Reading the Rise
Riseforms are ephemeral. Their typical lifespan is between three and six seconds. Despite such ephemerality, riseforms can be extremely informative and useful to us as anglers. They help us make good fishing decisions, but only if we understand the clues they provide.
For instance, riseforms let us know that a fish is actively feeding. They tell us where that fish is located. They can tell us about the fish itself—what kind it is, and of what size. Riseforms provide clues about the nature of the food item being taken—how large or small it might be, how mobile or immobile it is. Riseforms indicate whether the prey was taken from the surface or just beneath. They tell us which way a fish is facing, or moving, at the time of the rise.
That’s a lot of information. Luckily, we don’t need all of it, all of the time. In fact, for much of our fishing we only need to see a rise, check the water to see what bugs are drifting down, tie on a reasonable imitation, and have at it. Pretty straightforward.
But if you fish waters containing rich, diverse, insect populations—and that grow large fish—there will be plenty of times you need every bit of info a riseform can provide. Fish living in such environments can be extremely difficult to fool, and it’s often necessary to bring to bear every clue a rise can provide. The fish in the video above proved to be a serious test in deciphering the rise.
High level skills answer the following questions (among others):
What kind of fish are rising? Trout? Whitefish? A mixture of the two?
How large are these fish, and are they all the same size?
Are these risers feeding on the surface, or beneath?
Are the food items large or small, mobile or immobile? Answers to all questions appear below.
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The fish are all trout. The three largest fish are about 18″, others range from 13″ to 15″ or so. The fish are feeding on the surface. The prey are mayfly spinners (#16 and immobile.)