Stealth , When a plan goes horribly wrong

[Otter]

I have no doubt whatsoever that for most of our fishing stealth is numero uno, on it all else depends. But sometimes the best laid plans can be unexpectedly twarted.

Coming up a very heavily fished stretch of water I noticed a nice head and tail rise in a good fish lie, a glimpse of the fish was enough to say "a cracker". I made my way up and slowy accross watching the water like a hawk. There is very good cover close to this lie and it is rarely occupied during daylight hours except during really good hatches. Its one of those prime spots that can hold several good fish at dusk for a very short period of time, and even less time during daylight.

I have made a cast over this lie hundreds of times and I know how tricky it can be and one or at most two chances will be all you get. In positon I tied on a single stewarts size 18 spider and let out enough line downstream and instream from the trout and waited. I wanted to present the fly just upstream and inside the trout, the current would do the rest. Would the trout show again... I hoped so as pin point accuracy would be vital. As I stared intently at the lie ignoring any other rising fish I completely removed myself from everything else around me, my focus was 100%.

The rock landed a yard or so way from me, and I nearly lost balance from the shock. As I looked up on the high bank just above the trouts lie, I heard the shout "Un-sociable bast...d" coming from 3 anglers who were in convulsions laughing. They reckoned they had being standing there in full view for at least five minutes and were wondering was I dead or asleep. My immediate thought was I hoped the judge was an angler when I stood in the dock explaining the manslaughter charge, he must surely understand that I had no choice. When the blood pressure eased I seen the funny side of it all and wished them a season of leaky waders and broken tippets.

I enjoy company whilst fishing but have no doubt to be really stealthy and to have total concentration one must fish alone.

To what extremes would you go to to be stealthy, and i dont just mean stalking individual fish in tricky lies and poking your rod through branches but more to what stealth measures you employ in general.

[Old Hat]

I personally enjoyed the picture of Letumgo dangling his line from the branches of a tree a little while back.

I employ stealth quite a bit. It is a must on the smaller crystal clear high mountain streams I fish in the summer months. Low crawling from downstream angles is not unheard of and neither is "bow" shooting line through an open spot from behind a bush as well. I also have been know to walk many a bank in a toe to heal fashion. Stealth is an underrated skill in fly fishing. I don't even get into the water if I don't absolutely have to. I see so many fishermen stomp up the bank, look up and down stream till they find their "best hole" and proceed to trapse with their loud studded boots all the while stumbling and kicking up all kinds of debris to the near middle of the stream, then stand up tall and wail away in the sky with their arms and rods. Meanwhile, nearly every fish worth catching is now out of oxygen after sprinting a quarter mile up or down stream. Including the trophy sitting just a foot from shore where the fisher entered the water.

Along this topic is one of my favorite quotes by the late western fisherman Gary LaFontaine talking about sneaking up on fish streamside, "The fish always know you are there, hell, even a hatchery fish knows you are there, it's just that he's glad to see you."