feeding activity (birds, adult damselflies and dragonflies, shucks etc...).

The dry dropper tactic can be effective if you observe actively feeding trout, but it does tend to limit the amount of water and depths that you are able to cover when "prospecting" for trout (fishing blindly). In this case it is generally far more effective to present a trio of flies with a horizontal presentation rather than a vertically suspended presentation.

By using a sinking line you are able to present ALL three of your flies at various depths and over a much broader area within your allotted period of time. The general goal is to cover as much water within your beat in order to present your flies to as many fish as possible. High-grading and prioritizing your water will increase your odds of finding fish - but with that being said - if a rise is spotted, I always make a serious attempt to cover it as soon as possible, and work that general area if I am not experiencing any action.

Hope this help...