I have to admit, right up front, that I don’t often have luck fishing tailwaters. One of the most popular rivers in my area is a wide, featureless river that is hard to find where trout are holding. There are times where I will accept the challenge and put in some hours on these types of waters, and last year I wrote an article for TenkaraUSA sharing my knowledge on the subject.
Dividing the water into smaller currents tends to help. After observing flows and currents, it’s much easier to manage a section that you know is within your casting range than trying to blindly fish the entire width of a river. Doing this can help take some guesswork out of where to cast, especially if you can see some activity from fish within the flows.
Finding fish in featureless water can be daunting, but with enough time spent on the water you will start to recognize patterns in the rivers you fish. Just because it’s a big river, you don’t always have to think big though. We often overlook water in front of us due to our imaginations and fascination with casting long distances.
While timing can play a big role in when a surface presentation can be used effectively on larger rivers, a subsurface presentation will often be the best way to entice trout in these types of waters. In a similar concept to the aforementioned Gyakubiki, Yokobiki can be utilized by drifting a fly under the surface, then slowly pulling it toward the closest bank.
I wanted to share a few presentations that I’ve had some luck with. I don’t often find rising trout in these types of waters, so I generally prefer subsurface presentations. Yokobiki can be an effective presentation, as can swinging flies. On the occasions that fish are rising, lifting your fly on a swing can also be a killer presentation during a hatch.
In the last article, I talked about utilizing the Leisenring lift while fishing deeper pools. This presentation is still a viable option when you are fortunate enough to find a deeper pocket of water on the river. Sometimes the best way to position when fishing these pools will be to stand upstream and to let the fly dive down in the current, then lift out of the pool.
The fish in these big open waters often have more access to a variety of insects, making it difficult to key in on what they may be snacking on. And, with more pressure from other anglers, they can become picky and skeptical of what floats by them. Be sure to try different presentations and approaches as you fish bigger waters.
These types of waters, I often find, have picky fish that require you to match the hatch more closely. With so much access to food, they tend to be really keyed in on certain food sources at certain times and hardly ever go for any other offerings - especially if they're not a convincing representation.
I wanted to save "Tenkara Fishing Tailwaters" for last because I felt it was a culmination of all the skills and tactics covered in the previous articles of the series. I also find these types of waters to be the most challenging to fish. Be sure to check out the full article, as well as any others from the series!
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