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To suggest that we can address all the fishing tips on the planet in one blog post would be disingenuous. Fact is, there are hundreds if not thousands of ideas on how to stalk, catch, release and understand fish. First, there are all the various recreational fishing methods including fly fishing, spincast, bait, spear, off-shore, in-shore and others. And within those styles there are many variations and methods used to land fish. What we’ll focus on in this post is how to get close enough to those finned creatures to cast a lure or double-haul a fly.

Vision, ears and lateral lines are the greatest assets to any wary fish. If they see, smell or feel something is not normal, they will bolt out of harm faster than you can say “the big one got away.” So getting close is all about the approach and how surreptitious you are.

Vision
There is one complex built-in radar system that helps fish stay away from trouble and that is their eyes. It’s been said that the eye is the most complex device on earth and good reason to say so. If you can see the fish, the fish can see you. Due to eyes on both sides of the head (with the exception of a few species), fish can see in almost all directions except for blind spots in front and rear. Their eyes are classified as both binocular and monocular vision. Staying away from of their field of vision is best when approaching a nervous trout, bonefish or other species. Another strategy is to blend in to their skyward vision. In other words, from their refracted perspective, the more “natural” you look, the less they will suspect you are a predator. To see how you would look camouflaged from a skyward perspective, have a look at our fishing video featuring a furtive angler.

Ears and Lateral lines
Can fish hear? Definitely yes. Fish have inner ears although no openings (ears) as we would know them. If you’ve ever been watching fish from a boat and tapped the hull with an oar, you understand how well they can hear. Fish also hear with their lateral lines. Being audibly quiet when coming near water holding fish can be as important as a visually quiet approach.