Fishing in the shade?

[no-one in particular]

Whilst fishing Sunday I picked a new swim under some willow trees which were overhanging the water; just enough of a gap to fish between them. . Not fished it before but, did not fancy sitting in the bright sun. Do fish think the same and prefer shady spots to open spots. ?

 

[Ray Roberts]

Whilst fishing Sunday I picked a new swim under some willow trees which were overhanging the water; just enough of a gap to fish between them. . Not fished it before but, did not fancy sitting in the bright sun. Do fish think the same and prefer shady spots to open spots. ?

Frequently, though sometimes they will bask in the upper layers in open water.

 

[daji]

I'm always more confident fishing when its over-cast as i have more success and believe the fish are also more confident as they do not feel so exposed. In bright sunny conditions i would opt for fishing by a feature such as lilies which gives the fish cover and shade or an over hanging tree. From what i've seen it tends to be larger fish with little to worry about in terms of predation, that bask in the sun in open water. Or perhaps small fish also do this but due to their small size i just don't see them?!!

 

[nicepix]

When the river is clear and it is bright sunlight you won't see many fish out in open water. But look under tree cover or weeds and you will see them. Especially the bigger ones. If all other things are equal I would always fish under the shaded bank in bright sunlight.

 

[terry m]

Another vote for overcast and/or shade here.

 

[Derek Gibson]

Overcast with a nice ripple on the water for me too, it always proved to be a winning combination.

 

[no-one in particular]

I go along with the overcast conditions, usually better fishing. However, I wonder if fishing in the shade is the same thing. Not sure what point I am after but, fishing under these willows in bright sunshine and clear water + there not being much shade elsewhere along the bank; you might think the fish would acccumalate under this shade. This never seems to be the case to me. I had one bite and one roach all afternoon.
Plenty of small fry, tiny chub swimming about and shoals of tiny fry all along the river but, not under these willows.
Just wondered about this as apposed to actual cover in the river ie, lilly, weeds etc and overcast weather.
You would think there would be plenty of fish under these trees enjoying the darker light etc.? To be fair, they could have been there, couldnt actually see the bottom and/or they were not feeding but, my feelling was there no more fish in this shade than elsewhere along the river.

 

[Alan Tyler]

It could be that something big and scary fancied the shade of the willow. Chub will muscle pike a bit bigger than themselves out of the way, but there are limits...

 

[no-one in particular]

It could be that something big and scary fancied the shade of the willow. Chub will muscle pike a bit bigger than themselves out of the way, but there are limits...

Ha, I read your first sentance Alan and I thought you meant me !

Thinking more about this I reckon fish in the river stick to their bit of the river and know where the deep spots, cuts in the bank, weed or lillies etc to lay low in. They stay to some extent in the bit of river they know. I suspect this is why some stretches of river have good heads of fish and others dont. Its down to a variety of waterscape so, they have somewhere to feed/hide in all sorts of conditions. So. although I was fishing under willows it may have not been a good stretch and just because there was shade does not nessessarily mean they will travel from other bits of river to use it.
Maybe, I dont really know , just a thought.

 

[greenie62]

It could be that something big and scary fancied the shade of the willow. Chub will muscle pike a bit bigger than themselves out of the way, but there are limits...

Reminds me of a river I used to fish as a youth, where the tree-ed bank had small '1 square yd' gaps between the tree roots which provided shelter for fish when the flow was well up.
We used to use a bit of peacock quill in these as a float with a couple of maggots - dibbing - for minnows, gudgeon, dace, and the occasional roach. If no bite within 5 minutes - try again with a lump of crackerbarrel - 'cos it nearly always meant there was a chub hiding there - hence the absence of smaller fish!
Occasionally this would backfire when someone - sans fromage - tried a lip-hooked minnow in the hole - and found the 'resident' to be a jack which would give a good account of itself in the main torrent before biting through the mono! mg:

Willows - don't they tend to have external root systems which form a 'cage' in the water - ideal for predators to lurk in!

 

[no-one in particular]

I dont know Greenie, I could almost see the bottom on this stretch and could not make out any roots showing. At a guess I would say the roots of willows dont actually grow in the water.

 

[greenie62]

I dont know Greenie, I could almost see the bottom on this stretch and could not make out any roots showing. At a guess I would say the roots of willows dont actually grow in the water.

Must admit Mark,
I'm thinking more of moving water where the soil gets washed away from the roots leaving 'voids' in which predators can lurk!
Tight Lines!