Head

Taking time out to watch fish - to observe them without disturbance - is sometimes as much fun as actually trying to catch them.

As a guide I go fishing without my fly rod quite a bit. Some portion of every day on the river is spent just walking the banks and observing, trying to find the best fishing opportunities for my guests. Occasionally, when I see a really pretty fish I will steal a few moments for myself and just watch him for a bit. Through this process I have learned to see fish exceedingly well. Scientists say what I've done is develop a prey image.

All predator species possess a special ability to see and sense their prey. My cat finds mice as if he has internal radar. Bird dogs hunt quail without error. I suspect prey image is at least partially responsible for rainbow trout's ability to see little tiny #20 midge flies in the gathering darkness at twilight.

We develop prey image according to the species we wish to hunt. I am constantly impressed by the number of animals a good deer hunter can spot up in the steep hillsides surrounding the Deschutes. They see large herds where I see only sage brush.

There are no rules for building a prey image. It's the kind of thing that happens naturally over time. The way in which I learned to observe Bull Trout on the Metolius is a classic example.

The Bulls are native fish in their native habitat; they are exceedingly well camouflaged. For years I could not see them very well. It was rare to spot one; it happened only when they were in an exceedingly obvious position.

One day, while fishing in the Canyon area I had a breakthrough experience. I had climbed up onto a hillside above the river so that I could look down into the water. I was watching for some of the larger rainbows that I knew inhabited this particular stretch of river. I had been studying the water for quite some time, 15 minutes or more, when suddenly I saw the fish.

I have no idea what keyed my eye to him - a change in the light, a flat spot in the current - suddenly there he was, hidden in plain sight.

The river bottom in this pool was sandy. There were several rocks scattered randomly in midstream. The river had left a dark streamlined deposit of bark and pine needle in the eddy area behind each of these rocks. The fish had nosed up over one of these deposits.

His color and shape where a perfect match. He was in plain sight and yet he was nearly invisible. When I saw him I had to do a double take.

Once I had the image of that first fish in my mind, I was suddenly able to see other fish in other locations. Before the day was done I had seen half a dozen other big fish in similar lies.

Over the next few weeks I started seeing more and more fish. Gradually, from that single breakthrough moment, I was able to expand and develop my vision.

Today I see fish all the time. I point them out to people. To me they are as plain as plain can be. But others who do not possess the same prey image simply can't break the camouflage code. Only after I explain where the fish is in detail will their eye catch on and their mind let them see the fish.

But that's a start. From there they can begin to build a prey image of their own.