Some fish will be obvious as soon as you creep into position

Whilst I could fish for trout in commercial rivers, this is a little too sanitised for me. Give me the overgrown stream in the middle of summer, a few chub or barbel and I will be happy. If it is not something that you are familiar with, then take the time to spend a little time watching and fishing by sight this summer, you will discover a whole new dimension to fishing. I know it has been a dismal summer to date, especially, if like me, you live near to the East coast, but even with the poor weather there has been ample opportunity to try and stalk a few fish. Although stalking is generally associated with warm sunny weather, this is not necessarily the case. In fact, hot weather can make the fish almost impossible to catch, forcing the angler to fish early and late. No, as long as the water is relatively clear and you can find the fish you can catch them by stalking. Over the years many, many articles have been written about stalking, and virtually all of them have stated that it is a short session method. Now, compared with bivvying up for a few days it might be short, but there is often a strong case for spending more than a few hours stalking. Take your average stretch of river for example, it might be a mile or more in length, with twenty spots which could hold fish. Each one might take an hour or more of observation, feeding, positioning before you even make the first cast. To cover the reach of river thoroughly is then obviously more than enough for a long day by the river. The first golden rule of stalking is, don’t be in too much of a hurry. Just because you will be travelling light does not mean that you have to undertake a marathon! Some fish will be obvious as soon as you creep into position. Generally, these will not be the largest present. Sit and watch the fish, they will glide in and out of the swim, often disappearing for ten minutes or more. What are the chances of the big one being there when you arrive? Watching the fish will also often tell you where to cast, where to introduce your bait, how the current and plants move, where to stand without casting a shadow, which parts of the swim the fish prefer. All those little details which you need to get right and which can be stored away and used again when the fish are not visible. The little details are what will make you a better angler, not just while stalking, but for all of your fishing. Learn to keep yourself concealed. Learn to cast a bait with minimal disturbance and you cannot help but to catch more. While, when fishing blind, you can always blame poor catches on the weather or a poor choice of swim, when stalking you get an instant guide to what the fish think of your skills. Stalking fish is not an easy option, but there is far more pleasure to it than just catching fish

Next week I will look more deeply at my approach to stalking on small to medium sized rivers.