The Shokuryoshi Experiment
When it comes to time management, the amount of time you spend fishing one section of water is an important factor. Movement on the river can play a role in your success. For a dramatic example, if you were to go fishing for an hour and just fish the same pool for the whole duration, you probably won’t end up with as many fish as someone who spent their time moving and fishing different sections over that same amount of time.
Generally speaking, when I’m on the water, I try to find a tactic or presentation that seems to be working well. Maybe it’s a certain fly color, or possibly a dead drift with a little bit of added Pon Pon to spice it up. Maybe it’s even just finding the right water characteristic. Whatever combination it may be, I find the pattern that seems to be working and stick with it as I move along the water looking for spots that will hold fish based on my experiences that day.
So how fast should we move? The answer is a simple “It all depends…”
Of course there’s an exception to the example I gave at the beginning of this article. Maybe you really hit the jackpot and found a pool with a ton of hungry, eager fish. I would probably stay where the action is good, but rarely do I encounter a situation like this. Your pacing on the river will be variable, and dictated by fish activity. If you find a stretch with high activity, you may slow down a bit as you diligently work through each lie. On the other hand, if you’re in a section where you garner no attention from fish, you may want to move along without wasting too much time there. In those situations, you may even want to consider skipping ahead to a section of water further up with different characteristics.
On one of my best fishing days last year I recall casting into some eddies and pockets as I worked my way up a choppy set of riffles. The deep run that I worked through leading up to these riffles held plenty of fish, but the activity in the riffles was non-existent. I didn’t spend too much time in this section. Just a cast here and there as I walked along the bank to the next pool. But, this stretch was kind of long, and looking back I probably should have just skipped over it after the first few casts.
When I reached the pool that lay above the riffles, I found a high concentration of fish. I quickly hooked up on a few fish that I lost before I could get them to the net. In trying to figure out the cause of this, I checked my fly first. I had caught several fish before this spot and had no problem, so maybe there was an issue with the hook? The point was still fairly sharp, but not as sharp as a fresh hook from the fly box. I stepped away from the waters edge, tied on a new fly, and restarted my movement through the pool.
If you’ve followed along with my story tangent, then we’re about to get back to the important stuff. The story served a few purposes, the first was to share an example of an experience where I would have done something different and skipped a section. But, the second part about changing the fly brings me to my next point…
"Changeout Spots"
This changing from one kebari to a fresh one of the same pattern and resetting back to my starting point is something I had picked up from the Troutbitten article titled, "Fly Fishing Strategies - Look for the Changeout Spots"
Without going into too much detail about the article, I understand them simply as “fishy-looking” spots that deserve a second run-through if your current tactics didn’t do as well as in previous sections. The tactic that had been working for you may, for whatever reason, not be getting as much attention from the fish. These “Changeout Spots” are where you can dial in a new approach, or problem solve an existing one. It doesn’t have to be a big change either. All I did was change out my fly for the one of the same pattern. I could have used this to change to a different pattern or different technique, but what I was doing before was working.
A few other things to consider trying when reaching these spots is changing your presentation, or its depth. Also consider adding weight into the system, or maybe even targeting a different water characteristic.
Changing up from what was working to what is working may also change the pace at which you fish, or the spots along the water that you target. When the activity changes, the success may change as well, and the amount of fish you might pull from any given spot will vary. One way to account for these changes is the next topic I wanted to bring up…
Optimal Foraging Theory
To keep it short, I understand this theory to be a way to keep yourself from getting hung up on trying to catch every fish in a pool. There’s a certain point where you have to move on, especially being that they will become more difficult to entice after the most eager ones have been caught. If you’re interested in learning more about this idea, Paul over at Discover Tenkara had put out an article, "What have Raspberries, Competition Anglers, Biologists, and the 'Shokuryoshi' got in common?" regarding the subject some time ago.
This can be a tricky thing to gauge, and I’m not saying you have to do math while on the stream. There are times when it’s clear that it’s best to move on, and other times where it can be difficult to tell when you’ve made the most of your casts. In my experience, the activity in a section will dictate when it’s time to move. This is what influenced my decision to fish on from the pool that I mentioned in my story tangent earlier in this post.
Thinking about that stretch of riffles that held no fish, the one I said I should have just skipped over… I guess the idea that there may be one or two fish to pick out of those pockets was the reason I still fished it. Would it have been worth the time if there were a few? Maybe, but I don’t imagine I would have gotten more than two or three just based on the look of that section.
Putting all these concepts together can help to make your movement on the water more time-efficient. One thing to keep in mind though, is that your movement should be dynamic, and tailored to fit the situation. If you’re not catching fish, move! If you find that one spot with plenty of activity and you’re catching fish every few casts, slow your movement and take advantage of the opportunity presented!
To show a little bit of my own movement patterns, I have compiled some information from some outings to show just how variable one’s pacing can be.
Comparison 1
Data from 7/16/23
This day I explored the lower section of a creek I had fished in the past, before fishing the upper section. In the lower section I spent 2:12 hours scouting and fishing pockets where I could access the creek. In that time I only hooked up on 1 fish.
After a snack break, I fished the upper section for 1:02 hours and landed 3 fish in that time. The main difference I want to stress is the speed at which I covered water.
In the lower section I covered 2.43 miles with an average speed of 1.1mph - compare this to the upper section where I covered 0.77 miles with an average speed of 0.7mph.
With less access and less water that looked promising in the lower section, I opted to keep moving in search of better looking options. On the upper section, being more familiar with the water led me to fishing the spots where I was sure fish would be holding.
I wanted to use this as an example of a day with more contrast between two sections fished on the same day with relatively consistent conditions (air temperature was the biggest difference regarding conditions).
Comparison 2
Data from 8/5/23
With the banks of this local creek being very steep and covered in foliage, I had to move my way through the water to reach the next access point.
Over the 2:15 hours I fished I had covered 0.25 miles of water, with an average speed of 0.1mph.
The fishing on this day was very slow, and only 2 fish were brought to net.
The reason I wanted to share this one is, again, for contrast. I hadn't fished this stretch of the local creek before, but I also hadn't fished the section of the river where the other half of this comparison was recorded...
Data from 10/3/23
This day was spent fishing a section of my favorite river. It was a section that I hadn't fished before, but to my surprise, was the most productive piece of water I fished all year. I spent more time scrambling the rocks along the banks than I did wading the river in this section.
Over the 2:30 hours I fished, I covered 0.26 miles of water, giving me an average speed of 0.1mph once again.
The big difference here was that, in this time, I landed 17 fish.
Clearly, there was a difference in fish population between these two stretches of water. The characteristics of the water may have played a role in my success as well. As I mentioned, I had to wade through the creek, and with some very slow moving sections, it's very possible I scared some fish away before I was able to make a cast. On the river, I was able to move along the rocks, but with the currents being relatively high for the time of year, I would have been able to wade without as much of a need for stealth.
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