Reading Water
By: TrapperEarl


Most boat fishermen learn out of necessity how to read the water, so as not to run aground or tear their keel out on a log or wing dam. However most bank fishermen don’t think about reading the water. This is due to limited access to the water and restrictions as to where they can fish once on the bank. I am going to try to explain some of the things bank fishermen need to look for so they can make the most of their time on the water.

First lets look at the typical river bank. Most don’t have much to them, mostly muddy or rocky with little to draw your attention right? Or do they? Let look. Rule of thumb is what ever the bank looks like is what is under the water for at least 30 yards out. So if the bank is dirt and mud then the river bottom is mud, and the same holds true with a rocky bank. Now if you see rip rap (large fill in rocks) then most likely the rip rap will extend only a few yards out. This will help to decide where you want to fish. You want to look for a gravel or sandy bank with a gentle slope to the water.

Next lets look at the structure of the bank, is there any thing you see that draws you attention? A blown down tree, a line of old pier posts, or anything that brakes the bank line into the water. This could be very subtle or drastic. Either will draw small bait fish and this is what you want to look for. Is there any overhanging limbs from fruit trees? Or capella trees? Anything that will draw insects or add food to the water. These things will make a small bank opening better to fish, most of the time the best places to fish are harder to get to than others. Look close at your little section of bank. Even very small things can make it a better spot than say 50 yards up or down stream, look for these little things and the big things will jump out.

Is this water effected by tides? If it is then all the better. Go during a full or new moon low tide, this will be the lowest tide of the month, and look at the water edge, things that are normally under water will be exposed at this time. It is also a good time to move rocks or brush that would cause hang-ups, don’t remove them just put them to the side of your fishing spot creating a fish structure for the bait fish. Make sure your local laws allow this first, if it prevents you from making structure then just move it around to suit your needs. This is also a good time to walk the bank looking for old lost rigs, I do this at least once a month, you would be surprised how much equipment is lost on a good fishing spot, take a trash bag and clean up the bank, this makes it much more pleasurable on the next trip, not to mention the tackle you will find. Just finding a few sinkers will reduce you out of pocket expencies a few dollars.

Next look off the bank a few yards, look at the water and what it is doing. Water has a personality, it is lazy. Water flows the path of least resistence. That means that anything in the water stops it’s flow or restricts it. These are what you want to find. There are easiest ones to spot, a rock sticking up, a tree under the surface, a hole in the bottom, all these things make the surface to different things. These subtle changes in the surface are what you want to look for. Some things will cause a ripple or hump in the water, others will cause a fast moving strip of water, others will cause the water to ebb or slack and have a slow moving strip. These chances in the surface all show a change in the bottom. A hole in the bottom will show a an area of slack water on the surface, most of the time you can see the size of the hole by the size of the slack water on the surface. Keep in mind that the flow and current will make the slack area move down from the actual hole, that means that what you see on top is a little down stream from the spot. So casting to the up side a few yards will but you in the right spot. With obstructions it is even easier to find, there will be a damming effect that shows on the surface, water will be backing up on the up stream side and making an eddy on the down stream side. Other obstruction will cause the water to speed up, if they are close to another obstruction or the obstruction is close to the bank, the water in this area will speed up like pouring water through a funnel. All these things make fish react in a way to use them to the fishes advantage. Look at the water and how it is acting and think like a fish, where would you go to eat the most with out fighting the currents and where you can hide from your prey.

Next is the middle of the river, the channel. All have them and all are different. Some come right to the bank, some are in the middle, and some are so subtle that they are no more than a drop of a few feet. These can be spotted from the bank as they will look like a river in the river, the surface of the water will be slicker and normally moving a little faster. The edge of the is where you want you bait. Most of the time this area will not have many obstructions and will not hold to many fish unless there is an object there to draw them in, a sunken boat, old car hulk, or a tree hung up on the bottom, careful though, these can move and change with every hi water time. These obstructions are all fish holding places, however unless you can pinpoint them with a depth finder then you must rely on the water surface to tell you where they are.


With every thing listed here you must look and look closely, not all good spots are going to stick out like a tree in the middle of a field. Most and I mean 90% are hidden. Always get to the water with enough daylight to look at it and study it. After dark shine a high power light out across the water and look, study to surface. Low tide is best as the small structure will show and change the way the water acts where at high tide the water will flow over the structure more freely, if your river does not have tides then you need to observe it over a longer period of time. Low water is best and the mid summer is best as that is when water is normally lowest. Look for the slightest difference in the surface, a rock or tree or anything on the bottom will cause a difference in the way the surface looks, the water will have lines of change, watch these lines, they may be under currents or structure. If it moves then it’s current, fish the edges of these current brakes. If it stays in the same place then most likely it’s structure of some kind, just remember that you want to fish the down stream side in a river with current, and also the surface water will be down stream from the structure not right over it.

You will loose rigs, you will brake off line, you will loose tackle, you will catch fish. All these things will help you to find a bank hole where you can make the most of you time out on the water.