Reading Water, and Cherry Picking vs Full Coverage

Oct 25, 2021

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In this episode, my friends join me to share some of their best tips for reading water — seeing a trout stream, recognizing the currents in a river that hold trout and having the confidence to target them.

Then we get into the philosophy of Cherry Picking or Full Coverage. That is, the speed at which we cover water. How fast do you move from one place to the next? And what are the merits of hole hopping or trying to efficiently cover every likely piece of river that holds a trout? Because there are a couple of different ways to approach your time out there. And it’s helpful to think about the best ways to use it.

Reading water is a skill to be learned intentionally or by accident. Among the hundreds of tactical articles on Troutbitten is a full category for reading water, where each article addresses one facet of the skill.

Reading water is something we can all improve upon. By sharing tips, and by understanding how our friends look at the same piece of water, we can see the stream in a whole new way. My friends have some great tips for how they read water.

The conversation then turns to cherry picking and full coverage . . .

The fisherman’s path leads from one prime spot to the next, leaving a good bit of the river — maybe most of it — unfished. That’s cherry picking. It’s choosing the best pieces of water and ignoring the rest. And it can be a great strategy for catching a bunch of fish . . . sometimes. But there are some caveats, too.

Working an entire stretch of water can be harder. But once learned, it might be a more productive long-term strategy. Full coverage of the river reveals a lot more about trout habits and opens up opportunities to grow into a more complete angler. And once you catch on to the rhythm of the process, full coverage is a fun way to fish too. We discuss the merits and the best times for each approach.

The Q&A Round

Streamer size vs streamer color
Organizing fly tying hooks and beads
What's more memorable -- losing a big fish or landing one?
Why Trevor hates lunch meat
Josh and the PBJ revelation

We Discuss the Following

Potholes in riffles
The seams around rocks
Finding water that is big-fish-speed
Looking upstream to find the seams
Find feeding fish, then cherry pick
Cherry pick to save time
Cherry pick out of necessity
Full coverage as a learning tool
Full coverage out of necessity

Resources

READ: Troutbitten | Category | Reading Water
READ: Troutbitten | Cherry Picking vs Full Coverage
READ: Troutbitten | At the Front Door of Every Rock
READ: Troutbitten | Look Upstream to Find the Seams
READ: Troutbitten | Levels, Resets and New Beginnings
READ: Troutbitten | Every Rock Creates Five Seams
READ: Troutbitten | Trout Like to Do What Their Friends Are Doing

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