Keep out of the river to avoid spooking trout

I love sitting on the dunny. It's quiet and no one want's to bother you as the smell keeps people away. It is one of my favourite places for getting a bit of me time and what better me time could you have than catching up on a bit of fishing theory. On this occasion I was reading Rob Sloane's "Fly Fishing Fundamentals". Becoming a guru in anything is about mastering fundamentals and then selecting techniques that experience tells you will be likely to work. So I always try to read and reread even beginner books to drill those fundamentals into my sub conscious.

Rob's section on river fishing stresses the importance of never entering the water unless you really have to. But after you have bought a $300 pair of breathable waders and a $200 pair of wading boots this can be really difficult - after all you want to use these things! So typically when I arrive at a trout stream I quickly get changed and in I jump - bad idea!

On our recent trip to the Mersey River in Tasmania Mad Dog was float fishing with mudeyes. The bank he was fishing didn't give him wadeable access to water so he had to dangle his line from 4 feet above. Within a few casts he hooked a massive 5 pound fish. After a long battle the completely exhausted fish was hauled up the bank without a net and luckily it didn't drop down the mini cliff. At no time did he enter the water and I am sure if had that fish would have spotted him and he would never have caught it.

On this occasion entering the water was never an option and you should remember to never make it an option if you want to hook the big ones.