Reading the water

The most important technique in put and take needs no tackle at all: reading the water and finding where the fish stands before you start casting. The right bait in the wrong place gives no takes, while a simple bait where the fish actually holds often does the job. A few minutes of attention when you arrive often saves you a whole hour of blind casting.

Where the fish stands

Rainbow trout seeks food, oxygen and a comfortable temperature. Watch for:

• Edges and drop-offs, where the fish moves and hunts.
• Inlets and springs, with fresh, cool water.
• Structure such as stones, reeds, jetties and fallen trees.
• The windward side, where the wind airs the surface and gathers food.

The lie shifts with the weather. In heat the fish pulls deeper and cooler, while on a cool morning it can stand high and hunt in the surface, see prime times.

Signs to look for

Before you cast, stop and look. Rings and rises on the surface give away fish that are feeding, fish backs that break show where the shoal is moving, and hunting birds can tip you off where something is happening. A pair of polarised glasses takes the surface glare so you see both fish and structure under the water, which turns blind casting into directed fishing.

When the surface is dead

If you see no activity it usually means the fish is standing deeper, not that it has gone. Then you search different depths, see counting the bait down, and you move along the water instead of standing still in one place. Start at the obvious spots — inlets, edges and the windward side — and work your way on until you get contact.

Adapt to the water type

How you read the water differs a little between a stretch of current, a large lake and a small tarn, see water types. But the basic principle is the same everywhere: find the fish first, then fish. More techniques are under fishing technique.