Fly fishing a lake? Here’s how your river-reading skills will help you find fish

If there’s one thing every angler—and perhaps every non-angler—knows about fly fishing, it’s that it takes place in rivers. Not surprisingly, then, almost all fly-fishing lore, advice, books and videos focus on rivers. Frustratingly, that leaves those of us who also fly fish in lakes to muddle through on our own. It can feel like we’re adrift on a featureless waterbody, with no idea where to cast a fly. Except we’re not.

River-trained anglers already have the core skill to effectively fish lakes: the ability to read water to spot places where a fish’s food and energy needs converge. Those spots often (but not always) look different from river lies that hold fish, but the underlying logic is the same—fish hold where they can eat easily, conserve energy and stay safe from predators.

Happily, in many regions of the country, river fishing is winding down in early fall, just as lake action is peaking. That makes autumn an especially good time to put your water-reading skills to use on stillwater. Since you can’t effectively fish most Canadian lakes from shore, all you need is a boat (or a friend with one). Sonar can also help, but sharp eyes will get you most of the way there. Here’s what to look for.

CURRENT

Just like rivers, lakes also have current, which surprised me at first more than it should have. Rather than coming from water tumbling downhill, lake current is generated by wind. It’s often subtle, but it’s there, pushing tiny organisms along the surface. Baitfish follow, and gamefish follow them. The longer the wind blows in the same direction, the more dramatic the effect.

Current may not always be obvious in open water, but anytime wind-driven water hits a point or bay and deflects, you’ve got a seam concentrating the forage—just like a river. Fish sometimes hold in the calm water, as they do in rivers, but they’re more likely to cruise the entire seam.

My favourite scenario is when wind has been pushing into a bay or the end of a small lake for hours. One September day, for example, I had my best-ever hour of fly fishing for largemouth bass in a small, weed-dotted bay, where the disturbed surface and endless conveyor belt of food had the fish in an unhinged feeding frenzy.

WEEDS

In North American fly-fishing rivers, we rarely encounter weeds, but in lakes they are green gold. During fall as weedbeds die back, any remaining green weeds become fish magnets—they’re still oxygenating the water when everything around them isn’t. And, of course, weeds offer both protection from predators and cover for ambushing prey. Look for the last green cabbage beds and work the edges and gaps; think of them as seams, but with vegetation instead of current.